At Magical Adventures, we understand that children learn best while playing. That is why so much time & thought goes in to the toys/games th​at are provided for the children in our care. Children will be engaged in a variety of activities during the day that will build confidence, creativity, and a love for learning. It is our goal as teachers, to help shape your children into independent & caring individuals, as we prepare them for the great adventure of kindergarten & beyond.

Social and Interpersonal Skills

Human beings are social, and much of students’ learning involves social interactions:

Getting along with other children and developing good relationships with teachers

Helping others and developing caring attitudes & empathy for others

Playing and working cooperatively

Following classroom rules

Self-Help and Intrapersonal Skills

Children must learn how to manage their behavior and their affairs:

Taking care of personal needs, such as dressing (e.g., tying, buttoning, zipping) and knowing what clothes to wear for the weather

Toileting skills (e.g., using restroom independently, flushing, washing)

Eating skills (e.g., using utensils, napkins, and a cup or straw, setting a table, opening packages)

Health skills (e.g., how to wash and bathe, how to brush one’s teeth)

Grooming skills (e.g., combing hair, cleaning hands & nails, wiping face & nose)

Independence

Skills of independence help children have the confidence they need to succeed in life:

Doing things for themselves (e.g., putting on coat, shoes, toileting, cleaning up toys, etc)

Taking responsibility for their own belongings

Learning self-direction, being able to figure out what to do by observing their environment and the people around them.

Character Education

Children need multiple opportunities to learn about and demonstrate character traits such as these:

Positive mental attitude

Persistence

Respect for others

Cooperation

Honesty

Trustworthiness

Empathy

Becoming a Learner

Learning how to learn is as important as learning itself—in fact, learning depends on the acquisition of learning skills:

Self-help skills to promote a good self-image and high self-esteem

Knowledge of self, family, and culture

Sense of self-worth

Persistence, cooperation, self-control, and motivation to learn

Growing confidence

Responsibility for age-appropriate tasks

Turn taking during activities with other children

Language and Literacy

To develop language and literacy skills, preschoolers must work on a variety of capabilities:

Oral language skills

Rhyming

Vocabularies

Conversations with other children and adults

Proficiency in language

Literacy skills related to writing and reading

Letters of the alphabet

Listening comprehension

Motivation to read

Print awareness

Ways to use and appreciate books

Academics

Some key areas of knowledge that we will work on throughout the year include:

Colors

Shapes

Counting & number recognition

Patterns

Sorting by attributes

sequencing

Positional words, such as under, over, around, etc.

Prewriting skills, such as pencil grip & basic strokes

Writing first name

letter recognition

rhyming

Simple sentence structure/proper grammer

How to handle a book

Following multiple step directions

Music and the Arts

Brain research supports the use of music and the arts to encourage learning in all areas. Preschoolers can learn about music and the arts in many ways:

Varied materials (e.g., crayons, paint, clay, markers) to create original work

Different colors, surface textures, and shapes to create form and meaning

Art as a form of self-expression

Music activities

Varieties of simple songs

Movement to music of various tempos

Dramatic play with others