We have loved everything about Doodlebugs. We have a 3 year old in Tues/Thurs class. Management is…read moreon top of everything with excellent communication and adhering to safety rules. Very organized. Teachers are amazing! They make your child feel special and loved. Cost is affordable. Food served is good quality and has a good amount of fruit and veggies offered. Most important to me is that this school is safe. Would definitely recommend.

My son started at Doodlebugs in Dec 2023 at 18mo. He came home a couple months later singing the…read moreABCs. He was very feral, and we were so surprised they trained him to sit in chairs. He's the biggest little hype man. Always super excited for everything and he brings that energy with him to Doodlebugs. They do a wonderful job directing his energy towards a variety of activities. They've worked hard to bring out the best in him. Especially Ms Olivia who worked with him extensively when he was adjusting to a bigger kids class. He recently just turned 3 and he's counting, recognizing letters, sings a long list of songs, and is so polite. He absolutely loves it there and we're looking forward to having his little sister start when a spot opens for her!

i can't say enough good things about this school. my son has special needs/developmental delays…read moreand this school has been amazing with him. My son loves going to school everyday and he has learned so much with the wonderful VPK staff.

WORST DAYCARE (PHOTOS ARE NOT OF THIS FACILITY)…read more PLEASE READ (11/3/2022) PARENTS BEWARE...DO NOT PLACE YOUR CHILDREN IN THEIR CARE!! THIS PLACE HAS 20-30 children in each little room(entire place is about 1,000 sq feet) have way too many children in the rooms with only one (sometimes two)teacher(s) This week , Ive personally witnessed staff members standing over the toddlers, aggressively pointing and screaming in the their faces just for toy job another child's plate while I was a few feet away! Another morning I witnessed a staff members snatching a toy out of a toddlers hands because they werent cleaning up fast enough in the morning!! They let my scared and upset baby just stand and cry all by himself EVERY SINGLE morning (ive never had longer than 20minutes to wait and watch on the front live 4"x4" video feed that is displayed on a tv mounted by the entrance/exit. I was late yesterday because I had to go back in and help him wash his hands and sit down to eat because the staff wouldn't even attempt to console him!!! As a mother, there's nothing worst than witnessing such cruelty before you have to be at work! Feeling forced to leave your child in their supervision!! Scary to think if this is how they behave in my presence; what are they doing when there is no witnesses knowing the babies don't communicate well enough to verbally share with their parents! A few days ago my baby got out of the playground and ran across the parking lot to the front door where I was walking in. The scariest part is that he ran across the parking lot at 5:00 while cars are whipping in and out not looking for a two foot toddler running, unsupervised!! Since I couldn't see him due to cars parked in the driveway in front of school (not in parking spots) I didn't see him until he was right behind me! He was completely filthy (Which is nothing new, everyday he has dirt all over his face, in his hair, his Clothes are almost always ruined after he wears them once to daycare.) sunburnt/sweaty, crying hystericall! As soon as he got in my car he drank almost an entire 16oz bottle of water! For the last three or more hours of the day(during the hottest part of day) with absolutely no shade or protection from Florida heat, AND NO WATER OR DRINK OF ANY KIND EVEN OFFERED TO CHILDREN OTHER THAN AT BREAKFAST OR LUNCH, with children of all ages, from babies to elementary aged kids all on one playground with only one or two teachers "watching" them. Typically when I pull up they are in front corner (talking or on phones (which is why my baby was able to run out of fence into a packed parking lot without anyone even noticing!! At least, not until they heard me attempting to address them from the front door, where my son was now in my arms, still crying uncontrollably with his face buried as far into my shoulder as he could possibly get it! Instead of apologizing or attempting to rectify the issue at hand; they said nothing and then called CPS to TRY and report me, just deplorable!!! Unfortunately, I am unaware of any other options available to me, I dont have the financial ability to relocate him at this time and I just started a new job(so asking for time off until ELC is approved is not an option, and ELC doesn't start application process until your actual first day of work, because I've been reaching out the entire time I was actively pursuing employment. I'm a single mother, with no friends or family to help watch my children, doing the best I can to rebuild our lives after losing everything to escape domestic abuse. I've definitely experienced all the struggles that keep women in abusive relationships, as if the shame society puts in the victim isn't enough, there's facilities like this that make it terrifying to leave your child every single day Because I fear for my babies safety and well being every single of second of the day that he is in their care!! PLEASE SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE AND PUT YOUR CHILD SOMEWHERE THAT YOU MNOW THEY WILL BE SAFE!

