Amazing Magic Beans

If I could give this school 4.5 stars I would. My son went here for two years and I was so happy with how much he learned. Their style is not for everyone but they definitely know what they’re doing. The weekly newsletters were very helpful to keep connected with what was going on. They emphasize going out to play daily, no matter the weather, which I also feel is very important. The school provides snacks and lunch which was a major plus for us. All their food is healthy and the kids participate in preparing some of the meals. The space is small and may seem chaotic but it works for their structured/​unstructured learning. I plan to sign up my daughter next year. They also just started an elementary school so I’m interested to find out how that’s going…

Wonderful school full of caring teachers. We sent our daughter here for 2 years after a year at another local preschool with a more traditional program. Once I got over the truly kid-​made art (turns out those cute crafts at the first school must have had more than a little «assistance» from the teachers;) & how dirty my daughter was when she came home (because they actually play in real dirt outside), I loved our time there.
The space is arranged in centers where children have plenty of time to learn through play in between the more structured lessons. The curriculum is based on Reggio Emelia (
) & values teaching kids how to learn over rote.
My daughter is 5 now and definitely an early reader so the approach did not hinder her abilities in reading or writing. She was prepared for public school while spending her early years in a nurturing place. She was very happy at AMB and is happy in her current school, despite their differences.
In addition to their work, the classes eat lunch together family-​style and each child has jobs like handing out plates. They serve healthy food and a good variety of it, all made on site. The price was reasonable, especially since it includes their snacks & lunch, for full-​day care. I also liked that the staff is a mix of both male & female teachers of diverse backgrounds & races.
There are many field trips & school events and parent involvement is encouraged. We met many other local friends through the school. We will be sending our daughter for camp there over the summer and look forward to sending our son to AMB in the Fall of 2016.

Magic Beans is simply fantastic. Our son has been to 3 other day cares/​preschools in his 4 years on this planet. This is the one for him. But it might not be for everyone.
The children are encouraged to explore their passions, feelings, and relationships to others and the world around them. In his other schools, they were either taught extreme discipline (here’s your 5 legos, now lets watch Barney in the dark on TV) or taught by uninterested teachers.
The teachers here are all genuinely interested in the growth and individuality of the children. They get to help in the cooking of meals, growing caterpillars, making art. Parents are strongly encouraged to participate in the classroom– there are music, reading and Greek classes taught all of the time by parents.
I simply can’t say enough good things about this school. The reggio approach might not be for everyone. It may look chaotic from the outside, but is actually amazingly structured. Part of that structure is letting the children help to guide the curriculum and the shape of their day.

I love Magic Beans. The director is passionate, the teachers are bubbly and really enthusiatic with the kids. They have a beautiful playground and a creative angle. My personal belief is in keeping with that of Magic Beans — kids have creative minds and that needs to be nurtured; that, and social skills. Letters, writing etc can wait. I think they do a good job with discipline and teaching kids how to interact, communicate and share.
I was worried that my daughter was slow to write compared to her peers at other preschools — then, she wrote her name with both hands, first with her left, then with her right. I can’t help but wonder if another «pre-​school» would have already pushed her to a hand preference. Also, she makes letters out of silverware, sticks, anything she can find. I think that they have nurtured her creative side and allowed her brain to stay flexible and expansive. Perhaps they emphasize the arts and sciences — nothing wrong with that. They are big into experiments and figuring how and why things work.
Some parents feel like they need to push literacy and math at a very early age. Guess this isn’t the program for those of you that want this direction. But, I’d say that the scientific research out there actually runs against this notion. Kids can learn to write letters, you can teach a monkey to do tricks — but the time spent teaching them to perform writing is taking away from the time developing their creative skills.
Magic Beans also takes the kids on interesting field trips (when they are in the older group). So far this year, my daughter went to a chocolate factory, science museum, NY Public Library and Queens Zoo. In addition, parents are encouraged to be involved which enriches the program.
Guess one size doesn’t fit all! But, I would give an enthusiatic thumbs up for this program.

This program is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach so it does not look like other programs where children are sitting and doing a letter of the week or something like that. The curriculum is based on a play-​based approach that helps children learn to express themselves and use lots of different mediums to explore and develop their thinking skills. They also encourage parent involvement and input so you really get a chance to interact and participate in the program.

really disappointed with this learning center. There’s a lack of structure and no school preparedness taking place. Im really upset I paid this much for what my son got out of it.