Kids in Motion
Berkeley, CA
- See also: John Muir Elementary School
After school program at John Muir Elementary School that also serves Le Conte, Emerson, and Malcolm X Elementary Schools.
Parent Q&A
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.It's not in Oakland but the Kids In Motion program at John Muir in Berkeley often gets kids from other schools and is a great free-range, super social, fun loving program. Both my kids and my sister as a kid really thrived there.
Rachel
I cannot recommend Kids in Motion highly enough! It is located on the John Muir school campus which has a lovely creek, redwoods, two fun playgrounds, soccer field, courtyard and garden. Kids do bike riding, play capture the flag, soccer, watch the clouds or sit on stumps. However, its the staff and the free play philosophy that make this a truly special experience for my daughter. She attends 2nd grade at a different school but she has made awesome friends and enjoys her time at Kids in Mo so much. She comes home muddy, full of stories about the day's adventures, with a new art project or a new friend.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Oct 2014
RE: Camp with spirit and fun for 7 year old
Definitely check out Kids In Motion: http://www.kidsinmo.com/ It is very much ''Play-based'' and a lot of fun! The philosophy as spelled out on the web page is true to how they operate. My second grader has been going to Kids In Motion since kindergarten. He has formed some good friendships, and really just loves it there. It's a year-round program (closed for a couple of vacation weeks each year), with after-school care and all-day childcare on many of the days that school is closed. You could probably try it out on one of those individual no-school days. The summertime vibe is more relaxed than in the school year. In Summer, they go swimming about once a week (they walk and sometimes bike to Strawberry Canyon pool), and go to the movies once or twice. In summer, we call Kids In Motion our base camp, in between 1-2 weeks of special interest camps and a family vacation.
July 2014
My son is starting Kindergarten at John Muir. The school offers both BEARS and Kids in Motion for after school care. BEARS seems to be operated by BUSD and Kids in Motion a private entity. The price difference for us would be negligible. I'm not sure which option to choose. Would really appreciate any insight from parents on the pros and cons of each program. Any thoughts, tips on John Muir welcome as well. Thank you! Joanna
I don't have any experience with Bears, but I do have a child at Kids in Motion who started there in Kindergarten. We love Kids In Mo. It's a nice community of kids, with a great energy, and I think many of the college-age staff were Kids in Mo kids when they were little. Lots of activities to choose - indoors and outdoors. I love that they have a bookcase of classic board games, and my only child gets to play them with his friends any time the way I did with my siblings. His first month of Kindergarten, he came home excited to teach me Mancala, Uno, Chess and Dodge ball. One great plus of Kids in Motion is that they are open during teacher-in-service days, and some of the other school holidays that most of us don't get off of work. They are also open all summer. If you want to try it out, ask if you can visit during the summer session.
May 2014
Re: Care for the last week of summer?
Kids in Motion program, located at John Muir Elementary on Claremont and Ashby, is open all summer except the week of the 4th of July. It's a great program that allows the kids lots of time to be outside playing on the grounds of John Muir, which has play structures and blacktop but also lots of trees and grass. There's also a creek that kids can visit (supervised, of course). The program is run by a man and has young men and women on staff, which I really like because they are nice role models for boys. My kids went there and my grandkids go there now and I highly recommend it! Kids in Motion mom
April 2014
RE: Bears or Berkeley Learns? After school @malcolm X
Dear Malcom X Mom,
I have not used either of the two programs, but I would recommend Kids In Motion Childcare on John Muir's Campus. If I recall correctly BUSD Buses within their zones and John Muir and Malcolm X are in the same zone. This Program has been at John Muir since 1989 and its a place where a kid can be a kid. They make sure the kids get the homework support needed, but mainly they allow kids to PLAY! For me that is very important. Academics are important, but your only a kid once! Another key aspect of the Program is that they are year round, so when The schools are closed for Teacher Professonal Development, non federal Holidays, and the Summer...Kids in Motion is open until 6:30 M-F. They have the kids do a lot of crafts, cooking, and outside games. Not to mention that when the weather is nice, they have Bikes for kids of all ages. And if your child doesn't know how to ride a two-wheel bike, but wants to learn, they will teach them. Troy is awesome and he always has a wonderful staff. I suggest you give them a call and maybe even register your child for a few days in the summer. The ages start at 4 years/9 months. Go to kidsinmo.com or call th directly at 510-549-9247.
A Very Pleased Parent
Sept 2011
Re: John Muir vs. Emerson After School Programs
I'm not sure if more information is still needed in response to the question of after school programs, but in case more information is desired, I'd like to tell you about programs at John Muir. As you may now from past listings, John Muir is unique in that it offers two programs, one private and one run by the district. I don't have any experience with the district sponsored program, BEARS, but I see a lot of happy kids out on the field playing outside, and having positive interactions with their care givers. I can speak about the Kid in Motion program, the privately run program that functions out of the school cafeteria. It has been fantastic for our daughter who is now in 5th grade. The fact that she still likes to go to her after school program at the age of 10 is impressive to me. Troy, the owner, and Gina, his main side kick and the whole team are good folks, the kind of people you would want your child to be around. They facilitate soccer games, bike riding on the campus, board games, visiting the creek, arts and crafts, and of course, completion of at least 30 minutes of homework (yay!) Most importantly, my daughter loves the sense of freedom to graze amongst activities. You can't go wrong at Kids in Motion, and hopefully the BEARS program is wonderful, too. I imagine Emerson's program is similar to our BEARS program. Sarah
The specific things you're asking about, we didn't find them at Kids in Motion. BUSD has a problem in that it can't provide aftercare for all the students who need/want it which is why/how we ended up at Kids in Motion. Happy to discuss further.