I was in San Francisco for work and signed my kids (8 & 9) up for the City Kid Camp. They LOVED it…read moreand asked to stay longer. They made friends and loved the daily trips and activities. They came home exhausted every day, but happy and excited. The camp is a unique format - the kids are out exploring the city, playing games, learning new things, and developing social skills. Evan and the team that run the camp are great. You can tell that they are really interested in helping the kids have a great experience and develop skills. The kids are definitely in good hands and well supervised and cared for. I also love that it is a device-free environment. My kids are already asking if they can go back next summer....

My 9 yr old son had another fantastic summer with Evan & his staff at SF City Kid camp! We are…read morecontinually impressed with how relaxed and friendly all the staff members are, and how fun, educational and exciting the experiences are! My son always says he would go every week during the summer if he could; he learned so much and always comes home happy.. 2 of his buddies joined him at camp this summer for some of the weeks and they were thrilled as well. Thanks so much to the SF City Kids staff!

There are few times in my life where I drop off my son for a camp or after school program and feel…read morelike he will be engaged in ways that he's never been before. That's how I feel about Tinkering school. My Son,6yrs old, literally talks my ear off after coming home from here. He talk about the human size Hungry-Hungry Hippo he's making out of pulleys and wood, about the working Air hockey table and how good he is getting at using real tools. Joshua and Nathan and everyone else there are kind, attentive and passionate about what they do. I leave feeling like I'm actually enriching my child's life instead of just leaving him with somebody to babysit him. Registration was easy and They are pretty good at getting back to my emails. Not sure why the bad review here said it was hard. I guess I'm just good at using a computer.

Our son attended this summer camp for the first time. We were so excited because he's always asking…read moreto build stuff using tools/power tools. Our experience was disappointing. Since the camp is an extension of Brightworks School, there are kids who know the ropes and are familiar with the way things work. Unfortunately, the camp isn't set up to really introduce kids who are new to the process of building. Every day our son came home and said he hadn't built anything because he didn't know what to build. Yes, some kids will dive right in and come up with something. Others need instruction, and that's normal. Brightworks has a reputation for being child-led to a very high degree, but I take issue with them not teaching our son about the materials and tools so he could feel comfortable and build something, which he did do on the two final days. When I asked for someone to give him some guidance or ideas, I was told they don't like to give the kids ideas because then they all do the same thing. Yes, yes, I agree, but that applies to the kids with experience, not a kid who's been there 2 days and has no idea what to do. That takes the concept of child-led too far. A school friend was with him at camp and they reported that the instructors were snappy with the kids. Sigh In addition, on their day at Crissy Field, he returned home with the worst sunburn he has ever had. When I inquired about why nobody had put sunscreen on him, I was told that they had given the kids sunscreen and he had applied it himself. He is not yet 7. He is not responsible for sunscreen application to protect his skin from damage. Adults are responsible for that. Even if he takes off his hat, it's the adults who have to enforce the safety rules. Given our experience, we asked if we could un-enroll him for the following week and get a refund. They declined, much to our disappointment.

I had a negative experience with this summer camp in SF, mainly based on their aftercare service,…read moreand the general immaturity of some of the staff, including the regional manager. The biking portion of the camp is top notch, and the kids are taken all over the city on different expeditions each day. However, if you sign up for aftercare, your kids are left to fend for themselves. Normally this is fine, but the camp uses public SF parks with minimal private facilities. Because of this, if any unsavory characters turn up to the park, the staff don't know how to react or escalate. One one day when I went to pick up my children from aftercare, they were 5 and 8 at the time, there was a gentleman swinging a golf club around the children's play area with great speed. Nobody saw fit to ask him to leave as he whacked his club close to the young children playing. I intervened and asked him to leave the park, at which point he got verbally abusive and charged at me with his golf club. This whole incident was quite shocking for all concerned (see attached photo for the perpetrator). My complaints over this situations with dealt with scorn and condescension by the SF general manager, Tyler. Happily, the owner of the camp was more level headed, and listened to my concerns. I was still surprised to hear that the camp owner and GM didn't know that adults are not allowed in SF children's parks when not accompanying a minor. This is a basic local law to enhance kids safety in SF. In summary, I cannot recommend this camp as I feel there is not the appropriate level of adult supervision required, at least at the SF camps.

