Monkey Business Camp

My children ages 5, 7 and 10 all attended winter camp this year for a full week. They have not spent much time in in camps before so they resisted like crazy at first, but after a few days they could no longer hide that they simply LOVED going to camp and ended the week asking if they could go back again next year. The counselors were energetic, caring and present with the kids and kept my three occupied all day long. Thank you Monkey Business!

My kids love this camp. This felt like a fun adventure every day for my kids! They were wonderful with the youngest kids and provide great opportunities for the older kids to work with the leaders and become cits

Monkey Business is an excellent camp. My son has been attending since he was eight years old and he has learned so much over the last four years. Each year the programming seems to improve and expand so he never tires of attending. In the last couple of years he began the CIT program and watching him develop leadership skills in addition to experiencing enriching activities has been a wonderful combination! The staff at Monkey Business is caring and professional and they have provided fabulous mentorship for him.

My daughter has attended Monkey Business Camp for spring/winter breaks and summer camp since she was 4. The counselors (and CITs) are uniformly wonderful, and I always have been impressed by (and grateful for) how well-coordinated and organized the camp experience seems to be. They provide a really nice level of individual attention and care to kids, and the staff (on-site and in the office) are always very responsive to parent questions, etc. I look forward to many more years to come of Monkey Business Camp for my daughter!

We love Monkey Business Camp! My son Nekhi has attended MB since he was 5 for the past 10 years, first as a camper, then CIT, now JC. MB has everything you would want in a summer camp: safe environment, caring and engaged counselors, theme based weeks that provide some structure but are flexible enough that the kids get that very important sense of freedom that makes summer fun! The counselors are top notch, a good balance of energetic and creative with responsible and empathetic. The CITs and JCs truly enhance the camp experience, being old enough to take on more responsibility, but young enough to relate and connect with the young campers. Every summer, my son makes new friends at MB that he remains friends with thereafter. Every summer, he looks forward to rejoining his MB family. My 4yo son attended his first MB session last summer at their awesome Papayas camp. This summer he will return as a Banana and get the full Tilden experience! We are lucky to have found this very special camp and look forward to many more wonderful summers at Monkey Business!

My daughter, now six, has been going to Monkey Business for several years, starting as a Papaya (3-4 y.o.) She raves about the camp. The Tilden site is wonderful, and she loves the range of activities, including arts & crafts, swimming, non-competitive games, singing (she still sings some of the songs), cooking and friendship-building. The counselors are kind and playful. She has also been excited about attending the school-break camps. Heather and Stacy created something unique and fabulous way back when, and it just gets better!

Monkey Business is, by far, our favorite East Bay camp. We have tried both the summer camp at Tilden and the winter break camp in Berkeley. My 10 year old loves the warm and friendly staff and the creative activities. I love that they are well organized, with an easy drop off and pick up procedure, and they offer a great mix of enriching activities and fun playtime. The summer program uses the best of Tilden Park's woodsy features to full advantage: this camp really captures the magic of childhood!

Our daughter loved Monkey Business Camp! It was everything you'd want in a camp, beautiful location, nice people all around with a warm atmosphere. Just the right types of activities to feel like a real camp experience. It is a perfect antidote to lives overburdened by computers and excessive, but empty, choices. Beauty, nature, imagination, fun. Highly recommended!

As a former counselor at Monkey Business Camp in Tilden Park, I can honestly say that MBC is a ton of fun! A typical week at MBC might include tie-dye, sports, non-traditional games, nature walks, ice-cream making, circus arts, swimming, arts and crafts, theme days, and so much more to challenge and entertain your child. There is an appropriate staff-to-camper ratio and every activity is planned out and well organized. The staff even makes sure campers take water and sun-screen application breaks! If you're looking for a camp that will return your child happy, healthy, and worn out from all the fun, Monkey Business Camp delivers.

The key things I look for in a camp are:

1) Quality of instructors - are they connected with the kids? Are they having fun themselves? I have been incredibly impressed with the Monkey Business Staff - they are top notch kid people.

2) Atmosphere/location - is it inspiring and fun? Something different? Monkey Business (for our family) has been predominantly outdoors. My kid comes home satisfied, tired, and quite happy.

3) Content - probably least important to me - it's summer camp after all. Is there enough variety to keep my kid engaged? Not enough to make it feel like school? A variety of crafts/sit-down activities and active/social/sporting stuff? Monkey business is a great balance - my favorite thing is the guests they bring in. Circus arts folks, musicians, and my favorite - a guy that makes smoothies on a bike - genius!

My child (now 6) has gone to Monkey Business for 2 years (since she was 4) for several weeks each Summer. Above all, I have been amazed by the staff and 'feel' of the camp, and I'm always happy as we descend into Tilden for a day of good, honest play. So is my kid.

Monkey Business Camp is summer the camp the way it should be. As a parent and teacher, I love that Monkey Business still provides a camp experience based on having fun, playing games, singing songs, performing plays, cooking food, making crafts, swimming, and exploring the wonders of the East Bay. In this time of specialization, Monkey Business still makes camp joyful for kids thanks to their talented, creative, and caring staff.

My now 15 year old has been going to Monkey Business Camp every summer since he was 8, first as a camper, then as a CIT, and now as a JC. The camps have always been fun, with enough structure so the children know what to expect (Wacky Wednesday, swimming on Thursday...) and enough time spent outdoors exploring, playing, and making friends. He looks up to the counselors and camp directors who have been supportive and nurturing all along. Our family highly recommends Monkey Business.