Steve & Kate's Camp

My 7 year old daughter adores Steve & Kate's. She last attended for winter break which was a well deserved break from a potential two week home hang out. She sewed a dress for her cheetah stuffed animal, rocked it on karaoke and made a friendship bracelet for each leader. She said she wanted them to remember her because she'll never forget them. <3

Steve and Kate's focuses more on a philosophy than a program and kids love choosing their day every day!

My children love being at Steve & Kate's. They can choose what they want to do, when they want. It also makes it super easy for me to drop them both off at the same place without worrying one of them won't like the activities. Plus, I don't worry about lunch/snacks or scheduling since they do refunds.

A wonderful program! My camper says going to Steve & Kate's makes him feel free and I can tell he has gained so much confidence since going to this camp!

My kids had a decent time at this camp. I liked their hours and the flexibility of choice in activities for the kids on a daily basis.

Their lunches were just so-so...I wish they had offered different options that were less processed/carbohydrate-heavy (cheese pizza, bagel, mac-n-cheese, or turkey sandwich every day). Essentially the same menu every day. Where are the veggies?? Of course, my kids were obsessed with their delivery cheese pizza, which makes it hard for a home lunch to compete.

At the end of the summer, there was an incident where my son was singing a common song at camp one day and a child nearby took exception to it. The child was offended and my son was suspended for 1.5 days from camp. I have correspondence from the lead counselor that said they should have gathered more context about the situation as they didn't believe my son was doing harm, but the suspension needed to happen anyway. My son doesn't have a biased bone in his body, but the camp (at its corporate level) felt compelled to send a camper-wide email to explain that bias and racism would not be tolerated at their camp. The escalation that resulted from the common song my son sang that day is bewildering to me to this day.

Lastly, my oldest made her way out of the camp without the counselors knowing. This is a HUGE red flag for me. She walked out of camp and surprised me in my car in the parking lot where I was wrapping up a work call. The counselors had no idea and all I got in return was "sorry about that". This is not ok.

This over-priced day camp IS NOT worth sending your child to...especially with their trigger-happy suspension policy and the risk of losing +$100/day camp fee as a result.

My 6 year old has been at S&Ks 4 weeks so far this summer and she loves it. She rotates between bounce houses, water slides, baking, sewing, 3D printing, gardening, and more. She is excited to go daily and has not been bored. Counselors have been great and I have no issues with the communication. Checkin and drop off/pickup have been super easy and quick.

My eight year old daughter attended her second summer of Steve and Kate's camp this year - this was her first year at the Beaverton location. I was a little nervous for her the first week because she didn't start knowing any other kids. I know I know-kids make friends fast, but still, I didn't want her experience to be negative in anyway. I shared this thought with Claire and asked if she or the other leads noticed my kiddo hanging around the edges of a group, looking in longingly for the perfect moment to join, would they invite her in. And they did! Not only did Claire and her staff nudge for inclusion because I simply asked, they gave me a little report at the end of each day for a week until my daughter had a new group of friends. I was and am blown away and so incredibly grateful for the action they took to help address my worry - silly or not.
My daughter absolutely loves it! The culture created for this camp is awe inspiring. For us, this camp is a good shift from the school year because it's all 'hands on' and 'do what interests you' and 'if you're in the middle of a sewing project and you decide you just cannot finish it because you can hear the outdoors calling your name, that's cool." (a real and documented story).

I send her to camp knowing she is having fun and being cared for, but most importantly, I know she is in charge of her day! She is empowered by the 'rules' in place that tell her she gets to choose what and when and how and why. I LOVED picking her up and listening about her days and in ten short weeks could see a difference in how she spoke and interacted and her overall confidence and demeanor. So impressive! Empowering children - what a fabulous thing to do!

