Steve and Kate’s Camp – Pasadena

My son had the best time. Came home dirty and tired! He learned how to sew and make films. What more… or yeah a talent show.

This camp is great! The philosophy of the camp is what sets it apart. My 9-​year old son has attended a few summer camps over the past few years that are run like extended day cares. The groups do all the same activities together, with the same kids, in the summer heat, day in and day out. Steve & Kate’s Pasadena was welcoming and open, had an array of interesting and exciting things for them to do and my son was the one who got to pick the activity he felt like doing that day. Some of it was indoors and much was outdoors. Every day a different group of kids were in the mix which kept the socialization nice. Meals and snacks were healthy, drop off was super easy and the counselors were engaged, and got to know my son well. We look forward to returning this summer!

Summer camp 2014 is a thing of the past yet my girls STILL talk about Steve & Kate’s all the time. Every time we drive past Sequoyah School, they remind me they want to go back to camp. They even ask how Collin, Michelle and Hilaria are doing. So funny. There was just something special about the camp that called to them and they loved each and every day that they were there. Their favorites studios were Animation and Style. Baking bread each morning was also great fun. I would have thought the kids would get tired of the same ol’ studios but they seemed to be able to entertain themselves well and managed to be quite busy and productive. We have all their sewing projects at home, which they still play with/​use.
I had no idea about S&K and short of taking the girls to my not so exciting office, I had to find a safe and fun camp/​day program. I stumbled across S&K while doing research and we couldn’t have been more pleased. They provide a safe & secure environment for the kids. However, I feel pricing is a tad high unless you purchase more days and then the rate per day goes down. It’s nice that you can drop in as needed. The flexibility is great. Another thing, perhaps it was because of construction, insurance or Sequoyah’s agreement with S&K, but the grassy play area on the south side was not open to campers. Hopefully that section will be open this time around. Kids like being outdoors and should be able to enjoy nature and green space. Staying in the various studios is fine, but I’m sure they’d like to be running around outside too.
While we love S&K, I believe the thing that keeps kids excited is variety. I sign them up for various camps during summer. Perhaps it’s a week+ at swim camp and then maybe three+ weeks at S&K. If you can, keep mixing things up to keep it fresh!

My husband and I extensively researched summer camps for our 4 year son in 2014. In marketing, we call this «Competitive Landscape Analysis» but say that with an English accent ;)
We looked at pricing, flexibility, lunch options, food quality, activities diversity, accessibility, location, pick up, drop off timing… and this camp really has the best overall value in ALL of Pasadena. BUT we had some reservations — first and foremost, he would be the youngest of ages, and I worried he would get lost in the crowd of older campers. So, just like any other crazy mom, I immediately called Colin (Pasadena Director) and GRILLED him about my fears and all the things that could go wrong with a fearless and independent 4 year old. He acknowledged all of my fears with respect and re-​assured me that the «self-​directed» structure of the summer camp program allowed for each child to create their own experience and that the children were always supervised no matter how young or old. Our son started each day in a huddle with his counselor (5:1 ratio) and other kids in his age group (4 – 5 year olds) and from there, they can choose their own activity studio and move around freely based on their interests or feelings for the day. The camp doesn’t provide nap time for the younger kids, but since he was so active during the day he passed out earlier in the evening.
He camped at Steve and Kate’s 2x a week for a 10 week period* and it changed his life. Literally! He loved it, and he looked forward to every Tues/​Thurs that he went. When we picked him up at the end of the day, he didn’t want to go home, he loved the «world» they created for him. He loved sharing and showing us all the things he did, made, or accomplished during his day there. He made friends with other kids in his huddle group that continue to meet-​up with to this day. He made friends with the older camp kids (8 years +) who took care of him and showed him how to play basketball and encouraged him while he scaled the rock wall, rather than bully. One of his camp counselors is now a trusted babysitter for us.
We feel really fortunate that we found the perfect place for him, and the best solution for us as parents!
P.S After summer they sell-​off a lot of the electronics, organizational equipment and some toys for crazy cheap prices. It really incites that flea market impulsive buying reflex, so be careful and patient and wait for the SALE email!
*He only attended 2x a week, because we wanted to enroll him in a part-​time summer program at a local school we were interested in attending for kindergarten.
FYI, the camp operates on the Sequoyah campus, but is not affiliated with the school.

I could not have asked for a better camp for my son. The staff was attentive and enthusiastic. There were tons of activities for him to choose from and i literally had to tear him away at pick up! I had one complaint during the summer about another child… the staff acted swiftly and professionally. I truly felt that my son was in good hands. We are looking forward to another great summer at Steve and Kate’s!

