Lakeside Children’s Academy Testimonials

Thank you for caring for our children like they were your own
Thank you for creating an environment our children loved & thrived
Thank you for “helping me learn to write my name” says Brooklyn
Thank you for the warm welcome every morning when we walked in
Thank you for providing good communications to keep us all informed
Thank you for adapting and being nimble over the last couple of challenging years
Thank you for contributing to all of our baby, toddler, and preschool milestones (special shoutout to Ms Di & the potty-training!)
Thank you for providing great food & snacks and special meals the kids looked forward to every year (Ms Judy!)
Thank you for all the laughs at the front desk (Ms Annie & Ms Megan!)
Thank you for making it easy on us to drop off & pick up our kids every day
Thank you for sending home all the cute & silly pictures of the kids
Thank you for the Cardinal ticket raffles & family appreciation events throughout the years
Thank you for the hundreds of random coloring pages that came home over the years
And most important, thank you for making us feel so comfortable in sending Chase & Brooklyn to Lakeside over the last 7+ years
Thanks for all the sweet memories! We will miss our Lakeside family!

Dudley Family

Lakeside Children’s Academy stands out as a daycare/pre-school because each child is loved, cared for, and given learning opportunities! All of this is because Lakeside truly cares for each child and their success & well-being. We toured A LOT of daycares and immediately when we walked into Lakeside we felt the warmth of the family atmosphere. They are not a cookie cutter, one size fits all daycare!
The parents are greeted by Mr. & Mrs. (insert last name) and are not just someone who writes a tuition check. It also amazes me when I can walk-in at pick-up and I am immediately told something funny that one of my children did that day!
It speaks measures that my children ENJOY going to school and above all, I as a parent know they are in a loving, nurturing, FUN environment with their friends!

Kristin and Matt

As a retired elementary teacher I know how important it is to have a good foundation, readiness, and enthusiasm to learn. Lakeside teachers and staff instill these qualities in children.

Grandma Tina

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Lakeside is a vital part of our “village”. I couldn’t have picked a better place to have my two littles. Lakeside has helped my children reach their academic and social potential. They have always gone above and beyond to ensure my kids are met where they are and pushed to grow into the independent kids they were meant to be! My son had a variety of outside support. Lakeside helped work with our speech therapists and itinerant teacher. During the pandemic they even set up zoom sessions for my then 4-year-old son. The staff regularly works on skills and curriculum to make sure they are kindergarten ready when they graduate. We literally couldn’t do it without them. There is a reason there was a year waitlist by the time I toured there. Deciding on where to have your children is a huge decision. I feel so lucky to have Lakeside as a partner in my parenting journey. It truly is one of a kind.

Caroline and Steve

Our son has enjoyed his time at Lakeside and has learned a lot. He always surprises us when he comes each day with new words in his vocabulary, a new object he recognizes, or any number of different things we know he’s learned from his teachers at Lakeside.

Michael and Autumna

From the moment we arrived, your teachers were caring and loving toward our son. The level of engagement and commitment from your staff was astounding. It was like having an extended family help us raise our son.

Tom and Kim

Our daughter is now three years old and has been in Room D for three months. We are happy that the atmosphere in this room is that of a pre-school. The children work on art, math, science, and reading every day, among other things.

Dan and Laura

I highly recommend Lakeside Children’s Academy to any families that are pursuing child care options for their child/ren. The Lakeside team is an integral part of our life, and have added so much to the learning and development of our children.

Denny and Allison

The courteous and caring staff is always at the door to greet us every morning. What a wonderful way to begin the day!! All the teachers have continuous smiles on their faces and beam with patience. The administration has been extremely flexible with my ever changing work schedule and for that, my husband and I are eternally grateful.

Brian and Jackie

You employ a curriculum that is educational while providing a fun way for the children to learn. From an early age, our son demonstrated advanced verbal and social skills and we believe that the Lakeside faculty played a key part in his development. Our son has been given the tools that he needs to move into his school age years.

Lakeside teachers,



Paul and I are so thankful we found you all 5 years ago! We have watched our tiny baby grow into a smart, happy little girl who’s all ready to start her kindergarten journey. So much of her learning and growing is because of you all. I’ve always been so impressed by Lakeside and their learning curriculum, even for babies. All of her milestones in her short 5 years I know she was able to meet with help from all of you. From the little things to the big… crawling, eating with utensils, walking, potty training, scissors, writing, pre-k, confidence… all of it. Another thing I would point out about Lakeside is the attention to detail, the patience, and the “family” feel. The training that the teachers have, the fun staff meetings, parent/teacher conferences, all the fun events planned for the kids and families throughout the year, etc. It all sets you aside from other schools, so much more than just a daycare. You should all be very proud!

A huge thing for our family is your patience with my schedule. Being a first responder and working 48 hour shifts that differ every week, it’s hard to find someone that will take that on. You have always been so willing to help us and we are so grateful for that. So we are sad that we are leaving but are excited for the next chapter in Hadley’s life. We will be back for drop in days here and there so it’s not goodbye yet. Again thank you to every one of you for everything!

Paul, Erin and Hadley Helfrich

Lakeside Children’s Academy has been like a second home for all 3 of our children over the past 8 years. The teachers and staff truly care about each child! I always feel like I can talk to any one of them about questions or concerns that I may have. I regularly see teachers going the extra mile to clean and sanitize the classrooms to help keep our little ones healthy. We also love the fresh, healthy menu options! When it was time for me to return to work after having our third child, we couldn’t have imagined taking him anywhere else. Despite the fact that we now live about 25 minutes away, I gladly add the extra time to my commute so that he is somewhere that we trust!