A giant thank you to Claire and her team! The experience you've created for myself and my daughter will be one we always look back on with love and awe.
***you should open a school with the same design....😉

We did two years with Steve & Kate's K-Camp in Montclair, NJ. The first year--also their first year in Montclair, when my son was 4, was amazing, and he loved it. The second year (Summer 2015), when he was 5, was a disaster.

The program had become much larger, and there was clearly less supervision for the K-camp kids than the previous year. The older kids liked to scare the younger kids--for example, my son was afraid to use the bathroom because older kids would switch out the lights and tell the little ones that there were ghosts. I often got calls about my son getting hurt, and when I would ask for details, no counselor had been present to see what happened.

Despite my speaking to staff on many occasions, nothing was done to remedy the situation--they would simply reiterate that their camp is "free range" and that that doesn't work for everyone. Agreed. But think twice before you send your kids to a camp that is more concerned about their philosophy than the safety and emotional well-being of their campers.

I sent a follow up letter and review to Steve and Kate's and received NO response.

Response from Steve & Kate's Camp:
I am so glad that we had a chance to connect. It was definitely unacceptable that you did not receive a response to your end of summer survey and, as we discussed, I'm taking steps to be sure that doesn't happen again at any of our locations.

You are absolutely right that free-range does not mean unattended or not engaged. We expect our staff to be attentive and supportive to campers, but also know when to back off and let them take the reigns. That is at the heart of our philosophy. Not an attempt to diffuse responsibility.

Feedback from families such as yours is invaluable in making sure our program exceeds the expectations of parents and kids. As you know, after our conversation I connected with the person overseeing Montclair this year and discussed extensively the areas that need improvement. I personally will be visiting Montclair regularly this summer to be sure it is offering the sort of experience we expect for our camps.

Thanks again for your feedback and time! I know it will yield to a better experience overall in the future.

Kids can't wait to go back!!! We've been taking our kids to the Seattle location for 3 years now and Angela is amazing. She's always got incredible staff, the kids love the food and have a blast all day long. I know that not all their locations deserve such a high recommendation, but the Seattle camp gets our vote.

This camp was fabulous! My kids loved it and I was so impressed with every aspect of the camp. As an educator, I was so excited with the pedagogy used to engage all of the children at the camp. I believe my children learned a great deal, matured, gained a great deal of self confidence and did it all while having fun! I think beyond the quality of activities and the wonderful counselors what I appreciated the most was the fact that my kids could chose what they wanted to do and not be scheduled as they are all year long.

I have recommended this camp to everyone I speak with, without reservation.

This camp is not ok for younger kids that need more guidance. 4 year olds are expected to mix freely and participate in the same exact activities as older kids all the way up to 12 years old. There was absolutely no orientation on the first day. The younger kids (4-5) sat in a circle, played duck-duck-goose for 5 minutes and then were set free to go choose which room they wanted to play in. No information was provided about the restrooms or other general guidelines. I found it to be a chaotic, unorganized, unsafe environment. It is not good for younger preschool age children and the website is misleading, at least for the San Carlos location.

Our 6 year old son was injured by a much older camper in a room where there was no staff present. It is now his word against the other child's. The "investigation" seems to be going nowhere. The camp offered us the rest of the summer for free. Instead, we are sending our child to a better camp with more supervision and kids his own age.

Absolutely love it.....my girls are having the best summer ever!

** This is additional information provided by Steve and Kate's Camp. **

Our program is designed for PreK through 7th graders, with specific support for our youngest campers. Our youngest campers (Pre-K and Kindergarteners) are not separated from the rest of the campers, nor are they limited in terms of what activities they can participate in. They have access to all of the same activities that the rest of the campers do. What makes Kindercamp different is that they have a team of counselors devoted specifically to their age group to help them with the transition from pre-school or home into our camp environment. They help with some of the basic issues, like reminding children to use the restroom, wash their hands and drink water. They are also trained to help them with more sensitive issues like finding friends and activities, and they help create community by eating lunch with the Kindercampers. We offer a special schedule of Kindercamp activities each day, including support within our Studios and Weekly Special, and often the Kindercamp staff will even participate alongside the kindergarteners in their activities.

