Lakeshore Learning Website FAQ: What a School Buyer Learned From $3,800 Worth of Mistakes

I handle classroom orders for a K-5 school, which means I’ve spent a lot of time on the Lakeshore Learning website. I’ve also made 14 significant ordering mistakes that added up to roughly $3,800 in wasted budget. The site has changed a lot since we started ordering—more categories, more brands, more digital tools—but the fundamental mistakes haven’t changed. So now I keep a checklist, and when a teacher asks me about the Lakeshore Learning shop, I usually have an answer from experience. Here are the questions that come up again and again.

1. Is the official Lakeshore Learning website “lakeshore-learning.com”?

No—the official site is lakeshorelearning.com, no hyphen. The brand name is sometimes written as “lakeshore-learning” in blog posts and emails, but that’s not the URL. I’ve had a teacher almost order from a lookalike site because she typed the hyphenated version. She asked me before checking out (thankfully). So if you’re searching for “lakeshore learning” on Google, look for the URL at the top of the result. The official Lakeshore Learning shop won’t ask you to pay through a third-party checkout.

2. Do I really need to verify my educator status to get the teacher discount?

Yes, if you want the discount. The Lakeshore teacher discount isn’t automatic—you have to verify your educator status on the website and then apply the associated promo code at checkout. The catch is that not every item qualifies. I’ve had teachers assume the sale price and teacher discount stack; sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. If you’re comparing options, use a percent decrease calculator to see what the actual discount is: (old price - new price) ÷ old price × 100. It’s a 30-second calculation that saves you from “feeling” like you’re getting a deal when you’re not. And if a code doesn’t work, ask customer support before giving up—under FTC advertising guidance, advertised discounts should be truthful and not misleading (ftc.gov).

3. What was your most expensive mistake with a Lakeshore order?

It wasn’t a broken crate or a missing item. It was my failure to check unit quantities. It took me three years and about 150 orders to understand that the product descriptions on the website aren’t always obvious at a glance. I once ordered 30 “classroom boxes” of crayons, thinking each box was one set. Each box actually contained 24 sets. The result: a $450 overage plus a one-week delay to get the intended order. The crayons themselves weren’t bad, but 690 extra crayons didn’t fit our storage shelf and overwhelmed the supply closet. We donated the unopened boxes at the end of the year, which was nice, but it didn’t help the budget. I only believed the “check unit size” advice after that. Now every line item gets checked twice. At least, that’s true for anything over $100.

4. Are Bentgo lunch boxes from the Lakeshore Learning shop worth it?

Depends on the model. We’ve used the Bentgo lunch box with kids for two years, and it’s sturdy enough for classroom use. The five-compartment design makes it easy for kids to open and eat without help. But if you need it to be leak-proof for liquids, read the fine print on the product page. Not every Bentgo box is designed for thin liquids like yogurt or soup. The product reviews sometimes assume the brand name means all Bentgo lunch boxes are the same. They’re not—each model has different features. In our classroom, the Bentgo Kids version has held up well, but we don’t put liquids in it. That said, it might work fine for you if you do; the description is the place to check.

5. Can I use Lakeshore journal supplies to teach “how to write a journal”?

Absolutely, but the journal is not the lesson—it’s the tool. Lakeshore carries blank books and writing prompt cards, and they’re useful, but you kinda need a simple structure to guide the writing. I like the “What happened, What I noticed, What I wonder” framework for K-3. If you’re printing your own journal pages, use 24 lb bond paper (about 90 gsm) instead of standard 20 lb copy paper. The heavier weight holds up better to markers and erasing. That comes from the same paper-weight conversion used in commercial printing, so it’s not just a preference.

6. Why does the price in my cart differ from the price on the product page?

People often assume the Lakeshore Learning website is hiding fees. Actually, it’s usually the opposite: the product page shows the base retail price, and the cart shows the price after eligible discounts—like the teacher discount or a site-wide promo. That can look like a surprise, but it’s the discount being applied. I used to think the site was glitching until I realized the cart price was lower, not higher. If you want to know the true percentage off, use the same percent decrease calculator I mentioned earlier. That way you’re not guessing whether a 15% promo is better than the teacher discount.

7. What's one thing you check before placing any Lakeshore order?

I check the “quantity” line twice. Then I check it again. That’s the line that caused my $3,800 in mistakes, and it’s the line that today stops us from ordering 720 crayons when we meant 30 sets. Our team now uses a pre-order checklist: unit counts, shipping dates, eligible items, and the promo code. It has caught 47 potential errors in the last 18 months, including a duplicate $890 easel paper order that would have been expensive and embarrassing. The boring checks are the ones that save the most money.

8. Should I order from the Lakeshore catalog or the website?

The website is faster, but the catalog is still useful for planning. I’ve learned to use the catalog as a research tool and the Lakeshore Learning website for the actual order. Prices and stock can change between the printed catalog and the online shop, so what looks like a deal in the catalog might not exist on the site. That’s not a drawback—it’s just how print and digital differ. The fundamentals of buying classroom supplies haven’t changed: know what you need, check the details, and confirm the final price before you pay. In 2025, I’d never approve a catalog price without checking the site.