We’re looking for staff to join our Magical Beginning team! Do you have a friend that loves kids? Let us know! Maybe you know someone that’s thinking about dipping their toes back into the workforce…send them our way. Even if you don’t know anyone off hand, share a post on your social media page and spread the word with friends and family. 

The best part? We’re offering tuition discounts as a thank you. Read on to learn all the details about our Magical Beginnings Referral Program.

The Skip and Shirley LaBrie Scholarship Fund will be awarded to students working on their degree in Early Childhood Education at Peabody Veteran Memorial High School.

Shirley LaBrie was not only the loving mother of Magical Beginnings’ Founder, Linda Hassapis Bonfanti, but also a huge part of our 20 year long story here at Magical Beginnings.  Without Shirley’s unconditional support of Linda’s dream and drive to create a loving and caring space for families to send their children, Magical Beginnings would not have grown to be what it is today.

 

To Donate by Check:

  • Make checks payable to ECCF/Skip & Shirley LaBrie Scholarship Fund
  • Mail or deliver to ECCF, 175 Andover Street, Suite 101, Danvers, MA 01923

We’re so excited to be featured in North Shore Magazine this month! We love sharing our story and hope you love hearing about it. 

Make sure to check out our feature and all the other great stories in the latest Northshore Magazine

 

Meet the newest member of the Magical Beginnings team! Lindsey is joining our family as the Director of Sales and Marketing.

Get to know the stories of some of the directors and office staff at our Peabody, Wakefield and Maple Street, Middleton locations. Spoiler alert—there is a LOT of history!

At Magical Beginnings, we value our staff and community not just in our words, but by our actions. We want to show you the core values behind the scenes that define how we work and teach. Learn more about our mission for teachers and our community culture! 

Teachers Are Valued

Teachers are at the heart of everything we do at Magical Beginnings. We focus on lifting up employee strengths and working together as a team to grow as a school and as individuals.

Teachers take ownership of their classrooms, write their own lesson plans, and bring their ideas to life. We want our staff to succeed and grow, with every day as a reminder why we work in this industry: Our love for children.

  • Encouragement to find and use your voice
  • Creative freedom and outside-the-box thinking
  • Showcasing your unique skills, whatever your special talent happens to be
  • Recognition of you as a person, and not just a number
  • A voice to help guide the future of Magical Beginnings
  • An opportunity to lean in and be a part of something bigger
  • Benefits that reflect the needs of your profession
  • Celebration of your hard work

Family & Community First

Students are best served by a welcoming school community that encourages collaboration and diversity in our schools and beyond. From Day One, this has been a family business. That has been a foundational part of our mission and even as we grow to new facilities, we will never sacrifice that close-knit family approach with our staff. We welcome you to our family and we’re thrilled to have you here with us.

What does this mean for our school community? 

  • Work-life balance to ensure that you can enjoy special moments with your family
  • A shared commitment to the greater community
  • Creative, innovative ways to give back
  • Nonprofit events, volunteer opportunities, and other philanthropy
  • Praise and celebration of your unique talents
  • A staff of approachable team players
  • Support for creating a ‘culture of yes’
  • A culture of empowerment and support
  • Effective, supportive and direct communication

Working Smarter, Together

Here we lift each other up and work together. We succeed when we focus on open communication, strong partnerships, and the value of our team.

Working as a team helps us collaborate and find solutions together, create an encouraging environment for students, and ensure that we are maximizing our time and skillsets to enrich young lives. The close-knit feel from our earliest days is still a staple now, and we know that during your time here, you can build long-lasting professional and personal connections.

What does this mean?

  • A supportive culture and climate
  • Opportunities to grow with the company
  • Working together in co-teacher classrooms
  • Courage bringing new ideas to the table
  • An open-door policy to foster trust and communication
  • A ‘work hard / play hard’ grit and mentality
  • Your curiosity and desire to improve each day
  • A willingness to learn and grow from making mistakes
  • Being ready for the challenge each day

Passion & Positivity

Education is our shared passion, and we approach every single day with excitement knowing that we are enriching the next generation of leaders.

Each staff member at Magical Beginnings brings renewed passion for our work, reminding us that our purpose is clear. We don’t simply provide childcare, but rather we lay the vital foundation for kids to grow into exceptional adults. We teach because we want to make a difference – in our schools, in our communities, and in the world.

What does this mean?

  • Adapting, learning, and growing every single day
  • A ‘nothing is impossible’ approach to problem-solving
  • Leave impact on early childhood education
  • Mutual respect of new ideas and perspectives
  • A shared belief that people have positive intent
  • Active listening and constructive feedback
  • Being clear on not just what you say, but also how you say it
  • A clear expectation that you will be a positive role model

Like what you hear? We’re always looking for quality teachers to join our family! 

For the most current open positions visit: https://tinyurl.com/magicalbeginnings

Today we’re talking about something we’re super excited about—our summer camp! Learn about our themes, field trips, cooking projects and most importantly—how to get in on the fun!

