When You Walk in You Know This Took Decades to Build
It started in 1962, when Irene Atkinson founded the High Park Nursery School in a St. John's Anglican Church in Toronto. Irene later became Chairman of the Board for the Toronto District School Board.
Patricia Canham, an Early Childhood Educator now in her 90’s, took it on and ran it for 20 years with a quiet, unwavering conviction that children deserve spaces designed around their curiosity. She had a huge art room where children could follow their own ideas with paint and print making. Patricia's daughter, Maria, a practicing artist and graduate of OCAD carried it forward for another 16 years, eventually renaming it The Artful Child. Today, Patricia's youngest daughter Jessica Borowets leads it ; raised inside these walls from toddlerhood, and later trained in Mental Health Psychology and Human Services Counselling. Her understanding of how children think, feel, and grow has always been both personal and academic.
Our History
“I have not come across another preschool quite like The Artful Child. My son has been attending for only a few months, but already I can see how the experience has totally opened his world - he has discovered the magic of creating artwork, and developed a new confidence that can only come from being independent & meeting new friends, while being in a safe and highly nurturing environment.”
“I can’t believe our time at Artful is coming to an end. You’ve had all 3 of my kids in all of your programs and I can honestly say it’s changed who they have become. If I have another you’ll be hearing from me!”
