“People are people no matter how small”

“People are people no matter how small” is as close to a school motto as we have at Riviera PlaySchool; and it’s fitting that it is quoted from Dr. Seuss’s character Horton.
The cornerstone of our program is Non-Violence. Ghandi and Krishnamurti both base their work upon this, as do many western advocates including Rosenberg, Beaglehole, Aldort, Chilton Pearce, Bev Bos, Alfie Kohn, and many others. Like Bev Bos, Riviera PlaySchool takes Non Violence beyond the verbal. A Non-Violent milieu is one in which the environment is not limited or limiting. The child is never led, however ‘gently’ and softly, from one activity to the next. In a truly Non Violent environment, children are never cajoled into joining an activity; they are never shamed into compliance (“come on…everyone is waiting for you!”) Most importantly, in a non-violent environment, children are helped, very patiently, toward resolving their own conflicts. Children raised in a Non Violent environment become intrinsically motivated adults who succeed because it feels good to do so, and treat others with respect and kindness because they want to, not because they fear reprisal if they fail to do so.

Like the Center for Nonviolent Education and Parenting, Riviera PlaySchool does not use the word nonviolent in reaction to violence but “as a word that honors the connection with a child that respects the core dignity of the child as a full and complete human being. Therefore, the right relationship to have with a child is one that is built on respect and kindness towards the core feelings and needs of the child. Nonviolence honors and respects the value, dignity and life force of the child.”

Riviera PlaySchool in Redondo Beach, CA

Parenting From Balance

A humanistic, constructivist, and mindful program for the “whole child,” inspired by the best of Attachment Parenting, Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Waldorf and Compassionate Communication.

“People are people no matter how small.”  ~ Horton

Wisdom begins in wonder.    -    Socrates

“Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”  ~ Plato

“If a child is to keep his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”   ~ Rachel Carson