Magical Beginnings' Summer Camp

Magical Beginnings is ready to make your little one’s summer—you guessed it—MAGICAL! Our camps at our Essex, Wakefield, River Street, Middleton and Maple Street, Middleton locations will offer exciting weekly themes, field trip adventures, and tasty treats for our little campers. To sign up or for more information—offerings and availability will vary by location—please reach out to the camp of your choice directly. Contact information below.  

LET’S MAKE SOME STEAM

Science, technology, engineering, art and math!  Magical Beginnings will become a museum!  Children will create process art that will be framed and put up on the walls.  Each day will involve science involved snacks…  Edible geodes, fizzy lemonade, ice cream in a bag and so much more.  Children will work in groups and pairs as they become engineers using cups, sticks and cubes to be challenged into thinking how, why, what if, and what next.  They will learn about weather, doing experiments about hurricanes, tornados, and more. Oh, the places we will go!

JUST BREATHE    

Kids and yoga are like magic and moonbeams.  This will be a week about learning and exploring, mindfulness and imagination.  Kids will learn self-awareness, confidence and balance.  They will learn about feelings, emotions and how to describe and understand them.  Kids will make wish rocks, dream catchers and become human spider webs. Group projects involve a miniature zen garden and partner poses.   Children will make scented play-dough and learn to balance a butterfly on their nose.   Namaste!

IT’S WILD OUT THERE

Children are curious about the world around them and this will be a week to learn about animals and creatures that live all around us!  Let’s learn about animal tracks, and make them!  Where do animals live?  Maybe in a Lego forest??  How about an insect hotel?  All things are possible! In the midst of all of this fun, children will have an opportunity to ride on a live pony!

UNDER THE BIG TOP

Life is a circus carnival! There will be tickets and prizes for games. The children will jump through hoops, play ring toss, and walk the balance beam. We will have a gummy worm hunt and a jello eating contest. We will make popcorn and taste cotton candy. Crafts will include making clown slime, painting with balloons and spin art. Children will get their faces painted and dress up like their favorite circus characters. Music will be incorporated throughout the entire week- what better way to combine music and movement. The week will end with a circus performance!

FARM TO TABLE

Nature is all around us.  We will grow vegetables and flowers in our magical gardens and learning about how, just like in nature, each day will be different than the day before. We will taste and cook with local honey and learn where honey comes from. Campers will explore the delicious world of local food through activities like taste tests, chef demonstrations, and creating your very own recipes. Of course, this cannot be done without a Magical Beginnings apron, and a handmade chef hat! A special visit from the ice cream truck with close out the week!

FIELD DAY WEEK

Every day is field day, the last week of MB summer camp. Each day campers will learn about teamwork, through fitness made fun. Each day will have a school spirit theme! Activities will include relay games, cooperative games, and water games. Children will learn about problem solving, communication, and resilience as they participate in activities that are fun and challenging. MB will host the summer Olympics one day, and children will create teams from different countries, along with performing opening and closing ceremonies. We will wrap up the week with a family BBQ where families can join us to end summer camp!

SUMMER MAGIC    

Magic lives within all of us… Magic mirrors, magic wands and somewhere over the rainbow.  Stories about people, places and possibilities.  Children will learn about the magic all around them.  Activities will include making wind streamers, keeping paper dry under water, and making and drinking magic milk.  A Magician will appear for a special show!

WET & WILD

Get ready to dive into a week of whacky, wild water play! Children will make it rain with water filled piñatas, participate in slippery water races, build a water wall & car wash.  There will be time for team building with back to back water balloon dashes. We didn’t leave out our little engineers! There will be creative Lego water building, and a water balloon catapult. All the fun this wet and wild week!

BLAST OFF

Get ready to blast off into a week of space and exploration! Children will work as a group to design and build their own rocket ship. Where will they go? We will learn about out giant solar system and mobiles. Let’s learn about the starts and constellations crafting star and planet necklaces, and walk in moon sand.  They will make their own galaxy dough and fly space shuttle gliders. We will learn some history about space launches and space stations. The week will include space themed snacks! Learn about what it’s like to eat in space, with moon cakes and space lollipops!

Contact us to sign up today!

Middleton, Maple Street 

[email protected]

978-539-8730

 

Middleton, River Academy 

[email protected]

978 717 3200

 

Essex

[email protected]

978-768-6287

 

Wakefield

[email protected]

781-245-1872

 

Looking for a fun activity to keep the kiddos festive and celebrating this New Year’s Eve? Ring in 2021 with a bag countdown!

Photo Credit: Party City

First step—decide when you want start and end the countdown. You do not need to keep your little ones up until midnight! This will determine how many bags you need to fill.

Next—fill em’ up! Crafts, games, dollar store swag—anything goes! If you’re trying to keep your kids busy, aim for activities instead of just treats.

Suggestions:

For more suggestions and tips check out our New Year’s Eve Pinterest page.

That’s it—you’re ready to party!

Happy New Year’s from everyone at Magical Beginnings! We can’t wait to see what 2021 brings!

The holidays are almost here—time to bake up some sweet treats! Check out these delicious recipes our Magical Beginnings families make a tasty tradition in their home each holiday season!