Adventure Time - Chabot Elementary School

Oakland, CA

No longer in business
Facility Type[?]:
Afterschool
DSS Facility License #
010209728 [view license]
Website:
http://www.adventure-time.com/
Owner:
Tuller Corporation
(510) 655-8151
Location:
Oakland
94618
Chabot Elementary School
Maximum Capacity:
275
Language(s) Spoken:
English
Editors' Notes:
About the Program:

BPN note: In 2022, OUSD canceled Adventure Time at 8 Oakland elementary schools. For more information see Adventure Time No Longer an Option in OUSD.

1 parent question ▼
Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Parent Q&A

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  • What's Adventure Time like at other Oakland schools?

    –
    Feb 2, 2017

    My child is a student at Chabot Elementary in Oakland, and she has gone to Adventure Time's afterschool care for a few years now. This year, she is having a tough time at AT, and I'm wondering what AT is like at other schools in Oakland.

    For comparison, I can tell you that at Chabot this year, I've noticed that I regularly see new faces supervising the kids on the yard (high employee turnover?), and there have been multiple occasions of many employees calling in sick at once, and the entire program has to adjust. My daughter often does not know the names of the caregivers at AT. I NEVER do, and they never have any idea who I am. In years past, there were a few stalwarts who seemed to know every kid by name, but this year, they're all gone. According to my daughter, AT consists of a 20-minute period where everyone has to sit still and stay absolutely silent while one person checks all the kids in (We are talking about a lot of kids - this is total misery for my daughter and her friends, who are really ready to run around and play and talk after the school day ends), followed by totally unstructured free play time. We are fans of free play time, but this year my daughter has had the experience of not connecting to the adults around her at all. There have been a few occasions where something happened that my daughter would ordinarily have gotten help from an adult with (conflicts with other kids, etc.), but she did not, because she doesn't feel comfortable turning to any of the adults at AT, because they are all basically strangers to her. 

    I can't figure out if this state of affairs is just "normal" for AT, or if it is somehow unique to Chabot. If your child goes to one of the schools where AT runs your aftercare, can you share with me what it's like? (Or, frankly, if your kid is at Chabot and you are having a different experience or have any insight into what the heck is going on, I'd love to hear from you too.) Thanks, BPN.

    Feb 2, 2017

    hi - my child is in kindergarten at Kaiser and our Adventure Time experience has been great. The staffing is consistant (a little turn over), there are low staff to student ratios, most staff know me, and they all know my child. The staff seem pretty involved in leading activities for the kids both outside and inside.  Over all, I think that the Kaiser program is smaller, proportionally to the school size, than some other AT programs which helps with the good ratios and the connections b/t staff and students.

    Kaiser AT parent

    Feb 13, 2017
    Recommended:
    Adventure Time - Kaiser Elementary School

    My kids go to AT at kaiser and they love it. It is very different from how you describe chabot.

    Feb 15, 2017
    Recommended:
    Adventure Time - Kaiser Elementary School

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Archived Q&A and Reviews

March 2015

RE: Experience with Adventure Time at Oakland Public Schools?

 I saw the one reply you got and felt compelled to respond, because I have a slightly different perspective on Adventure Time. My oldest is in Kindergarten at Chabot this year. She is not enrolled in Adventure Time, but I do pick her up three days a week, and we almost always stay at school, while she and her little brother play on the yard with the AT kids. So I have spent a good 5ish hours a week just hanging out in the playground observing AT this year. Here is what's great about it, from my admittedly limited view: it seems to be one of the only times kids in our city/culture can reliably have child-directed playtime. Not a play date. Not an enrichment activity. Just play. The counselors are there and appear to be making sure everything is OK outside, while I am under the impression that indoors the kids have the option to participate in more structured activities. But at Chabot, after snack time is over, the vast majority of the kids are outside just playing. And the counselors just stand by and observe unless the kids engage them. They don't really butt in to what the kids are doing unless someone's doing something wrong. So all the kids get to do whatever the heck they feel like doing. They're figuring out friendships, making up fantasy worlds, playing basketball, WHATEVER.

This is SO RARE nowadays. I mean, even during the school day, they only get 15 min of recess and a little more after lunch. And the dynamic that I grew up with - being free to roam around with neighborhood kids after school - doesn't exist anymore either. I'd be glad to let my kids do that, but everyone in our neighborhood has parents who both work every day, so they're in aftercare until 5 or 6. Or their parents just don't feel comfortable letting them run around outside without very close supervision.

So... if you value free play for your child, AT may be one of a very few ways to get it. I have no idea if other schools are like Chabot. And I can't comment on anything beyond just having observed life on the schoolyard for hours and hours. But as someone who wants my kids to have the fun of making up some of their own games and the freedom to navigate relationships without constant adult intervention, I will be signing up my daughter for AT next year. Kids need to play!

April 2013

Re: Extended care Kindergarten at Chabot
I always considered AT to be a pretty good bargain, especially after what we paid for pre-school... We're just about to graduate from Chabot this year, and over the years I've only heard of 3 options for those that didn't/couldn't use AT- Studio One, Tzofim, or hire a college student/au pair/nanny.

Eventually all kids who need pre or post care ended up at AT. Reasons being ease, convenience, quality of care, reliability. As soon as you start looking for off-campus care, things get more complicated and there may be costs you haven't calculated yet (transportation). Sorry for not really answering your question, but maybe you need to think it through more. And other advice- SIGN up for AT on the official sign up day! You can always cancel or reduce your hours later, but if you don't sign up in the spring, you may not get a space in the fall! Mom of 2

July 1996

My daughter attends elementary school in Rockridge (Chabot) and attends the on-site extended care program called Adventure Time. I don't know how they handle medical situations but they are very attentive and involved with the kids. Adventure Time can be reached at 482-0610.
Phyllis