Great program for teaching children riding skills and confidence! Fun adventures and caring coaches.read more

My almost 7-year-old has been attending this school since she was 5. Why? Because she genuinely…read moreenjoys it. She loves that she is never bored. Every week she learns something new: new styles, materials, and techniques. Sometimes they focus on painting, other times on sculpture or different forms of art. Katia and Sara have both been her teachers, and she has felt happy and supported with all of them. Like with many activities at this age, it took a couple of weeks for her to fully adjust and feel familiar with the environment but consistency made a big difference. As parents, we appreciate seeing her come home excited and proud of what she created. It is easy to notice how much she has progressed over time and we get very excited when we see her project. We also appreciate the communication style of the school. They provide a high-level overview each week of what the kids will be working on, which keeps parents informed without overwhelming us with too much information. On the administrative side, tuition payments and renewals are simple, and the staff has always been friendly and helpful whenever we have had questions or needed help resolving any mistakes on our part. We also love the location. Depending on the day and who is with me, it is easy to wait nearby at the library, a coffee shop, or a restaurant while class is in session.

Highly recommend Advanced Watercolor with Luka. He's an amazing instructor and I learned a lot in…read more10 weeks, including new techniques, breaking down reference photos, and a values study process. I grew a lot from this class, and received specific feedback and guidance for my needs. I loved the format of this class and how it challenged me to take on complex subject matters. By the end, I had more confidence, a more experimental approach, and an even greater love for watercolor. I'm excited to take more classes here!

Once my son joined the YPAC YMCA team a year ago, I signed up for gym memberships for us and the…read moreswim team for him as a package deal. I can't remember details other than the difference was negligible to do both and it made sense. I've gently eased myself getting back into working out. I used to train hard, 5+ days a week. Let's just say it's been a glacial progress getting back into a routine; I need to improve. Presidio YMCA is a great gym, not too crowded and it's clean. And with my son now working out 3-4 times a week before he trains with the swim team, I don't have an excuse not to go more often. Fitness goals..

Decently sized gym and a fun location. This gym has almost all essential equipment, but is missing…read moresome things like a decline crunch and hack squat. They are easily substituted, but it would be nice to have here. There is also a parking lot which is paid parking everyday from 10AM-5PM. Before 10 AM or after 5 PM, parking becomes free (i assume). The facility is quite clean and the service is fantastic. There is a gymnasium, group class sessions, bike room, and a stretching room. Overall a decent gym with nice equipment, but would be nice to have some more. Gym equipment not pictured: - Precor Resolute Multi-Station (2x Lat Pulldown, 1x Low Row, 1x Adjustable Pulley) - Cybex Plate-Loaded Squat Press - Cybex Eagle NX Hip Abduction/Adduction - Cybex Eagle NX Glute - Cybex Prestige Strength VRS Fly/Rear Delt (Pec Dec)

My son started volunteering with Sky Kids as a junior counselor for a few camps and then in the…read moresummer from 8th to 9th grade wanted to work as many weeks of camp as he could. He is planning to join in the fun again this summer. He really loved the staff, kids and activities. Miranda and Shelly, the leaders of Sky Kids, treat the JC's with respect and they get to enjoy many outings and adventures. They also learned about being responsible, on-time and reliable. All good things. Would you believe that one night I heard from a 13 yr old, "...Mom, I have to get to bed early. Those kids wore me out today and I am working again tomorrow. It's a lot of responsibility, you know." Highly recommend Sky Kids and I heard they are going to begin an after-school program too. I'm sure it will be a success as well.

