The Nordstrom's of teacher supplies. A former colleague accurately described the Lakeshore chain. She was referring to the prices (not to the level of the staff's knowledge of product). You had to pay a pretty big chunk of your $28K to get the latest and greatest manipulatives, games, flannet boards, etc. After walking into the main Carson store, we discovered the OUTLET. This was the place where all "seconds" go. Anything with a torn cover, overstock or anything which deemed the product unsellable in the regular store found its way here. Prices are marked anywhere between 25 to 50 percent off list. During the sales, markdowns are even crazier - up to 75%. I added nearly 20 titles to my classroom library during the summer sale. My advice for bagains - skip the store except during the late summer sale. Head over to the outlet anytime of the year. read more

I was not impressed with this warehouse. The prices were higher than I could find elsewhere. They did have some bargains (for older kids) in the backroom, but it was very difficult wading through the offerings. I was not impressed with the books they had, nor did the prices compare to Amazon. They do have some toys for kids to play, but overall this is not a good store to bring your toddlers. We had to leave with 2 tantruming kids because there was not enough to hold their attention while my friend and I tried to shop. In sharp contrast, we can shop at Ikea with little problem in the kids area. Bottom Line: Not worth the trip for me, and I won't be returning. read more

If you are a teacher or part of the PTA and need school supplies, this is the place to go! They have everything you need to ensure that your child becomes the class valedictorian (well having a smart child doesn't hurt either!). It really amazes me how much learning materials they have available for the students nowadays -- ranging from pencils to advance art kits/crafts. The sales lady was very helpful also. She was able to order 12 of the jumping balls that we need for our kid's preschool and they came in on time and the right quantity. Make sure you sign up for their free membership -- that way you can get coupons in the mail! read more

I frequent this store often (even though its $$$$) because I really like the materials they sell! The bonus here is that there is an outlet section..although the selection had gotten worse over the years..every now and again you can still find a hidden gem :) read more

If you are a teacher or a parent, you know that Lakeshore can have the euphoric effect of Disneyland for children. This is Lakeshore + Discount, so it is... AMAZING! There is a large warehouse of discounted items (between 20% and 75%) in addition to a normal store about the size of the one on Venice. If you come with a friend and time to sort through things, you can save a lot of money. Is it sad that given an unlimited budget I would skip though the aisles of Lakeshore and Staples singing? Well, even if it is, I am OK with that! They are both awesome :) read more

Always shop in the outlet before looking at the full price items. You can get lucky with items up to 50% off with broken boxes and such. But be aware, sometimes there are pieces missing (which accounts for the sale... but the sticker on the front will always tell you what the problem is). Workers are helpful and nice, and all Lakeshore Learning stores offer a free craft morning (time vary) on Saturdays. 10-1 i think? Constructive Playthings in Garden Grove has many items that are much cheaper, the quality is cheaper too but sometimes you can get away with spending less. read more

Well organized Saturday activity to kill some time before lunch. I was going to say free, but not quite...read on.... Friendly staff greeted us at the door and invited the kids to play with the tables set up with water and assorted toys, their version on play-doh, and sand with dino-dig. Inside had 3 tables with all the craft material to make that week's craft project. A single staff member also greeted us and invited us to make a craft. And even though my son was being none-too-friendly, she took it in stride and wasn't put-off. Storytime every hour on the half hour (1130/1230/130). The staff member was friendly and encouraged participation, even had some parents roaring ad jumping to the story! All this is FREE! BUT...they have some amazing toys, learning games, books, video games, etc. etc. and etc. PLUS a HUGE warehouse of 50-75% off of product. I could NOT have walked out of that place without buying something, especially with a kid in tow who was salivating at everything there...even the rainbow of construction paper! It was like he had toy-fever! So note to anyone who plans to "just check out the store"...leave the kid and wallet behind, cuz even the "FREE" Saturday event still cost me $$$! If the prices weren't so high, I probably would have bought a lot more, even with my coupon. read more

As much as I try to avoid this place, I cringe and return far too often. Every summer I find myself in the mix of chaos, when it's jam packed, mostly searching for decorative borders and colorful butcher paper. I'm often fighting the laminator while it snatches up my print-rich charts, vocabulary words, and sentence stems. I wait anxiously in the long line wrapped around the narrow aisles to hear how much of a dent I put into my wallet. The best part...I repeat this cycle every year. Gotta love it! :) read more

This place is the best for teachers an fidget collectors like me the have a room all for 75% of.

