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Licensed child care in Toronto

Big colour. Bigger giggles.

Big Crayon is a licensed child care centre on the Danforth where educators trade worksheets for paint tables, story circles and muddy-boot afternoons. Every day is planned around whatever your child is curious about right now, for ages six months to six years.

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Two little girls holding up hands covered in green and red paint at a children's art table

Paint on the table. Smiles on every face.

Our story

The art table is the heart of every room

Big Crayon opened in 2014 in a former print shop on the Danforth with one very long art table, twelve children and two educators who believed a Tuesday should look like something. The paint-splattered table is still in our preschool room.

Today we care for 78 children from six months to six years, but the recipe has not changed: small groups, open-ended materials and Registered Early Childhood Educators who follow a child's spark instead of a worksheet. Children leave every afternoon with paint under their fingernails and a story to tell at dinner.

We cook lunch fresh in our own kitchen, send families a photo and a note from the day, and keep the front door open for anyone who wants to pop in and see for themselves.

Children gathered around a wooden craft table covered in paint palettes, scissors and art supplies
  • A child's hand painting blue shapes on brown paper with a green-handled brush
  • Children's hands painting together over trays of paint and paper
  • Watercolour palettes and brushes with children's hands mid-painting
  • Children cutting and gluing bright paper shapes at a craft table

A room for every stage of little

  • A baby sitting on a wooden floor playing with toy trucks

    Infants, 6 to 18 months

    Warm laps, floor time and a calm, predictable rhythm. Our infant room follows your baby's own feeding and nap schedule, and you get a photo and a note home about every first.

  • A toddler exploring a colourful toy bus with curious hands

    Toddlers, 18 to 30 months

    Big feelings and bigger curiosity. Toddlers get sensory bins, finger paint, singing and plenty of "me do it" as they start naming feelings and making their first real friends.

  • Five preschoolers in dress-up costumes sitting together on a green classroom floor

    Preschool, 30 months to 4 years

    Dress-up, block towns and an art table that never closes. Educator-led circle time builds early literacy, counting and confidence, all through play.

  • Kindergarten children in matching school uniforms playing on a yellow and green slide

    Kindergarten Club, 4 to 6 years

    Real school-readiness projects, plus before- and after-school care with walking pick-up from nearby schools. Sharper pencil grips, braver questions and lots of recess.

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What a day looks like

Five things we never skip

Every day at Big Crayon has the same five anchors, so children always know what comes next and educators have room to follow a child's spark.

  • Children painting at a busy art table in a bright, studio-style classroom

    The messy art studio

    Paint, clay, collage and glue, every single day. We frame the wet ones and send the dry ones home.

  • Story circle

    Picture books, puppets and rhyming songs in small groups, twice a day, building vocabulary long before a child can read a word.

    An educator reading a picture book to three young children on a blue rug
  • Two toddlers exploring a leafy garden outdoors

    Garden and outdoor play

    Rain or shine we head outside: planting beds, chalk, a mud kitchen and a fenced yard with real shade.

  • A boy in a striped shirt building with colourful wooden blocks on a play mat

    Builders' block corner

    Wooden blocks, tracks and gears where counting, balance and teamwork sneak in disguised as games.

  • A child playing in a sandpit with a pink bucket and a green bucket

    Sand and water play

    A sensory table that changes weekly, from kinetic sand to ice to bubbles, for calm hands and busy minds.

Why families choose us

Educators who kneel down to eye level

Every room at Big Crayon is led by a Registered Early Childhood Educator, and each educator stays with the same small group all year, so children are known, not managed.

You get a photo and a note from your child's day by 4 pm, lunch and two snacks cooked fresh on site, and a director who answers her own phone.

Book a 20-minute tour
  • An educator reading to a circle of children on a yellow beanbag in a bright classroom
  • An educator hugging a group of young children on a soft rug
  • An educator sitting on the floor playing with a little girl and coloured balls

A week at Big Crayon, in pictures

Paint under fingernails, chalk on the pavement and a whole lot of laughing. Tap any photo to see it larger.

What parents tell us at pick-up

  • Our son used to cling to my leg at drop-off. Three weeks in, he lets go at the door and runs straight to the art table. His educator sends a photo by noon and it is always him covered in paint, grinning ear to ear.
    Jenna, a Big Crayon parent, smiling and cuddling her baby Jenna M., Toddler room parent
  • Going back to work after leave, I was terrified to leave our daughter. The infant room follows her own nap and feeding schedule and the educators send updates all day. By week two I had stopped worrying.
    Adaeze, a Big Crayon parent, smiling down at her baby in a pink headband Adaeze O., Infant room parent
  • The only daycare where my toddler asks to stay five more minutes at pick-up.
    Tom, a Big Crayon parent, laughing with his curly-haired child on his shoulders Tom B., Preschool room parent
  • We switched from a big chain in September. Smaller rooms, fresh lunches, and educators who actually know my son's favourite dinosaur. He wrote his own name in Kindergarten Club and could not wait to show everyone.
    Daniel, a Big Crayon parent, smiling beside his son Daniel R., Kindergarten Club parent
Children lifting a rainbow parachute together on a sunny grass field

Summer Camp registration is open

Eight weekly themes of paint, sprinklers and garden lunches for ages 3 to 8. Only 24 spots a week, so save yours early.

Save my summer spot

Fresh from the art table, once a month

Come and see the art table

Tell us a little about your child and we will reply within one business day to set up a tour. We will show you the rooms, introduce the educators and talk through fees and openings.

A smiling young girl with long light hair looking at the camera in a bright classroom