I absolutely love and trust the staff at Smarty Pants Daycare. This is my first experience with a…read moredaycare. I enrolled my child there when he was about 12 weeks old. From the start they have been super friendly. They love the kids as if they are their own. It's so cute to watch them greet each other every day. What I love most are the updates via the apps. When he was little they were super detailed on feedings and changes. Everyday you receive at least one photo along with an agenda. One con, and shame on me for not inquiring, is that they assume you know what's going on. I really don't know many of the teachers names. I know a few that are at the front desk regularly. They provided a menu sample, but not clue if that changes on a weekly basis or what he's eating. I have no clue when he changes rooms, except the code in the app changes. I'm not complaining, but just note that you might have to be proactive with getting some info if you are concerned. They have been super helpful on milestone transitions. They'll let you know when it's time to change from a bottle, when they can have a blanket, eat at the daycare, etc. All in all I'd highly recommend this daycare. They are very transparent, it's easy to get updates, place is new and super clean, and it's such a warm and inviting place for the kids.

Both of my children have been at LAOS since they were twelve weeks old. My oldest is now 8, my…read moreyoungest has two years left before kindergarten. These caring kind and compassionate people have loved and helped raise my kids for 8 years and I couldn't be more grateful to have found them in 2018. As with all daycares there is turnover but Alexis hires only the best. We've never had a teacher we didn't like. They're always doing art projects and water days and sensory lessons, my youngest gets mad when we DONT go to school to see his best friends and teachers. If you want somewhere that will genuinely love your kids this is the place for you. If you're someone who needs everything to be perfect all the time maybe steer clear.......mainly because I don't want the fantastic staff here to have to deal with you

I am so grateful for the amazing childcare provided at The School House and Learning Academy. Miss…read moreEliza, David and all the Teachers have been such a blessing for my family. They are so caring and attentive, and they truly go above and beyond for the children in their care. My son absolutely loves going there every day and always comes home happy and full of stories about all the fun activities they did. I couldn't ask for a better place for my child to learn important life skills and grow into a kind and helpful individual. Thank you to everyone at The School House/ Learning Academy, for all that you do! He will be ready for Kindergarten!

We love Center Montessori. Our two children have attended this school since age 2. I, myself, is…read morean alum of the school and love the hands on Montessori approach to learning. Center Montessori fosters my children's independence and nurtures their growth academically and socially. We have also benefitted from the free and paid seminars about parenting, which has helped in our household immensely! We cannot sing enough praise for the school, we feel so lucky to have them help raise and educate our children.

My daughter went to Smarty Pants 12yrs ago and now my 4yr old goes. I can't begin to tell you how…read moremuch we love Smarty Pants.Ms.Long the owner really puts alot into her centers and she has the best graduations its a full production lol. The teachers don't just work there for a check they really love what they do and that's teach our babies.You know their a great daycare/prek because the waiting list be long to get in.I will always refer people there.Smarty Pants Rock

Wow. Condescending, aggressive, short-triggered, and threatening "discharge". To the owner: what…read moreyou said did not make me feel very happy, made me feel weary about my daughter being there, and I believe you can treat your customers better. I am a brand new customer, and here is my very first interaction with the owner: To give information on our parenting schedule, I asked (to her assistant), "can you write down your email for me to send to?" The assistant was happy to help and went to a surface to write it down. Owner needlessly replied: "[the email] is very easy, you can remember it. Your daughter kind of goes to Smarty Pants Preschool, it's just Smarty Pants Preschool @ (whatever popular email domain here) -- I would think you would remember that." Business Owners: how do you expect a parent to respond? My response, "I might not remember that. You don't have to judge me." She gave me an aggressive, glowing stare. And i watched her stare, waiting for what see had next to say or for the assistant to return. Then she says slowly, "Nnooo..." I asked to the assistant (who I thought was this lady's manager, "I would like to make a complaint on your worker here." (She was also very inappropriate with me on the phone yesterday, too, but that's a different story. Hey Smarty Pants! You have my permission to publicly release that phone call and of course sensor out my daughter's name. You can keep my name. I don't think you'd ever want that phone call to represent your company, to be frank!) She jumped up with excitement and said, "I'm the owner, very nice to meet you!" (Her hand extended to shake my hand.) -- I later asked for more information, but ya know what? I'll just look at sunbiz.org and see if there's another party I can send a copy of this to. I politely refused the condescending hand shake. It's a form of abuse, it's unnecessary, and I'm sure any customer would agree it is not a way to be introduced as the manner she presented. And I'm not interested in her ego--I'm interested in my daughter being in a safe, fun, abuse-free environment and what I can do to make the best of the day care. After that, she said something around the lines of her walking to the door to discharge my daughter. She presented to me the problems she had with: - my ex yelling at me outside of the establishment - she felt that we were blocking staff to leave. I double checked, and my ex and I were at the sidewalk clearly away from obstructing the door. - she had an issue with me calling the establishment about 5 minutes after that scene to make sure they had my information for future calls. And she was quite rude... I let that slide figuring, "this poor lady probably had a hard day." (The photo is when I called them and how long the conversation lasted -- so the owner can see after she claimed I can't be "calling at 6:15".) - she expressed that she said "no" because I had "inappropriately stared at her". We ended on a better note after the short talk and me receiving what I came for. On that ending, I said, "thank you. I will let you work on what you need to work on for yourself, and I am open to take any suggestions from you." Her reply, "*I* don't have anything to work on." Here we go again! I told her again what I had said, maybe a little differently, ("...you work...for yourself...and I am open...suggestions from you.", etc) -- and she appeared less triggered that time and seemed to get that I'm just a father looking to make sure they have info they need and I do, too. She had no suggestions for me. She extended her hand for a handshake, and I respectfully refused. I get it, some people get hurt by that, but I still have to respect my space for personal touch. I reframed the situation for her: she is basically asking for a touch, and I am not consenting/agreeing to it right now. As her being the owner of the establishment, I am happy to shake her hand when she has either resolved the emotional issues that she allowed to become associated with me, or when she simply disassociates those issues from me. For now, we agreed to set this instance to the side, and I will be listening to my daughter *very*, *extra* closely to be sure the owner's stress responses are not transferring to her staff and then transferring to my child. We are new there, and I have kept my daughter there because I do not believe that will happen, and so far I believe she is safe and will really enjoy her time. The owner then (at the end) helped me remember the situation with my personal/family number. My next step is the Better Business Bureau. I thought also to go to the land lord since we have nearly a 10 year relationship (just as long as smarty pants does), but I don't see how Smarty Pants can learn and grow from talking with the land lord. The land lord and I both understand that businesses have problems, owners get stressed, and people tend to allow the hurt of their past to make them too biased for their own good.