Hi I'm a LAUSD teacher who is part of this unfortunate strike. Yesterday I went to Lakeshore to get some posters laminated after a long day of rallying. From the moment I walked into the store I was greeted with a friendly welcome. I notified the sales rep that I heard about the offer of FREE laminating for LAUSD teachers. Without questioning me about how much I was going to he lead the way for me to started. He assisted me until I got the hang of how to work the machine without having my posters overlap. I really appreciated his help! Before I was finished I was approached by another sales associate. She too was very pleasant. She stopped what she was doing to assist me in finishing up my project. When I was done I was very pleased and it made my day to have such a pleasant experience after such a hard day. This experience made me proud to say I'm a Carson resident and even more so I'm an educator. Thank you Lakeshore for supporting LAUSD teachers and thank you Miguel and Alexis for your help! read more

Lakeshore Learning Store - We need more people like her#alittlekindnessgoesalongways! - Toy Stores Near Me - Carson, California

First time to this place and I liked it .. Alot of amazing things for kids to beable to learn .. The free art & craft on Saturday for kids was pretty cool. & the reason I went in today . I did purchase a magnetic chore chart for my 3 yr old son and Can't wait to start using it . Only reason I gave it a 4 star was cause there prices do seems to be a little to high on certain things but over all experience was great .. read more

i was disappointed in this store. this has an outlet in the location but i was expecting much much better prices. this place is a teachers dreamland dont get me wrong they had soooooo many things i could use but the price was a big put off. I specifically came to this location for the outlet thinking prices would be good but they werent. Most of the books i saw were only 5-9 dollars cheaper than original price and those arent outlet prices to me. the books i did find in the outlet that I would have bought were about 17.99-19.99 and honestly i could just buy the book on amazon for that price. and the posters you put around the class in the outlet section were way too expensive (4.99 etc) for what ive found (which is dollar tree in ontario I would assume every dollar tree has one though) its called teachers corner and all those posters are just as informative, decorative and only a dollar. im glad i went to check it out but i see those prices even in outlet form are way to expensive...i shudder to think of the prices in "regular" section lol read more

Walked into this very bright and open spot and was kiddie excited as soon as I stepped in. I went in looking for Toddler Crayons and was assisted by Verlyn. She was so very helpful. Verlyn knew right away what I was looking for and showed me a couple of options. She assisted me from the time I asked my first question till the time i walked out. Verlyn walked with me to my next request, showed me exactly what i was looking for ( rope with handles for little kids while they are walking) "Yes we have them right here." I felt welcomed my whole shopping experience. read more

The Lakeshore outlet store and clearance center is my 4 year old sons's 'dream outing'. It is a huge store with a separate clearance center. Treasure trove of all sorts of learning materials - social, language, fine motor, gross motor - all organized by skill and age group. Toys and games you find here are different and not the usual Toys r Us variety. We've always been able to find really good deals on items in the clearance center. The store organizes arts and craft sessions for the little ones on weekends. And there is a small area to keep them busy and entertained while shopping. read more

Even if I think the items are pricey, I can usually find a discount coupon online. My niece prefers Lakeshore toys over any other cheaper alternative so the investment is well worth it. The toys are engaging, educational and fun. Love the discounted section of the warehouse - so many goodies to be found and there's always something new each week. read more

Yay! I got 15 bucks off for spending over 75 bucks and checking in to yelp. A lot of things are overpriced, but I like some of their reproducible books, and basic stuff to start the year off (bulletin board paper and borders). If you spend 20 bucks or more during back to school, they will give you a free lesson planner. read more

I am glad there are places you still can find chalk in!!!! For parents with children under 7 this place is great, other wise it is for teachers and daycare providers. They have so much stuff to aid in educating kids and it is a teachers candy shop. read more

This is the place where all the teachers get there tools and school supplies! All very recognizable items. All solidly made, used for groups like at school. So the price point is understandably higher but not outrageous. We went to the store that has the discounted outlet in the back room. There were several school furnitures, tables, toys, books, puzzles etc that were discounted to due date, packaging, excess inventory etc. We had picked out two small chairs (u see them in pre schools, sturdy) for our toddlers and put them in the front by cashier with my name as hold. When we got to the front a woman was very upset and said she was already looking at the chairs and it is already on hold for her... She actually accused us of taking her chairs from hold in the front! What a misunderstanding since we found the chairs in the back room along with other chairs, not anywhere else. The point is, the store manager was very accommodating (to the other lady) and professional as the woman was starting to make scene. To pacify all customers, she ordered the same set for us, brand new but still with the discount as long as we are willing to come back and pick up. Nice gesture and to avoid further chaos we agreed. We have since returned for their free art class on Saturdays at 11am. The kids enjoyed the mess and I don't have to clean up or provide the abundance of materials available. read more

Well I was so excited to check this place out I called and heard the open and close hours and yelped as well got here and it closed with different hours. Stating they are only opened from m-f 9am-5pm. If that's the case they need to update their store hours on the call center which stated they close at 6 today and it's only 430 right now. It was a waist driving all the way over here since I don't live close. read more

I love this lakeshore because it is an outlet. You have look through all the bin but occasionally you find a great deal. Love!!