Our older son (8) attended Steve & Kate’s for the first time last summer and we can’t wait to attend again this summer.
As a parent, convenience, safety, and fun are at the top of my list when it comes to summer activities. I love the flexibility that S&Ks offer in terms of buying days and showing up whenever it fits into the schedule (no need to call ahead, book a day/​time, just show up). And, it is convenient to be able to do that on-​line.
As far as security goes, each day my son is given a wristband and only those designated to pick-​him up may do so. The campus, in/​out, seems quite secure.
As for fun, which is the number one goal for my son, there is so much offered at S&Ks. He has been able to make break, sew, play drums (which he enjoyed so much that he got a drum kit for Christmas), do stop motion animation, and all sorts of other things (go-​karts, climbing wall, water slide) that it really was non-​stop fun.
The cost is comparable to other day camps in the area but the best thing is that if you don’t use all the days you buy you get them refunded at the end of the season.
Oh, and the food that is served for lunch/​snacks is very good. My son has never complained and they categorize the meals around genres of food (Italian, Mexican, etc).
Our son has attended some for of summer day camp for the last 4 yrs and this is far and away our first pick these days.
(I do wish they offered swimming but understand they are restricted do to location. Horseback riding, archery would also be on my list, even having a putting green for golf practice would be fun).

This camp has wonderful offerings but might not be the best fit for all children. The open-​ended nature and flexible drop-​in culture of this camp while a great point to some can make children who are slow to warm up feel intimidated. My daughter sadly felt lost in the crowd at Steve and Kate and while I hoped that would improve with more days there is just never seemed to do so.
Some of the things we liked: Great check in policy, good food options, very careful of allergies, very upbeat personalities from the staff, beautiful site location. My daughter really liked the sewing and cooking studios.
Some things we did not like: I could not stand the drop and pick up procedure and felt a person so easily could be hurt during all of the construction which is why I pulled my child mid-​summer after really having high hopes for the camp. (NOTE: I assume this is a non-​issue now that construction on the school appears to be complete.) My daughter did not like that some children who went a lot were allowed to miss the group meetings to go on the play structure or that those same children had the most time on the sewing machines, she also wished it had groups with a councilor to make sure all kids were at least given the opportunity to learn all the studios.
I think most would be happy at this camp especially with an outgoing child. Also I wish they offered the cooking studio again instead of bread making…

Of the camps that are the summer equivalent of fancy babysitting (H20, Ymca, etc) this is probably the best. I was most impressed with how careful they were to greet new campers, always ready to give a tour and show the kids the ropes, no matter when they first arrived. Plus it’s extremely nice to be able to drop in at any time, no coordination needed. And the food is included. All around the easiest camp as a parent. Only complaints are that the website over-​promises a bit (not all the activities are always available), and for kids who aren’t as boisterous the open-​ended nature of this camp can be intimidating (easier to get lost in the crowd).

Mine two girls went to this camp for two days this summer. I really wanted them to like it as I loved: (1) great security (2) meals are included (3) great location (4) you can pick and choose your schedule (5) camp director is very nice and proactive.
Unfortunately, the camp’s format (unstructured activities, the children pick what they want to do) was not a fit for my daughters. The activities stay the same, except for a weekly «themed» activity which was go-​carts the week mine attended; by the end of their two days, mine were done with sewing and bread making (two of the activities offered that mine liked) and asked to try something new.
I think it is a great camp and the good news is that you can try it out for a day or two and not have to commit of weeks on end if your child does not like it.

Best camp ever. My older one went to another camp and HATED it. And I hated having to drag him to the bus pickup location, even though it was close to our house cause I was always worried I’d miss it (which we did once in a while, meaning I had to drive all the way to pasadena or la canada), and I couldn’t stand making the lunches every day. I was very worried about how he’d like this one and he loved it. So did his little brother, who got to hang out with his big brother because they don’t separate the ages. More importantly, I loved it. You drop off when you want (they don’t care) you pick up when you want (they don’t care), you don’t have to pack lunch (woohoo!) as they have a different cuisine each day that cycles every week (french, american, mexican, asian, i forget the last). They have a smart and safe-​feeling check in and check out system. they have walkie talkies and wrist bands. And there’s tons for them to do that they decide upon. So it’s relatively unstructured, but the kids feel like they get to do what they want. When my boys created animations in the stop motion workshop, I got email updates within a day or two where I could download and watch their work. INCREDIBLE!!!
And, because it’s a huge network of camps, they have all kinds of cool activities that travel from camp to camp that they call weekly specials. Those usually involve a monstrous inflatable apparatus of some kind that no individual camp could afford on their own. Same with weekly performances that travel around their camps. So I think you get a pretty good value for the dollar.
An all around well balanced camp that clearly had parent logistics/​communications/​needs in mind. Really first rate. And it is so nice knowing exactly what I’m doing next summer. For once.