The Learning Experience Windermere

Choosing childcare is one of those decisions that looks simple until you’re actually the parent making it.

You’re not just looking for somewhere your child can spend the day.

You’re looking for a place where they’ll be safe. Where they’ll be known. Where they’ll learn. Where they’ll make friends. And, maybe most importantly, where you can drive away in the morning feeling good about leaving a pretty important piece of your heart behind.

For families in Horizon West and Windermere, The Learning Experience Windermere has spent years building exactly that kind of early-learning community.

Located in Summerport Village, the preschool and daycare serves children beginning at just six weeks old through age five and VPK, combining childcare with a structured curriculum designed to make learning feel a lot like play.

And if you’ve ever driven past and spotted a certain big blue elephant, you’ve already met one member of the team. His name is Bubbles.

The Learning Experience – Windermere →

The Learning Experience – Windermere, Windermere, FL 34786

Serving the Summerport and surrounding areas, The Learning Experience – Windermere offers programs for Infants through preschool. They make early education and daycare joyful, engaging, and fun so children are happy to learn, play, and grow.

The Learning Experience Windermere

There are now several The Learning Experience locations around Southwest Orange County. The Learning Experience Windermere is located at:

6290 Lake Smith Circle
Windermere, FL 34786

The school sits inside Summerport Village, with convenient access from CR 535 and Horizon West. It is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 AM to 6 PM.

That location makes it especially convenient for families living throughout Windermere and the surrounding Horizon West neighborhoods.

Learn more or schedule a tour:
TLE Windermere

From Infancy to Kindergarten Readiness

One of the things that makes The Learning Experience different from a traditional preschool is how early its programming begins.

Children can start as infants and progress through classrooms designed around each developmental stage.

Programs at the Windermere center include:

Infants: 6 Weeks to 12 Months

The infant program focuses on nurturing care while introducing sensory experiences and early cognitive development.

Toddlers: Ages 1 to 2

As those tiny humans discover that they can, in fact, walk everywhere and touch everything, the toddler curriculum gives them safe opportunities to explore while developing language and motor skills.

Twaddlers: Ages 2 to 2½

Yes, “Twaddlers” is the official name, and honestly, it fits.

This stage focuses on independence, communication and purposeful play.

Preppers: Ages 2½ to 3

Children begin working through more hands-on projects, group activities and cooperative play as they prepare for a more structured preschool environment.

Preschool and Pre-K: Ages 3 to 5

At this level, academic concepts become more prominent while still being taught through age-appropriate, hands-on experiences.

Kindergarten Readiness

Older preschoolers work on literacy, math, social-emotional development and other skills designed to help make the transition into elementary school a little smoother.

So while parents may initially come looking for “daycare near Horizon West,” the goal is for children to keep progressing within the same familiar environment.

The L.E.A.P. Curriculum: Learning Without Making It Feel Like School

The heart of The Learning Experience is its proprietary L.E.A.P. Curriculum.

And yes, the acronym has a job.

L.E.A.P. focuses on four major areas:

Language & Literacy
Vocabulary, phonemic awareness and early reading skills.

Enrichment & Experience
Music, art, STEM activities and cultural awareness.

Academic Foundation
Early math, science, critical thinking and problem solving.

Physical Development & Play
Fine and gross motor development through both structured activities and free play.

The idea is not to sit a three-year-old at a desk with a worksheet and call it education.

Children learn through movement, stories, activities, experiments, music, art and play.

Because when you’re three, dumping, stacking, sorting, singing and asking “WHY?” 84 times before lunch actually is learning.

Meet Bubbles and Friends

This is where The Learning Experience gets particularly kid-friendly.

Instead of teaching every concept through traditional classroom instruction, TLE created an entire cast of characters that represent different subjects, behaviors and values.

There are now more than 90 TLE characters, with lessons covering areas including phonics, sign language, science, math, technology, physical fitness, manners and philanthropy.

The best-known is Bubbles the Elephant, the school’s blue elephant mascot.

Bubbles was created by TLE co-founder Linda Weissman, who chose an elephant partly because of the animal’s family-oriented nature.

Other characters help teach concepts like kindness, curiosity and teamwork.

For kids, they’re recognizable friends.

For parents, they’re sneaky little teaching assistants.

Enrichment Is Built Into the Day

Parents comparing preschool programs often discover that “extras” can quickly become actual extras.

The Learning Experience says enrichment activities such as music, sign language and physical development are incorporated into its programming rather than being offered solely as separately priced add-ons.

The broader curriculum also incorporates subjects including art, STEM, fitness and cultural awareness.

That gives children exposure to more than traditional preschool academics while keeping the learning experience varied.

Translation: they’re learning a lot, but they don’t necessarily realize they’re doing schoolwork.

That’s kind of the sweet spot.

Parents Get a Window Into the Day, Too

The Learning Experience uses its secure Bubbles parent app to provide families with daily reports, photos and updates from their child’s day.

For working parents especially, that little glimpse into what is happening while they’re away can matter.

The center also emphasizes communication between families, teachers and administrators, something that comes up repeatedly in parent feedback published on the Windermere location’s own website. Parents frequently mention communication, long-term relationships with teachers and feeling that staff members genuinely know their children.

Safety Is Part of the Conversation

If you’re touring preschools, the cute classroom is nice.

But eventually every parent wants to know the same thing:

How secure is this place?

The Learning Experience says its centers use restricted-entry systems, background-checked staff and health and safety protocols.

Developmentally appropriate classrooms and play spaces are also designed around the needs of different age groups, including separate playground environments for toddlers and preschoolers.

Safety is also one of the themes frequently highlighted by families reviewing the Windermere center, alongside cleanliness, attentive teachers and the overall environment.

“Happy Happens Here” Has a Bigger Story Behind It

The Learning Experience itself has a much longer history than the Windermere location.

The Weissman family has been involved in childcare for more than 40 years. The modern The Learning Experience brand was launched in 2002, eventually growing from its beginnings in the New York and New Jersey area into a national network of early education centers.

The brand’s approach has consistently combined education with something that sounds obvious but can easily get lost in childhood education:

Kids should actually enjoy being there.

That philosophy is where the company’s “Happy Happens Here” identity comes from.

Learning is important.

Kindergarten readiness is important.

But children are also children.

They need to run around. Make art. Sing ridiculous songs. Get messy. Make friends. Laugh. Ask questions. Learn how to share. Learn how to be away from Mom or Dad.