I love this store! I get most of the supplies I need to help my kids learn and for arts and crafts! Great store!

I've been planning to come to this place for months and finally I was able to come today! Oh i LOVE LOVE LOVE this store My #1 favorite now and go-to place for my kid's educational supplies. Lucky to be there today because most their stuff are on back-to-school discount! Highly recommended place and would definitely be back for more! By the way, I was helped right away by the cashier. No line. I'm hinting the earlier you come in, right around their opening time, the better it is to avoid the crowd. It was not crowded when I came around 10am. Got my kids with me plus a stroller and it all went well so far this time around. There's a lot of parking space too. And bonus thing too is that there's a security guy driving around the lot all the time in a golf cart! Like literally back and forth as he turns every corner! That's an A+++ (but made me wonder though if the area/neighborhood is not secured,hmmmm) But then his presence made me feel "I'm in a safe kind of way" while I was taking a little bit of time in settling my kids, the stroller, and my bags of goodies=) Someone to watch over me in a very quiet neighborhood. Other than that, this store is my Happy Happy Place!=) read more

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It's a giant Lakeshore store! Same prices with some items at discounted prices. If you're a teacher then I am sure you will find something you like here. read more

I went to buy educational items to teach my 3 years old letter and number recognition ... Loved it!! They have so much to choose from and are very helpful!! read more

Excellent selection of learning tools and toys for elementary school children. Staff is super friendly and helpful. While the store is geared for teachers, I highly recommend this plAce for parents. I hexcellent ges my children have enjoyed playing while learning all st once! read more

This store has everything you can ask for. It's a teachers paradise. They always have deals, and they offer a club card for free which gets you additional discounts. read more

This is a decent size store with a large warehouse clearance/outlet center in the back. As soon as I stepped in, I was greeted by a sales clerk who quickly pointed me in the right direction. I was looking for wide ruled notebooks for my son who is learning how to print. I also wanted primary notebooks, that leave a large blank space at the top for him to color or draw to illustrate his story. I decided to take a stroll through the outlet warehouse, which has lots of books and materials, many of which are discounted for missing pieces or lost packaging. They also have a large selection of sturdy looking furniture, classroom chairs, and kitchen furniture. If we were outfitting our play room, I might have spent longer looking at the shelving. Many things were 40% off, bringing the price down, but still high ($120-200-ish), but the quality of the pieces looked nice and sturdy. These are intended for classrooms after all. They had a laminator that you could use in this room as well (though laminators are relatively inexpensive and Amazon sells the plastic pouches for cheap). The best part of the trip - in the warehouse I found the exact same notebooks I was buying discounted 40% because they were slightly bend or scratched. Ended up getting twice as many notebooks as a result! There were some displays of products for kids to try, but overall this was not a "kid friendly" store, in that there's no large play area to occupy kids while you shop, and if you're planning to shop the outlet you're going to have to be prepared to dig. Not a great activity for a toddler. This is a store that is geared towards teachers, so I wasn't really expecting that. They do offer craft classes on the weekends, which we may check out, but I'm not sure I trust my kids in such a space like this. Too much fun toys to be had, and mama's checkbook is closed for business! read more

I never knew a lakeshores warehouse existed... Until my friend yelp pulled it up :) I was looking to buy educational gifts for a toddlers birthday and knew lakeshores would be the perfect place. The only one I've ever stepped foot in is the one on brookhurst and Ellis. That location is pretty great. This one though, is quadruple the size! Walking in, it seemed the same. The store is organized by categories: math, science, art, language, motor skills, infants, toddlers, etc. I work with kids, so immediately, I want to buy everything. Keep in mind that lakeshores is SUPER EXPENSIVE, so I had to resist the urge. Luckily, there is a back part of the store, looks more like a garage, and it has all the clearance/ sale items. Definitely shop in the back for more affordable things. Check in on yelp to get 20% off a single non sale item. Oh and bring your kids on Saturdays! They have free arts and crafts for them. So cute. read more

great learning toys, but way over priced and garbage service.

they have a variety of educational toys from toddlers till middle school .. it's a little expensive but over all a great place to get things for projects read more

I live in MD but still get a thrill out of shopping at the Carson, CA outlet location whenever I am in town. The outlet adjacent to the store has many deals! It'a a teacher's candy shop! read more