Tiffany Stephans

Lakeside provides a safe, loving and enriching environment for our daughters. The development program at Lakeside helps to build social, motor, and educational skills, giving our children the tools they will need as they move into their school age years. The center is focused around family and helps instill values of kindness and generosity in our children. We love the intergenerational program, and our oldest daughter loves visiting her “Grandfriends.”

Tim and Christina

Our daughter attended classes in the five year old room and now that she is in kindergarten she has excelled in her reading and socialization skills. She is able to participate in the accelerated reading tests thanks to what she learned at Lakeside. Also, even at age two our son has built friendships with the children that he has gone to school with since day one as well as with some of the parent’s of those children. We couldn’t have asked for a better situation for both of our kids as it has helped them tremendously as they got exactly what they needed to succeed.

Renee

To Inquiring Parents,We started at Lakeside Children’s Academy in October 2014 with our first son William and are beyond impressed with this school. We initially chose Lakeside due to the fact that it is family owned and opened at 6am. We stay at Lakeside to this day with now our two boys because of the wonderful care for our children. We moved to Webster Groves six months after starting at Lakeside and chose to drive here because besides family, we do not trust anyone to take care of our children the way Lakeside takes care of our boys.

While our youngest has been at Lakeside a little over a month, he has started to develop a good sleeping routine and finally is taking to a bottle. His teachers are experts at laying the foundation for good sleep hygiene, tummy time, socialization, and developing good feeding schedules. It is such a relief when you drop off or pick up your child each day and they discuss his/her status throughout the day as if he/she is the only child in the room.

Our oldest is now a little under two and it is amazing the progress he has made while under Lakeside’s care. One day we were at home feeding him and he kept putting his fingers together signaling he was wanting something. We looked at each other puzzled and then realized he had learned sign language at school. He also has learned to self-soothe for sleeping and puts himself to bed each night. We attribute these skills to his environment daily at school.

If you are looking for a quality preschool for your child, we highly recommend Lakeside Children’s Academy. All of the activities, skills, and quality nutrition the school provides does not even compare to the family environment the owners and teachers provide for our children. Please feel free to contact us with any further questions.

Damon and Crystal Hoffmann

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all you have done for our daughter. Since starting at your facility in July 2007, each day has been an unconditionally nurturing (and of course, loving) experience for her, and the developmental strides she has taken have amazed our family time and time again. Additionally, the impeccable facility and positive, caring, energetic (oh, and experienced!) staff never ceases to impress. They have consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty for our daughter as well as our family.

Tim and Rachel

Each class has wonderful leaders who know how to deal with the ages very well. The managers are caring and very easy to come to with questions. Our son, started school and they are wonderfully accommodating for our schedules. They take him to school and pick him up when we cannot be there to get him ourselves! The school aged room is wonderful about keeping the children busy during the breaks and in summer by providing trips to parks, pools and other fun places!

Jason and Chari

We often talk with our friend about their daycare experiences. We compare costs, activities, learning and nutrition and in just about every category, we feel that Lakeside is superior to the options our friends choose. It is so important to us that we feel comfortable with the people that take care of our son and we have always felt that you have the children’s best interests at heart. We just wanted to let you know that we appreciate (and notice) all the things that make Lakeside special.

Brian and Brooke

As first time parents, bringing our little princess to a child care facility was nerve racking at the least. We toured many other child care centers in the West County area and NOTHING compared to Lakeside. In no time at all, we felt nothing less than honored to have your staff care for our daughter. Lakeside has not only taught our daughter to be more social and confident, you have given her the knowledge to be more than ready to go to Kindergarten next year. Lakeside’s curriculum, mixed with group and hands on activities, TONS of artwork, and field trips to see their Grandfriends is first class and can not be beat. As most of the staff knows, we are expecting another little girl this April and are so excited to have our daughter join the Lakeside family as well. I would recommend your center to anyone over any other child care provider out there!

Adam and Amanda

After visiting Lakeside we quickly realized we had found the setting that was right for our family! As we walked in the front door we immediately felt the sense of warmth, love, and care. Lakeside has a family atmosphere with teachers and staff that are highly trained and have wonderful personalities. From the owners, to the director and the assistant director, to the teachers we have found that each one welcomed our family with open arms. We were not really interested in a child care facility for our children and we were quick to cross commercial chain facilities off our list, but we fell in love with Lakeside because it was family owned and operated with a great reputation. Working in a school district I had heard very praises of Lakeside from other staff members and colleagues, parents, and even students.

Ryan Barnes

As first time parents, the decision to enroll our child in daycare didn’t come easy. It was painful to imagine anyone else caring for our baby so soon after he was born. We visited several centers prior to Lakeside and left feeling completely discouraged each time. But everything changed once we visited Lakeside based on a recommendation. We knew instantly that is was the right place for us. Everyone seemed so genuine, caring and easy to talk to. To our surprise, we actually looked forward to his first day. We are sincerely grateful for your hard work and dedication. The peace of mind that you give us each day is truly invaluable. We are very proud to call Lakeside our son’s home away from home.

Jason and Melissa