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Before we had kids, Chris was a teacher at a small private school. We visited Lakeshore Learning to find some supplies for his classroom. In my opinion, it was a neat store, but it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t a teacher. Fast forward 12 years later. I am now a mom and soon-to-be home educator. And I couldn’t get enough of the store.

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Read & Play Saturdays at Lakeshore Learning

We, my 10 year old and I, visited the St. Louis Park location one sunny Saturday morning. We were invited to give the Free Crafts for Kids program a try during March a/k/a National Craft Month (who knew that even existed?!). Saturday programs went on hiatus in 2020 but have returned in March of 2023 as Read & Play Saturdays.

If you can’t make it to a particular Saturday event, Lakeshore Learning also offers a lot of other free educational tools on their website. We link to their free resources page at the bottom of this article. These can be great for building on a child’s favorite book or interest with a little education thrown in.

When you participate in the Free Crafts for Kids program, you also receive a coupon.  I can see me spending a lot of money there, especially since next year I will be a homeschool mom.

Shopping at Lakeshore Learning

We arrived before 11 a.m. when the crafts started so we took time to check out the store. The building was divided in half. One side focused on preschool activities and the other on primary educational tools. There were picture books, workbooks, science books, history books, reading books, grammar books, writing books, health books, etc. Manipulatives for young and younger alike as well as bulletin board decor. Baskets for school and art supplies.

So many great things to explore and check out. We could have stayed the whole day learning about educational tools. We didn’t because we had plans for our family, but we did enjoy our time while we were there.

The staff was helpful and attentive. They were kind to the kids and moms with big smiles.

Lakeshore Learning is a national retail store that specializes in “high quality educational materials.” They live up to their motto. You shop online or go to one of the two locations in the Twin Cities: Maplewood (near Maplewood Mall) and St. Louis Park (near the Shoppes at West End).

Go on a Saturday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and your whole family will fall in love!

This Article Originally Published by Gianna Kordatzky on March 30, 2015

Useful Links:

• For at home family fun, Lakeshore Learning offers over 1000 Free Resources online.