My child goes here and she LOVES it. I couldn't have chosen a better place. It's a little more…read moreexpensive but you get exactly what you pay for. She's been enrolled for one solid year. I wish I had done this sooner. Choose wisely!

I enrolled my kid here about three months ago and I have not been disappointed. They are wonderful…read morepeople my daughter loves her teachers and she always talks about how much she plays with friends. It is more on the expensive side but I think they do a great job and I feel like it's worth it. My daughter loves it there and I am pleased with the staff. The only thing that I wish they did a little differently is the food I wish there was a bit more healthy options.

Love n Laughter is 45 years old and is now serving it's 3rd generation . During this time , there…read morehas been very little turnover . Everytime there has been a change , it has been for the betterment of the parents, children, and other staff members . Recently , there as been a major change - an experienced LnL teacher has moved to the 4 K class, replacing the prior 4 K - asst director. She is doing s fantastic job ! Each teacher feels the freedom to change their classrooms and they are bright, cheerful, and automatically make you smile. This is one of the best staff LnL has ever had ! Parents can leave knowing their child will not be hollered at or belittled -making them feel so insecure at such an early age . They will learn , not only academically, but they learn about Jesus as well . This is why LnL has been one of the oldest, if not the oldest, privately owned childcare in West Columbia/Lexington area .

*A review for parents looking for quality daycare, and educators looking to further their career in…read moreteaching young children* Before I started working at Love N Laughter I had seen the negative reviews about a former employee, so I completely understand why some parents may have felt worried. That person is no longer here, and I wanted to share what this center is actually like now from my experience as a teacher. Before finding Love N Laughter, I toured and worked around several daycares in the Columbia and West Columbia area, and honestly, a lot of them felt chaotic, understaffed, and out of control. Teachers were constantly quitting, classrooms had no real routine, and staff were exhausted. At sunshine house I felt abused and not cared for as a human so imagine how they treat your child, I would be brutally screamed at by management everyday all bc they are miserable themself, I would work from 7:00 in the morning until 6:45 at night without a real break, and sometimes we felt like I had to beg just to use the bathroom. My co worker even peed herself once because management did not listen to her 10 attempts to use the bathroom. I also wasn't allowed to decorate my classroom at all. I'd walk in to the directors ripping off my decorations I put up to make it welcoming for the kids. Thankfully, Love N Laughter has been completely different. From the moment I met Mrs. Donna, Mr. John, Mrs. Jessica, Mrs. Marlene, Mrs. Madison, and the rest of the staff, I felt welcomed. The center feels calm, organized, and home like. Every classroom has a very strong routine in place, and the teachers are experienced, reliable, and truly know each of the children they care for. As soon as my dss papers were processed, Mrs. Donna gave me my own classroom. She called me everyday to keep in touch with me, invited me to staff dinners and birthday celebrations, and was nothing short of amazing to me. She has provided me with materials and the freedom to make it colorful, whimsical, and fun for the children. As a student at the University of South Carolina School of Education, this means so much to me. My goal is to become a kindergarten teacher, and I feel like I am actually growing here and becoming a better educator. The children read, dance, listen to music, make art, use their imaginations, play with friends, and go outside in a large fenced in yard. They are not just only being watched all day. They are spending every moment of their day being taught, loved, encouraged, redirected with kindness, and helped through every stage of their development. Honestly, do not bring your child here unless you want them to become well mannered, sociable, confident, creative, excited to learn, happy to make friends, and interested in reading and discovering new things. The teachers work hard to help the children communicate, follow routines, treat others kindly, and feel proud of themselves. Love N Laughter is also faith based, and the children are taught kindness, compassion, love, and faith in Jesus. It feels personal and family oriented, not corporate and cold. The staff are treated like people here too. I get a full hour break every day. I have the freedom to be creative in my classroom. Mrs. Donna and Mr. John show appreciation for the staff, and they even buy us dinner during meetings just so we can sit together, talk, laugh and enjoy time as a team. Birthdays feel like family celebrations, and the staff genuinely care about one another. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work here. Love N Laughter has restored some of my faith in childcare in Columbia. It is more than just a daycare. It feels like a second home, and I am proud to be part of it.

MSC is a gem in Columbia! We have two children here, and their growth has been incredible. The…read moreteachers deeply care about each student and building a strong community. My kids have learned to write in cursive, to care for chickens, to multiply large numbers--all before first grade! What makes me happiest, though, is how their school has taught them to love learning. I have confidence that eventually, when they do move to a traditional public school, they will carry the curiosity and independence they've learned here.

The teachers are fantastic, the program is great, the facilities and campus are inspiring. Highly…read morehighly recommend. My daughter started in 1st grade and us in 5th grade there now. I wouldn't put her anywhere else after the experience we have had. My smaller-than-most daughter is confident and self-respecting in ways that were fostered by this school alone. She is forward-thinking and strategic due to planning her schedules, and is compassionate for others as a result of their open discussions about issues and high level reading concepts. Enroll with confidence.

