lavnercampsandprograms.comReviews of lavnercampsandprograms.com

Our two boys, ages 6 and 11, attended Lavner Educational Camp at the Palo Alto High School location this week. Unfortunately, our experience was very poor. The paid “Early Care” consisted of children sitting on the ground outside with no activities, facilities, or programming. At this location, the kids were locked out of the school and did not even have access to a restroom. “Extended Care” was not much better. The children had a room to sit in, while staff was watching YouTube, TikTok, or the World Cup. Again, there was no meaningful programming despite the additional cost. The courses themselves were also disappointing. Both of my children, in different age groups and classes, experienced technical problems every day. Coding apps did not work, devices did not support the projects, and in one case the instructor passed around a phone so students could see what they were supposed to build, but couldn't, because the actual setup was not working. The robot they “built” appeared to be an off-the-shelf Amazon kit, which would be fine if the camp were set up to program or expand on it, but it was not. This experience was consistent over four days. Neither child could name a single thing they learned, which is unusual for them. We have this conversation daily during the school year and they are used to it. "They just play YouTube videos about AI for us to watch" was the most significant feedback I heard. We also had repeated billing issues. Lavner kept our card on file and automatically charged us for Panera lunches even on days when we opted out and packed lunches. Resolving this required daily calls to customer service. Overall, this camp was disorganized, overpriced, and not educational in the way advertised. We will not attend again.

We paid a premium price for this robotics camp expecting real programming instruction, and it fell far short. This review is for Robotics and AI camp held in Chicago at the British School. Curriculum: Despite being told beforehand that basic Python knowledge would be useful, the kids only interacted with the AI robot through a prebuilt iPad app — no actual programming happened at any point. Significant instructional time was lost to unresolved technical issues with the robot itself. Our understanding is it was new tech that was not really tested. Safety and oversight: IDs were not checked at pickup on the first day. During a heat wave, kids were sent out to an unshaded rooftop deck. When I emailed with concerns, the national inbox said they'd forward it to the on-site leader — that leader never responded. The location leader's contact information is ONLY available on a whiteboard at drop off. If you don't know this ahead of time or forget to ask or make note of it you will have no way of contacting someone actually on site. It also suggests they fill these spots at the last minute and maybe not even with the same person day to day. Food: We paid for the lunch add-on, but the food was poor enough that my daughter started bringing her own. Not an isolated issue: Other reviews of this company's Lego and Minecraft camp offerings describe similarly thin substance for the price. We thought the robotics + AI course would offer more substance but it did not. The counselors are not particularly knowledgeable. Overall: By the end of the week, my daughter said even one of the counselors admitted the camp wasn't good. For the price, this felt like a money grab. The disparity between the marketing and the product is appalling, especially for the price.

Camp was canceled for my 9 year old 3 days before the start.

We couldn't be happier with our first experience at Lavner Education. My stepdaughter (age 13) did Graphic Design and my stepsons (ages 8 and 11) did the STEAM Escape room camp, and both programs were top-tier. The staff was thorough and incredibly helpful, making sure the kids felt welcomed and excited. They literally looked forward to camp every morning (and loved the lunches, too!). Thank you for a wonderful week!

I was disappointed with the overall organization and structure of this camp. The group included children ranging in age from 7 to 12 years old, and it was clear that the wide age range created challenges. Younger children naturally needed more time to complete tasks, which left the older children spending long periods waiting with little to do. Organizing campers by age rather than by activity would have created a much better experience for everyone. I also found the camp description to be somewhat misleading. It was advertised as a 3D printing camp, but the children did not actually participate in the printing process. They only designed a few items, while the actual printing was completed by staff after camp hours. In my opinion, watching and participating in the printing process is one of the most engaging and educational aspects of 3D printing, and the children missed out on that experience. My son, spent much of the camp sitting and waiting for instructions or for younger campers to finish their work. He often had very little to do, which made the camp feel slow-paced and poorly planned. I also have concerns regarding the before- and after-care policies. After a change in my work schedule, I no longer needed these services and requested a refund for the unused care. My request was denied. There should be more flexibility in this policy. If families can be billed later when a child who is not enrolled needs to stay longer than expected, then refunds should also be available when families no longer require and do not use the service. In fact, my son attended before care only one morning, and there were no planned activities during that time. The children simply waited for the camp day to begin. This further reinforced the impression that the program lacked structure and planning.

I signed up my child for their Minecraft camp held at the British International School of Houston in Texas, which cost a total of $878. On the first day, my child and his classmates were unable to participate in any activities due to persistent technical failures at the camp site. Although my child’s laptop (that they provided) was the only device that successfully connected to the Internet—clearly indicating this was not a regional power outage—the Minecraft website still did not function. As a result, no student in the class was able to complete any portion of the program for the entire day (from 9 AM to 3 PM). I requested a refund for Day 1 but have not received any response. Additionally, I have not received any apology or communication from the regional camp director regarding the Day 1 failure. Stay away from this organization; they are completely unprepared and poorly managed. It feels like a scam.

I signed my son up for a week of the “robotics camp”. It was the most expensive camp we have ever done. There were no robotics involved. He sat inside and played Legos for three days and refused to return for the final two days because he was so bored. Stay away, this camp is a total scam.

My daughter participated in 3D printing camp this summer. She loved her experience being on the campus, using the dining hall and the mix of learning and fun. I most appreciated the consistent and timely communication from the camp staff, as well as the safety measures in place. We look forward to her attending next summer!