Gain exclusive insight into life at Children's Garden Nursery School from our carefully curated video and written reviews, including roundtable Q&As, that deliver in-depth insider info from parents, alumni and students.
Our Perspective on Children's Garden Nursery School
Since Children’s Garden was established in 1986, there has been a nice consistency of approach and leadership through the directorship of Pauline Foulkes. When she began, there were just two students. Though enrolment has grown, Foulkes maintains a very hands-on, involved role within all aspects of care and instruction at the boutique-sized school. Location and size are important, though the quality of the programming, of course, is too, and there are few instances of nursery schools with as long a record of providing such unwavering service. The school is housed, now as from the start, in the Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury, though the program isn’t affiliated with the church and is non-denominational.
Video reviews
Get crucial behind-the-scenes information about Children's Garden Nursery School from video interviews with probing questions that we recorded live with parents, current students, and recent alumni.
Watch our Children's Garden Nursery School Q&A discussion with Michael (Parent), Robin (Parent), David (Parent) to gain fresh insight into the school’s culture, values, and strengths.
Watch our parent interview with Donna Wilson to get the inside scoop on what it’s like to have a child attend Children's Garden Nursery School.
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Written reviews
Dive deeply into the real culture of Children's Garden Nursery School with reviews we’ve structured to highlight only the most valuable insights and opinions submitted by parents, students, and alumni.
Gr. PS to PS (current), Gr. PS to PS (current) — So far, the experience at Children's Garden Nursery School has been impeccable. We were first c...
The staff, led by the great principal Pauline Foulkes, has been exceptional, open, and understanding. The communication has been top-notch and certainly superior to what you would find at government schools. Small classroom si...
While our children are coy about what they are taught, the Curriculum Night and, once again, open communication with the teacher give you insight into what your kids are being taught. Nearly all of the teachers have at least a...
It is hard to pinpoint any particular weaknesses because all the teachers specialize in specific areas. So, what is excellent is that the students can take advantage of each teacher: Ms. Val for French, Ms. Sofia for singing a...
Yes, there are definitely enough extracurricular activities and events to participate in competitions and, most importantly, have fun.
But what is important is that the situations have been given the right context and ensur...
Overall, it is a wonderful atmosphere. The other children seem nice and well-mannered. I have yet to see any children become out of line or rude to teachers and their peers.
As mentioned previously, the size of the student...
This cannot be stated enough: Our twins love going to CGNS.
They love everything about it: the teachers, the activities, recess, the sports, and everything else about the school. It is hard to say what else CGNS could do to...
This is hard to say because we do not socialize with the parents because we don't have much time to do so.
But everyone appears respectful, kind, and understanding. No one is going out of their way to be uncouth. That said,...
The school location is perfect for us because it is only a 15- or 20-minute walk from where we live. But the neighborhood (Leaside) is one of the best in all of Toronto, plus it's near a Whole Foods and Tim Hortons, so you can...
Our older child started in the preschool class at Children's Garden Nursery School and complete...
The admin team lead by Pauline consistently goes above and beyond to enrich the student experience. When I proposed a non-traditional pairing of academic programs (the morning kindergarten class with the afternoon french imme...
Every teacher has nurtured our children's curiosity and built their confidence through a fun and rigorous academic curriculum. Seeing how the teachers welcome the kids to school everyday and how the kids bound into the classr...
Whether it’s the level of French proficiency that our child has gleaned from the afternoon immersion program, the regular incorporation of the most current educational tools and approaches, I continue to be pleasantly surpri...
The unbearably cute plays/concerts that the students put on is one of my favourite things. There are additional modules like Handwriting without tears that provide further opportunities for enrichment. We have not participat...
The small class sizes are the perfect transition into a formal classroom environment, ensuring that each child feels safe as they take their first steps towards independence. The class size also guarantees that each child will...
The commonality amongst the families who are committed to a positive and comprehensive learning environment has provided the seeds for great young friendships. It is a home away from home for little ones.The school punches ab...
The parent association is active and school wide participation in events, including the highlight, Halloween Happening Party , provides opportunities to socialize but also raise funds for extra classroom experiences, such as Z...
The school is located in a church and is small, which is fine for small people. There aren't shiny bells and whistles, but the school's big heart makes up for that in leaps and bounds. Current traffic around Bayview/Eglinton ...
Our daughter's experience at Children's Garden Nursery School has been fantastic. She is in her...
Pauline Foulkes is the director of the school and started it over 30 years ago so she brings a lot of experience and passion in facilitating an enriched environment for the children. Members of the school administration are ve...
We have been very satisfied with the quality of teaching provided to our daughter at Children's Garden Nursery School. We have always received excellent feedback from her teachers on our daughter's progress in their classes; a...
Children's Garden Nursery School provides a theme-based curriculum that is relatively structured which was one of the main selling points for us. There is a calendar sent out each month that shows exactly what the children wi...
As a preschool, we weren't expecting a lot of extracurricular activities from Children's Garden Nursery School and were more focused on socialization. That said, the school does provide afternoon modular programs that further ...
Perhaps one of the things we have valued the most about our daughter attending Children's Garden Nursery School is the friendships she has developed there. Our daughter at a young age was quite a sensitive girl and would get a...
Our daughter's overall experience at Children's Garden Nursury School has been fantastic. As a toddler, she would attend two days a week for a few hours. Then in her preschool year (age 3), she would go five days a week in the...
There is a strong sense of community at Children's Garden Nursury School. First, parents are encouraged to volunteer for the Parent Association and to donate their time at various special functions throughout the year such as ...
The school is located near Bayview and Eglinton and is easily accessible by car or public transit. It is walking distance from the Leaside neighbourhood and about a 10-15min drive from Moore Park which is where we live. The ch...
I have 3 children, one attended from preschool to SK and the others are currently in JK and sta...
Just amazing. I could go on and on, but will just leave it as amazing. The principal and all the teachers are passionate about creating the optimal environment for young children to adapt to school life, learn and grow. There...
All of the teachers are the best. They all clearly love teaching and create a safe, inclusive and warm learning environment. My children all learned a lot, and none has ever had any issues. "Passionate and knowledgeable" wo...
I give "academics" an 8/10 (the only category I grade less than 10/10) because, if you are a tiger parent looking to have your kid reading Shakespeare or doing multivariable math problems in JK, this might not be the right sch...
Tons of great extracurricular options, as well as half-day options at certain levels, french immersion afternoons at certain levels, and more. See my notes in the Academics category regarding development of well-rounded stude...
Great, sweet kids throughout this school. It is a very happy place. Smiling faces are everywhere, as is the beautiful artwork and other work that the students do in class - covering almost every wall. The school is small, w...
We literally can't keep our kids away from this place. When they ask on a Saturday whether it's a school day and we say no, they are dissapointed. They love their friends. They love the activities they do, both academic and...
Top marks for "community". All of our closest neighbourhood friends are other Children's Garden parents. I don't know why or how, but this school seems to be very good at attracting wonderful people. There is plenty of oppo...
Great residential neighbourhood. Students occasionally go for field trips or walks to nearby neighbourhood places. For example, our JK children recently went for a walk to the nearby grocery store to buy ingredients for a "m...