WARNING our daughter went to Kids Garden for just 3 days. The first day she came home saying "bad…read moreboy hit me in the head" the teacher had to intervene, apparently. I didn't find all this until we called in. No one bothered to tell us when we picked her up. The 2nd day went just fine. But on the 3rd day my daughter let out a yelp when I was taking her shoes off after we got home. I asked her what was wrong and she said "bad boy kicked me" after a closer look she had a decent size bruise on her leg! Again no one told us anything when we picked our daughter. So we asked why we were not informed again, and if we could review the video footage. Their response was to terminate our daughter from the program, wasting our time and money. This day care sweeps issues under the rug in hopes that Kids don't tell their parents. And G-D forgive those that just want to see what happened to make sure their kid is really in a safe environment!

We absolutely LOVE Kids Garden! The ladies that work there are so sweet. My son used the…read morepre-school program and our daughter loves the parents nights out. We have seen our son grow and learn so much every singe day! The ability to drop our kiddos off for an hour or two when needed has been such a life saver for drs appointment, grocery trips, and more! 10/10 all around!

Elevate your child's education with an Episcopal, outdoor, and college ready program second to none…read morein Columbia.

I have a child in Early Childhood at Heathwood Hall. He has been there for two years and gladly…read morewakes up each day knowing that he heads to a place he loves. I felt as if it took a while for us to become a part of the community, but now that we know several families here, I am confident that no matter where life takes us, we will have lifelong friends. Heathwood has given my child a confidence he previously was lacking and has given us another element to our Columbia community.

Extreme state of the art facility. I felt very comfortable enrolling my child at this facility. The…read morestaff is top notch and will make you feel at ease that your child will learn and will enjoy the environment

I've been a YMCA member for over 10 years in Honolulu (where I live). Since I'm a nationwide…read moremember, it affords be the opportunity to visit any YMCA nationwide without an additional fee, which make the cost of membership an excellent value. This also works out well for my family and I as we do a fair amount of traveling, both abroad and to the mainland. This YMCA location is great if you are staying in the Lake Carolina area of Blythwood. It's a bit off the beaten path, but it is an absolutely pristine facility. Since I swim for exercise, having a pool available when we travel is always a plus. The lap swim times and lane availability was plentiful. They also offer both a sauna and steam room (at least in the men's locker room), which makes for a nice lactic acid release after a great swim. If I were to move back to the Columbia area (I wish), I would strongly consider a home in this area and take advantage of their facilities daily.

I am new to the state so wanted to join something to get active and social. I utilized the New Year…read morespecial they were advertising. I was given a tour and daily schedule before signing up. It's very convenient to my house so that was a plus. This week I decided to try out different classes every day. I found a few I really liked and will make them routine as my schedule permits. Everyone I met was so friendly and welcomed me to the area. I look forward to getting my son involved in the sporting programs come this spring. I wish the child watch registration was on the app. It's an inconvenience to utilize the app for some things but not other things. Highly recommend to register a spot as walk ins may not be available. The child watch is very different from where we came from. The children were separated by age in Clt and each night they had age appropriate activities. I think it's a bit overwhelming to have babies, toddlers and school aged children all in one little space. It gets hectic and unfortunately my son is uncomfortable. I know my son and I think it's just took much going on. It could also use a good cleaning in my opinion . The facility is nice walking in as far as the gym , pool and fitness areas. One major downside for me are the bathrooms and locker rooms. They just look old and dirty. I went to several in the building and felt the same. For the price of a membership, they should be able to do some renovations to those essential areas. I will see how the next few months go before I decide to continue our membership however the bathrooms are a major issue for me.

My child has been at Chesterbrook Academy for three years and…read more I have been very happy with the teaching staff and my child development. Destiny is now four years old and she can write her name and can also read at the beginning stages. I am a very demanding parent, when it comes to education and Chesterbrook has done a great job. This will be her last year there, but she is well on her way. Better prepared for public or private education, and she has a strong foundation. As a parent I am very Please.....

This preschool has a great reputation so we scheduled a tour. We really liked the fact that our…read morechild would learn in a structured environment. We liked everything about this preschool. So we enrolled our then 18 month old son. His 1st day he cried as most children would when being left in an unfamiliar place. His teacher Ms. Shay just ignored his cries as he followed her around the class trying to grasp her legs. My son would cry and hold on to me so tight whenever we got to the classroom. At first, I thought it was because he didn't want me to leave him but it got worse. So I would pop up at different times and observe through a window where I could not be seen. I discovered my son being totally ignored for 3 days. I arrived one day during nap time because I was curious how they were able to get these children to take a nap. I observed the other teacher Ms.Olivia pop a child on his leg and physically made him lay back down because he sat up. I was livid. I removed my son from the classroom and notified the asst. principal and director. Judging by their reaction, I truly believe they are aware of this type of physical punishment. It was pretty strange how a classroom full of children this age were so well behaved and quiet, all the time. They were scaring these poor babies with physical harm. I asked what was going to happen to this teacher that just hit this 18 month old child and they said it was a lot of paperwork involved. They never checked on the child. Basically, nothing was done. The teacher remained there. These children are not able to talk so they are unable to let anyone know that they are being physically punished. The parents of the child was not notified. This school reputation is great because they sweep things under the rug. I did notify DSS because I really feared for the babies in that classroom. This school first concern is their reputation and not the welfare of children like they portray.