Our 5 year old had a wonderful time at Sky Kids camp this summer! I asked him to rate the camp on a…read morescale of 1 - 10, and he told me enthusiastically: "Mom, it's a 30!" He attended the Sky Bots and Paper Art camps. Every day was filled with fun projects (that I'd never dare to do at home for the mess they would create), as well as memorable outdoor adventures. They explored different playgrounds every day - from Rossi to Mountain Lake to Alta Plaza. And yet...my son never came back sunburnt! This is a testament to the fantastic staff of counselors and supervisors. In wrap up conversations at the end of the day, I felt they understood him even after a day or two of interactions. Would highly recommend this camp for the content and the culture.

Terra has felt like San Francisco's best kept secret for our family. The biggest thing we noticed…read moreearly on was how much our son genuinely looks forward to going to school. He comes home excited to talk about what he learned, what he built, and what he explored that day, which gave us confidence that we made the right choice. We visited a few public and private schools with a strong Mandarin immersion program. What stood out with Terra over time was how balanced the learning feels, both inside and outside the classroom. Academically, he has grown steadily in both English and Mandarin, and at the same time we have seen real growth in confidence, independence, and how he works through challenges. The outdoor program has been especially meaningful for him. Spending time learning outside each week has clearly shaped how he approaches learning. He often comes home talking about things he created or discovered in nature, and those experiences seem to stick with him in a way that traditional classroom lessons sometimes do not. The small class size has made a big difference for our family. His teachers really know him as an individual, including both his strengths and the areas where he needs more guidance. That level of attention has helped him grow academically and emotionally without feeling pressured to fit into a single mold. We have also appreciated how involved the parent community is. It feels collaborative, and communication between families and the school is very open. The after-school enrichment classes like engineering, cooking, and art have been another highlight because they give him more ways to explore interests he might not otherwise try. Terra is a smaller school, but for us that has created a strong sense of connection and support. Most importantly, our son feels happy, challenged, and excited to learn, which is ultimately what we were hoping to find in a school.

My son started in Kindergarten at Terra Schools and I have loved our experience. I've decided to…read moreswitch my younger son from his current pre-school to Terra Schools' pre-school program as well because of how strong I've found it to be. When I went through the Kindergarten application process, I toured a ton of schools across public, charter, and private (independent and parochial). I am the type of person that likes to dig deep and understand all of my options. The reason I ended up choosing to attend Terra is because: - Outdoor Nature: We came from a nature based pre-school and I saw the benefits of being able to regularly play outside. It was tough to find an elementary school that offered dedicated time in nature. Elementary grades at Terra have Earth Ed one full day per week, and pre-school has two full days. Earth Ed is led by Dylan, who has decades of experience and holds a PHD in environmental studies. He's great with the students. They love him. - Strong Academics: I asked every school I toured about differentiated learning, and they all gave an answer. However, Terra was the only one where the logistics made sense to me. They have banded classes for subjects like math and reading, which means that for those subjects, my son is grouped with students that are at the same level as him, not based on his grade or age. For example, he is in Kindergarten but he is in the 1st grade math group. - Quality of Teachers: The teachers go through a rigorous process before they are hired full time. They are highly qualified. They are also loving and caring. My son is excited to run to his teacher every morning (which was not the case at his prior schools). - Language Immersion: We are in the mandarin immersion program, but my son is naturally exposed to some Spanish as well and has enjoyed picking up some of the language. It's unique to be able to give him a multilingual experience in a fun, low pressure way. - Parent Community: There are multiple opportunities to connect with each other including coffee meetups, PTA meetings, mom's/dad's nights, and WhatsApp groups. I have met many awesome families at Terra that I now call my friends. My son is thriving here. I have seen noticeable improvements in his academic progress, his self confidence and his ability to advocate for himself.

My daughter first attended a summer session at Chris Babcock Art Prep and loved it…read more I signed her up for after school classes and her drawing skills have really taken off. Chris has really guided her and taught her skills that she hasn't learned at her previous art schools. Chris Babcock Art Prep is a gem of a school and you won't be disappointed if you send your child here.

My kids loved her summer camps. They also created amazing art from it. They attended when they were…read moreages 7, 8, and 9. Chris has an amazing talent to bring the best out of kids when it comes to art.