Our Mission
At The Magical Garden Preschool, where like a garden children grow and blossom, our mission is to provide high-quality care and support the development and overall well-being of children and their families. We are committed to supporting the needs and health of the whole child, family, community, society, and our planet by fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and promoting eco-friendly practices.
Our Philosophy is Rooted in these Building Blocks
Relationships
We strongly believe that building meaningful, positive, and healthy relationships based on trust is the foundation for a well-balanced child and adult. That is why, at TMGP, we take the time to build personal connections with our children, families, and staff; and strive to remain connected, responsive, and supportive to their needs. By doing so, we believe we will facilitate the development of children, their families, and ourselves and foster healthy communities.
Constructivism and Play Theory
TMGP early childhood educators recognize the importance of taking an active role in supporting the developing minds and bodies of the new generation as well as how crucial it is for children to take an active role in their environment. Therefore, our curriculum is thematically based on the naturally occurring interactions and exchanges between the teacher and child, keen observations, and assessments of the child’s skills, interests, and abilities. We believe that children construct knowledge through play. We support the needs of the whole child and provide daily opportunities in the interrelated areas of physical, social, emotional, and cognitive to promote growth and development. We encourage children to explore, experiment, ask questions, initiate activities, and solve problems in a way that is appropriate to their age and stage of development. While we allow for a wide range of experiences to encourage exploration of the child’s environment, we make sure the child feels stimulated but not threatened by excessive expectations so that the child feels at ease, comfortable, and secure in a nurturing setting. We are inspired by the work of Piaget, Bronfenbrenner, Erikson, and Vygotsky, and the latest contribution of Roger Hart’s Ladder of young people participation.
Multi Intelligence Approach
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Inspired by the work of Howard Gardner, TMGP believes that children, and people in general, have specific learning preferences. The current educational system rewards and reinforces language and mathematical learners in a traditional model while excluding or dismissing all others. TMGP acknowledges and wholeheartedly accepts and believes that people have different ways of learning. These include linguistic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, scientific, mathematical, naturalistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and musical. Since we honor and value individual modes of intelligence, our curriculum is carefully curated and presented in multiple forms affording children opportunities to construct their knowledge through their preferred mode of learning, thrive, and develop to their full learning potential.
Children’s Environment: Connecting the Young Child to the World
TMGP provides an environment that promotes self-esteem and a sense of the fundamental worth of each child. We recognize each child’s individuality and provide continuous and consistent support for the individual needs of each child. Simultaneously, we see the child as an integral part of a larger community. Therefore, we seek to foster a sense of community based on the understanding of others and a respect for diversity of all living and non-living things on our planet. We provide activities and experiences to develop the child’s sense of relationship with the local and global communities. Thus, we strive to maintain a balance between the uniqueness and social connectedness of each child. We provide a multi-racial, multi-cultural environment, which encourages experiences appropriate to the children’s diverse backgrounds. TMGP exposes children to a non-sexist program so that the children participate, experience, and enjoy activities that do not limit their interests and competencies based on their gender. Children with a disability are welcome in our program if the program and environment can meet the needs of such childre
School - Home Bond
TMGP understands that for most children preschool is the first school experience. Inspired by the African proverb, “It takes a whole village to raise a child”, we see the importance of partnership between home and school and believe it to be crucial to children’s development. Therefore, TMGP encourages and promotes parent involvement in our program. We believe that children benefit the most when parents and schools work together. Besides working together to create an environment of support for the child, such participation helps to foster a better understanding of the school’s goals and objectives, ensures we provide a quality program, and creates a sense of belonging, a village.