I LOVE THIS DAYCARE! From the day I was given a tour, to filling out paperwork on up to my daughter’s first day. Ms. Shirley is hilarious yet so sweet, funny and down to earth. Ms. Debbie is so helpful and there to answer any questions or assist with any concerns. Then there is Mr. Bill who is like Papa Bear. He genuinely loves ALL the kids. My daughter’s teachers are great! They are friendly and welcoming when you enter the classroom. They give me a sense of my daughter is being well taken care of from the time I drop her off to when I pick her up. She loves it! My husband and I are so glad we chose this daycare for our daughter. The state gave you three stars but we give you 5!!!

A. Cleaves

I cannot say enough great things about the Learning Tree Day Care in Lakeland! We’ve been attending for 5 years, and our children receive the best care and education I could ask for. The staff is competent, compassionate, loving, and caring. They really teach the young children, as opposed to just “babysitting” them. Their Pre-K program got my now-2nd grader ready for school better than I could’ve even imagined. Bill and Debbie are amazing; I always feel comfortable going to them with any issues or problems I may have, and know they will take care of it to the best of their ability. LDTC is our 2nd family!! Location:Lakeland

Alexa Tutor

I love The Learning Tree (Bartlett). My step-daughter (now 4) has been going there since she was six weeks old, and when I had a daughter of my own (now 1 year) I knew exactly where I was going to send her. I loved the fact that her teachers were the same teachers that taught my step-daughter 4 years prior. It’s hard to find a daycare with a low teacher turnover, which means The Learning Tree has some that love their jobs and actually enjoy teaching. They are very flexible and keep an open line of communication. We love The Learning Tree-Bartlett and will continue to send our kids here!! Location: Bartlett

Angela Brown

We have three boys that have attended several different daycares and summer camps over the past 6 years. We can honestly say that the staff at The Learning Tree DAY CARE (LTDC) has become our extended family. We both work full time careers and have never had family nearby to help us with the children, until we found the wonderful people at LTDC. I want to give a brief testimonial about my six year old and how LTDC helped my family and helped save my son. In the summer of 2013 we decided to move our then five year old and 18 month old into a summer camp program locally where we live in Oakland and to the LTDC respectively. I was also about seven months pregnant with our third son and wanted to get a feel for the infant room as well. We were very unhappy with how our previous daycare was being operated and felt like our five year old needed to get out and expend his boundless energy during the summer before he started Kindergarten. So our adventure into summer camp began. By the end of week one in summer camp I had gotten a phone call nearly every day about my son’s erratic mood swings and uncontrollable tantrums. This had happened only a couple of times before in his structured daycare setting, but he was always able to be calmed down and put back on track without too much worry. By the end of week two I left work on more than one occasion to pick him up early from camp because he couldn’t be calmed and his “meltdowns” were escalating into throwing his shoes and spitting towards the camp workers. We made it through 4 weeks of camp before he became too much for the teenage workers to control and he was asked to leave the program. We were at our emotional breaking point. Out of genuine concern, Bill Woody (the owner and Director of LTDC Lakeland) would take time out of his day to listen to us talk about what was going on, even though our oldest son was not enrolled at LTDC at the time. Bill worked with us on the Wednesday that our son was asked not to come back to the summer camp program and immediately supported us. He gave us great advise on how to handle the transition so it wouldn’t cause anymore emotional distress or make the “meltdowns” worse. Bill even put him in with the “schoolers” in order to allow him the outdoor activities and trips similar to those from summer camp so it wouldn’t feel like we were making him go backwards into Pre-K again. We would love to say that is the end of the story and our son never had another “meltdown,” but that was not the case. What we found at LTDC were compassionate and knowledgeable resources in Bill and his staff that would help keep us sane and stable during the next few months. After several trips to doctors and batteries of testing it was determined that our son has ADHD. We knew very little about ADHD, only the stigma that it was over-diagnosed and had more to do with lack of discipline on the parents part rather than a “real disorder.” We have since become very well educated on ADHD and what it really looks like. Bill and the staff were a constant source of support and encouragement throughout the process and subsequent diagnosis. Everyone was more than accommodating to our doctors with professional and unbiased observations of my son. They always took the time to calm him down and give me an encouraging report of what happened that day. No one ever made us feel like bad parents for having an unruly child or like they couldn’t wait to tell me all the bad things that happened that day. I only say that because in our previous experiences that is exactly what happened. Our adventures continue throughout Kindergarten with the help of the solid foundation LTDC helped us build. Our youngest son is now in the infant room and our middle son is in Big 2’s. In each room I have no doubt my boys are loved and cared for like they are family. Each teacher takes time to ask about the other boys and send home their love. The environment is calm, structured, and playful all at the same time. Our two-year-old talks about his teachers and friends constantly. After several different daycare and camp experiences in every age group from Infant to Schoolers we can honestly say that The Learning Tree is home. Much Love, The Barrett Family Location: Lakeland

Crystal Barrett

We have had our 8 year old at the Learning Tree since he was one year old. Ethan loves the daycare and we could obviously not be any happier. He even looks forward to the summer where he attends their summer camp program. The staff are fantastic! I fill like we have grown up with Ms. Cynthia, Ms. Shirley, Ms. Debbie…and we adore Mr. Bill! We just about consider them family now! Hmmmmm…..wonder if I can get Mr. Bill to teach Ethan how to drive on his 16th? On a serious note….cannot not say enough about the Learning Tree and staff! Location: Lakeland

Kimberly Thomas