The director of this daycare center, Ms. Cayley, really went out of her way to enroll my two…read morechildren on short notice. I really needed emergency childcare in a safe environment, and she accepted us with open arms. The Director's Assistant, Ms. Amber, is also very knowledgeable and seems to be engaged in every classroom, communicating needs between staff and management. Although my kids and I had to recently change daycares due to my new job, we had an excellent experience at the school and would stay if we could. The Lead Infant teacher, Ms. Kaila, did a tremendous job transitioning my clingy 11 month old and really took the time to know him as a person. The Lead 3's teacher, Ms. Hayley, has super classroom management skills, which she uses effortlessly to engage a busy classroom while simultaneously pushing curriculum projects out. Overall, my family recommends this daycare to anyone in the Bradenton/LWR area for a supportive team of qualified teachers. And their outside playground is huge, has multiple pieces of equipment, and well-maintained, too. Very nice!

The owner of this company reached out to me and was very nice. She assured me that the problem was…read moresolved, the teacher was no longer working there. I was impressed that she wanted to make it right. My son is still going to a different school, but my view of this place has gone up due to this phone conversation.

The Little Discovery Center in Bradenton is an absolute gem for families with young children. It's…read moredesigned for birth to five years, but it really shines for toddlers. The play centers are truly fantastic, especially the large, imaginative toys that most of us don't have the space (or desire!) to keep at home. Our favorites are the puppet show area, vet's office, farm table, princess area, kitchen and living room, play house, and the taco truck--there's so much to explore and pretend with that kids stay engaged for a long time. The special holiday events are also very well done and always a lot of fun. They still offer music class (Musical Motion) by sign-up and Soar in 4, which we really appreciate. Regular story hours are no longer held here (those have moved to the Central Library), but there's still plenty to do and enjoy. A few logistical notes for new visitors: mornings require an appointment and visits are limited to one hour, while afternoons are walk-in and allow for two hour stays, which is great if you want more relaxed playtime. Overall, we love almost everything about this place. The only downside is that the staff can sometimes come across as a bit snooty and not always understanding that kids are kids--and that not all parents are disengaged. That said, the space itself and the quality of programming and play make this a wonderful resource for the community and one we continue to visit regularly.

This is such a hidden gem in Bradenton! It is a library for 2-5 year olds, by appointment only. It…read moreis basically a free learning center, set up with various play centers. Your appointment is for an hour, and you can borrow books and materials with your library card. Today they had moldable play sand as a sensory option. There is a dramatic play area with a kitchen, grill, play table and corresponding books. One center is filled with animals and a puppet theatre, and another has a light up table and blocks. There are too many fun things for the Littles to play with to list. The librarians are extremely friendly and helpful as well. As a teacher, I was ecstatic to find this place. It is like my dream Early Childhood classroom! Don't forget to register for their 1,000 books before kindergarten program with prizes along the way!