Magic Garden is a not-for-profit Preschool located in the Hartwell Building on the school campus in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

• History

  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

• Program

  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: o                                child's age o                                makeup of the class o                                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.

• Curriculum

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.

• Enrollment

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

• Inclusion

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.

Facilities

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.