20 Ballfield Road Lincoln, MA 01773
info@magic-garden.org
781.259.8161

School Overview

Philosophy

Faculty

Admissions

Location
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Magic Garden Overview
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Magic Garden is a not-for-profit Preschool located in the Hartwell Building on
the school campus in
Lincoln, Massachusetts.
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History
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Our school was
established in September 1982 by a group of parents and teachers concerned about
the availability of quality childcare in Lincoln and its neighboring towns
including Lexington, Concord, Sudbury, Wayland and Weston. Together, they
created Magic Garden - the first full-time facility in the area to be licensed
by the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).
Magic Garden
acknowledges the significant relationship between teacher, student, parents and
families, and encourages continuous collaboration in a climate of mutual
respect, cooperation and shared responsibility. Our school is overseen by a
Board of Directors comprised of parents and faculty, who are elected by the
school community at the Annual Meeting in October, and the Center Director, who
is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the school.
For
more information, please contact our Director, Gail Eddy at (781) 259-8161
or by
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Program
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Magic Garden
offers a year-round program five days per week from 7:30 A.M. to
6:00 P.M., excluding holidays and the last week of August, which is
used for professional development and Center reorganization. The
Center operates on a 12-month calendar, beginning in September and
ending in August. Holiday dates are announced at the start of the
each school year.
We
offer four integrated classrooms including toddler, preschool and
pre-Kindergarten programs to children ranging in age from 18 months
through 5 years old.
We
believe that offering more teachers per student than the state
requirements currently mandate greatly contributes to the quality of
our program. In our pre-school and pre-Kindergarten rooms we employ
3 teachers for 15 students - a ratio that is considerably stronger
than many other pre-school or child care programs.
The curriculum in each room reflects the interests and developmental
level of the class. As the children master new skills the
curriculum changes, continually offering new challenges and
discoveries throughout the year. The curriculum is supplemented by
leveraging the large number of facilities and other resources
available both on campus and off campus.
The factors determining a child's classroom placement include:
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child's age
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makeup of the class
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views of the parents, Director and classroom teachers
The majority of children transition from one classroom to the next
either at the end of June or the beginning of September.
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Curriculum
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Magic Garden’s classroom curriculum is carefully designed to meet a child’s
social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs at each stage of
development. We are proud to offer an individualized approach for each child in
our program, adapting classroom curriculum and accessing experts with a broad
range of teaching and therapeutic skills to create the optimal learning
experience for all children.
Our curriculum promotes active, hands-on learning as children become
explorers, problem-solvers, observers, and playful experimenters. In addition to
building competency in pre- academic skills, this approach helps foster
creativity, teamwork, problem-solving strategies, reflection, and
self-confidence. The materials used to support our classroom curriculum are
continually revised throughout the year in response to the children’s evolving
capabilities, needs and interests. Children’s imagination is captured by
becoming immersed in the rainforest, researching dinosaurs, learning about the
human body, sampling African cultures, or traveling back through time to
medieval castle days, as teachers integrate and adapt many curriculum elements
and activities into unified themes. These themes provide a focal point for
in-depth study and exploration.
The Wellesley College Center for Research on Women uses Magic Garden as a
training site for their Massachusetts School Readiness Study, citing:
The Pre-K classroom provides children with a
wide range of activities and materials, which serves as an excellent
training opportunity [for our staff].
In addition to the classroom curricula, Magic Garden offers a wide range of
enrichment programs as well as seasonal field trips throughout the year. |
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Enrollment
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Magic Garden program
hours are 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Additional time from 7:30 A.M. to
8:00 A.M. and/or hourly increments from 3:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. may
be contracted on an annual basis. Non-contracted hours may be
requested on a daily basis, but are subject to availability.
Enrollment options are as follows (program age designations are
approximate):
Toddler Program (18 months-late 2s):
minimum enrollment is two days per week Preschool Program
(3-4 years): minimum enrollment is three days per week
Pre-Kindergarten Program (4-5 years): minimum enrollment is
three days per week
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Inclusion
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Magic Garden actively supports and
participates in cooperative educational programs. Our early
involvement with the
Concord Area Special Education (CASE) Preschool paved the way
for our current integrated preschool model. This unique, inclusive
program, bringing together children of all learning abilities, is on
the cutting edge of contemporary educational philosophy.
These models of collaboration and cooperation extend to the
Brooks Middle School, where Magic Garden serves as a community
service site for seventh and eighth grade students, as well as
Healthpoint in Waltham and the
DeCordova
Museum in Lincoln, where we partner with each organization for
extended enrichment opportunities in swimming and art appreciation,
respectively. We have also served as a mentor training site for
young adults from the
Cotting School
in Lexington.
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Facilities
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Magic Garden is located in a quiet, tree-lined area on the
Lincoln Schools’ expansive campus.
Our colorful classrooms were completely renovated to our
specifications and include high ceilings, age-appropriate furniture
and fixtures in each classroom, comfortable climate control and
large windows that look out over our playgrounds, gardens and woods.
Each classroom provides separate areas for group activities such as
circle time, music and art projects; exploration such as sand and
water tables; and quiet time for reading and rest.
In addition to our safe, comfortable and flexible classrooms, we
also have kitchen facilities for preparing group snacks and seasonal
celebrations, a conference room for parent meeting and a large
multi-purpose room that we use for enrichment activities, special
events and for indoor recess on inclement weather days. We are
located a short walk from the Lincoln Public Library where the
children enjoy walking field trips to attend Story Hour.
We use three separate outdoor playground areas with swings,
climbing structures, sandboxes and other outdoor toys. Each
playground offers different developmentally appropriate activities.
One playground is a designated toddler space. All of our playgrounds
are secure, enclosed and ADA compliant.
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Copyright 2006
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