At Magic Garden, learning is not only about knowledge — it’s also about relationships, belonging, and becoming part of a community. Social competence and social justice begins early. Children learn how to: care for themselves connect with others manage emotions develop fairness and empathy work through challenges with growing responsibility These are essential skills for school readiness and long-term wellbeing. Why Social Learning Matters Strong social foundations support: c

A guide for the first 18 months for calming your infant. If you’re a parent of a baby, you already know this truth: Sometimes your baby cries and you can’t fix it quickly. And that doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. At Magic Garden, we hold a simple belief that supports both babies and parents: Babies cry to communicate — not to manipulate. They’re not trying to be “difficult.” They’re doing the best they can with the tools they have. Babies can’t regulate alone yet (

Navigating pickups and drop-offs in a childcare car park can be a daily challenge, but clear boundaries can turn this routine task into a...

Parenting with boundaries is crucial for helping children develop social competence, which is the ability to interact effectively and...

Words we use with our children are important because they shape their thoughts and the physical structure of their brains. Words convey...

Setting boundaries with loving guidance helps your child navigate the complex world of social competence, increases their sense of belonging and helps them to make friends and participate in group activities. Two & three year old's are often testing boundaries while they are finding increasing levels of independence. Parenting Styles - which one are you? Let's start by thinking about parenting styles. Which parenting style do you use? Authoritarian parenting, which "is do t

Parents often ask us how we teach children to read and write. This story shows a snapshot of the building blocks for learning to read and write that came together for a single child (an ex-pupil) in our Over Two room. Magic Garden teachers are highly skilled at observing children's interests, and providing a variety of materials and provocations to extend and grow children's early literacy skills. Play-based learning at its best offers highly intentional and fun opportunitie

Early Literacy (speech, language, reading, writing and story telling) starts with increasing your child's fine motor control and building strong hand muscles. Young children learn early literacy skills much the same way they acquire language skills. All developmental areas work together in a meaningful, relationship-oriented way within a sensory rich environment. Fine motor control needed for writing, involves developing hands and fingers that can work effectively together t

As children learn to make sense of their world and develop working theories they develop an understanding of themselves in social contexts. Development of social and emotional competence begins in infancy and is essential for children’s everyday well-being as well as for engagement and learning in Magic Garden. Emotional and social competence reflects the child’s capacity to integrate behavioural, cognitive and affective skills with emotional expression, social problem solv

There are a number of things that we the teachers and you the parents can do to make this ‘settling in’ period easier and happier for you...

Growing increasingly independent and learning to make choices from reasonable options is part of everyday living for a two and three...

Toilet training is a big step in your child’s growth and independence—and it happens in its own time. Understanding how your little one’s...

The beginning and end of the day are very busy times in the centre. There are a few things that help this time go smoothly for everyone: ...