In order to have the best first-day experience, we strongly encourage parents to arrive prior to our first all-camp gathering at 9am. This allows time for children to get a tour, which parents are welcome to join in on, so they know where our studios and other important areas (like bathrooms!) are located. At 9am we meet in small groups called Huddles, which provide an introduction to other children of a similar age as well as a consistent staff member. From there campers are able to start to make choices on where to spend their time but for our youngest campers the Kindercamp staff do provide support on choosing those activities and getting started.

This is an amazing camp! We were able to show up anytime and both our kids had a blast. Sweet staff and tons of cool activities. We can't wait to try the new Seattle location this summer!!

Wow! My husband and I (and our two children) LOVE this camp!! The Seattle location is extremely convenient for us and Angela, the Camp Director, and her staff are so organized and wonderful with the kids. They have gone far above my expectations and we will definitely be back next year! Highly recommended to anyone with kids.

Great camp! Steve and Kates is the ultimate summer camp for kids. Fantastic activities, fantastic food, fantastic (young, enthusiastic) counselors. There is now more than one location.

My 5 year old son attended Steve and Kate's for the first time last year, and he can't wait to go back again this summer. He thrived on the ability to choose the activities he wanted to participate in, and he came away from his experience at Steve and Kate's so much more independent and self confident. His counselors were very supportive, providing the guidance he needed to enjoy all that camp had to offer, and they always gave me a full update on what he had done at camp when I picked him up. In fact, the hardest part of our day was when I was there to take him home because he didn't want to leave!

Our son went for the last 2 week sof the season last year, for his first time at Summer camp. He really enjoyed it and we enjoyed them. Sadly, they have closed their Novato campus starting this Summer (2013). Their other Marin County locations are not geographically good for us. :-( The address listed here on Activity Hero as being in Novato (on Bell lane?) is incorrect. It's on Bell Lane in MILL VALLEY.

My kids, 6 year old daughter & 9 year old son (at the time of attending the camp), attended Steve & Kate's camp couple of years ago. They loved their experience at the camp. Both of them had a ton of stuff to do, my daughter got all her art & crafts fill, pottery, drama. My son enjoyed movie making, go-karting. Then there was water play that they would both look forward to, they loved the food (esp. little ice-creams everyday after lunch), they made some really good friends there too & look forward to going there every year. And as a parent, I love the infinite flexibility they provide, I don't have to sign up for the entire session & I don't have to book ahead. With my work being flexible, I can send them only the days I need to be at work, or if I have an unplanned meeting, I can send them on that day. Overall, love this place & am really happy to have a camp with this option.

Our children (9) year daughter and (8) year old son are completely hooked on Steve & Kate's Camp. The studios, outside activities and staff engagement have allowed our children to discover amazing ways to learn via their own interest. Even after their camp experience, our children have been making stop motion videos, sewing outfits for their stuffed animals and knitting Christmas presents for the family. If you want your kids to feel free as well as discover more about themselves, then Steve & Kate's Camp is for you.

Both my kids (ages 8 and 10) love this camp. This is our first summer at Steve & Kate's (they are new to Palo Alto) and it's been a great experience. I love it because it's one of the only camps that gives parents the flexibility of choosing the days you need (however my kids wish they could attend every day).

Lunch is included and the choices make me wish I could join them for Niman Ranch beef sliders, flatbread pizzas, pastas or salads.

There are lots of activities, as well as daily and weekly special activities, like bungee trampolines and bathtub car racers. The staff is also very well organized and enthusiastic.

Tried for my 6 year old son. There are a lot of activities but no structure and the counselors were not positive. We pulled him and put him back into a different camp that provided structure and a lot of positive role modeling. Perhaps if he were older this would be a good fit, but not for our 6 year old.