When children enter Third Bend Studio in Denton, they walk into rooms that cater to their imagination.

There's an art space for printmaking, paint, clay and fiber arts. On the other side, children have an area for drawing and writing, with access to a rainbow of crayons, markers and paper.

Another room is set up as the dramatic playroom, complete with tents decorated with a plastic pretend kitchen and other toys, so children can turn it into whatever their minds conjure up. In the back, a clubhouse with comfortable seating can be used for playing games. The 2,200-square-foot building, which also includes an outdoor area, provides an outlet other than home and work/school.

"We're trying to make a third space for families," says Maggie Harvey ('20), an early childhood education major.

That's partly how Third Bend got its name, with the "bend" coming from the winding portion of a river or other location that people gather and find themselves.

"We want to be a bend in that pathway," Harvey says.

Harvey created Third Bend with two fellow UNT alumni -- Seda Turk, who attended UNT from fall 2015 to spring 2022 with a focus on early childhood education, and Decota Johnson ('25 M.Ed.), an educational leadership major. The trio is using the lessons they learned at UNT for the studio, which will serve as a preschool, an afterschool program for elementary-aged children, and a family art and making studio.

"I never dreamed of having my own school," says Johnson, who is pursuing her Ph.D. in early childhood education and teaching. "My interest is focusing on curriculum. When this opportunity presented itself, it was the best way to put this all together of what education should be."

"It's been so magical," Turk says. "It's a combination of all our goals."

Learning Along with the Students  

Turk and Harvey ran a home day care center but always wanted to make an alternative space for children. Many afterschool options tend to lean toward athletics, and parents often have to stay with the child.

In their vision, they wanted children to have a space to express their creativity and curiosity. Their philosophy stems from the educational concept of True Play, in which children learn through play without reaching a specific goal.

They applied some of the techniques they learned while working at UNT's Center for Young Children.

Harvey remembers a time when they were with a group of youngsters who saw an ant crawl on the ceiling. The kids asked questions about stickiness and being upside down. They thought the kids wanted to learn about bugs. Harvey realized they wanted to know more about their original questions, so they got the kids information about upside-down art and animals.

"They're brilliant," Harvey says. "You get to learn alongside them."

'I Never Want to Leave'

The center was just a dream until April 2026, when they learned about the availability of the building, located on 516 N. Locust St., just a few blocks from the downtown Denton square. They organized a plan in two weeks. On July 1, they moved in.

As they put together the center, they handled a variety of issues, from finding a child-size toilet to making sure the numbers of their address outside the building fit code (3.5 inches).

"We're classroom teachers," Turk says. "We're quick problem-solvers." 

When the studio opens in September, families can choose from several options, including half-day, full-day and afterschool programs. It serves children ages 3 and older.

At a community session this summer, they got to see children interact and play. They noticed that a 10-year-old carved "3 Bend Studio" into a crayon and the kids left a playground playset populated with toy horses.

"Everywhere you look, there's something hidden in these tiny little things," Johnson says.

It's one of the reasons she loves working there.

"I never want to leave," Johnson says. "Every day after work, I'm like, 'I can stay here longer.'"