This school is incredible and one of a kind! My son absolutely loves it here. It took us a while to figure out as a family what would be the best choice for us and we are so glad we looked around the South Bay and we are so glad we found MBNS. There is such a wonderful sense of community with the families and staff here. Families from the area and greater Los Angeles come together at this magical place. At MBNS children are really free to lead their own play and their feelings and ideas are respected. It's so wonderful to see how the mixed age groups play together. MBNS campus is so beautiful and lush! Lots of plants and trees to offer shade. My son loves to play with dirt and water, which can be found anytime you need it here. There are also lots of fun toys, tricycles, homemade play dough, books to be read, and more. As a an educator myself, I feel qualified to say this is a paradise for kids and a wonderful place to learn! read more

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We joined this school back in 2021 because we were drawn to it's free play, child-led "curriculum", and emotionally supportive staff. We enjoyed most of our time there, made great friendships, and grew as parents. However, as time went on and we began to get more involved (including serving on the Board for 2 years), it became clear that not all was well. The director, Carol Tatsumi, repeatedly dismissed community feedback unless it fit her vision of how school should operate. She failed to distribute the co-op bylaws to the Board or parents, such that no one knew they had voting rights as members or how the co-op should work. When this came to light, she denied wrongdoing and rejected suggestions from the Board to share the bylaws with members so they could be made aware of their rights and responsibilities in the organization. She even had Board Meeting minutes deleted that contained any bylaw discussion, even though they are supposed to be made available to members. Furthermore, the director failed to abide by California state laws and permitted 60% of the students enrolled to be unvaccinated and used the students records who WERE vaccinated to be the "cover" during state inspections. Once caught by the government agency, she abruptly unenrolled the students who were partially or fully unvaccinated rather than giving them the 10 days allowed by the government to either get up to date or at least say goodbye to the school and have a smooth transition. This was incredibly painful for those students and their families and negatively impacted the entire school community. Sadly, this "co-op" doesn't operate like one, and it's poorly operated at that. The building is in need of major repairs although the director dismissed multiple suggestions to improve its safety, function, and appearance. Furthermore, the school has been losing money due to low enrollment and hasn't recovered since COVID, so there is limited budget to address safety concerns let alone hire, develop, or retain talented staff. Finally, the "rules" families need to follow is laundry list long, from forbidding packaged foods to making kids turn their shirt inside out if it has a character or any brand on it. There might only be 3 kids at school one day, but all parents need to volunteer every single week such that there are often more adults on campus than children. And perhaps most disappointing, there isn't actual coaching of non-violent communication skills, just avoiding of setting limits and boundaries among kids such that exclusion and cliqueyness prevail. This school will probably be a fit for those looking for a very specific experience for their children, but do know that there are not enough families enrolled here to make this co-op run smoothly, so you will be required to do more than your fair share to try to keep it running and your feedback to how it could be more efficiently handled will probably be ignored. Good luck! read more

An absolutely fantastic place for you kids to blossom and explore. The staff is friendly and the community is engaging. All are made to feel welcome and heard! read more

We have been a part of this community for over 3 years since our daughter was almost 2 and she's almost 5 now. It's a wonderful place for children to be children. It's a little oasis for children to ride bikes, climb, and play in the dirt! It is a play-based school and definitely not a daycare. It is a co-op for families looking for a specific type of care/education for their young children. We specifically chose this school because of its unique philosophy and could not be more happy being here for almost 3 years. The director Carol is very knowledgeable about early childhood education and has a great team of educators who truly care about children. read more

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We loved our experience at MBNS, though it was an odd couple years to be in preschool! The teachers and director made each day feel special and welcoming during a time when kids were told to wear masks and stay away from each other. Our son loved reading books that he chose, playing freely, laughing, running around, and being able to choose what inspired him. We all learned sooo much about respecting one another, we loved the parent education component and we still go to the parent support group! This is a sweet, kind, lovely home away from home for the whole family. The director is so dedicated and maintains a beautiful space for children to learn, explore, connect and enjoy. We love this special school! read more

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MBNS has been a preschool dream come true for our family! Learning through play is the basis of the schools philosophy. An adult from each participating family has a scheduled post each week. Watching MBNS teachers in action, I have learned so much about how to support my kids with developmentally appropriate, non-violent communication. Thank you, MBNS! read more

Manhattan Beach Nursery School - Open ended art station set up. - Preschools Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

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My 3 children attended MBNS, so I was at the school for 7 years. They have different personalities but the school was an excellent fit for all of them because it meets each child where they are at. The activities are child-directed, which supports their independence and overall development . The staff is caring, intelligent, and committed to creating a loving and safe environment for children (and parents!) to learn and grow. I was very involved with the board, serving as the membership director and president throughout my years there and working with staff and other parents on the running of the school was rewarding and also showed me another side of the staff's commitment to the school. Play is an important part of brain development and of social-emotional functioning. I highly recommend MBNS as a place to spend these important toddler and pre-school years. read more

Our family would not be the same without our experiences and the community we have found at MBNS! Our oldest daughter began in their Toddler program and eventually graduated at the age of 5. We can not wait to enroll our youngest as soon as she is old enough. We are so fortunate that our daughter was able to develop here under the guidance of the incredible, compassionate, gentle and wise staff. Our daughter had the freedom to explore and interact with the indoor and outdoor campus in a way that was uniquely her own. MBNS is truly a child- centered, child-led program led by decades of experience. We love MBNS! read more

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I recommend this school to anyone looking for a nature-based, free-play format, safe place where a kid can be a kid, get messy, make art, spend lots of time outside, climb trees, build things, make friends and be themselves! Instead of pavement and artificial turf there's real earth, shady trees and fresh ocean breezes. There's no structure to the day, which is a huge departure from other preschools, but it gives kids the freedom to find their own preferences and their own voice (aka real CONFIDENCE) and set their own pace, which is something we all need more of in this over-stimulating world. Come check out this homey, child-centric place and imagine what it would be like to be a kid here knowing you can play all day and make a mess and *follow your bliss*! read more

We love this school! Manhattan Beach Nursery School is such an amazing place! We have been a part of the school for almost 2 years. Our daughter started when she was almost 2 and now she's almost 4. This school is incredibly special in that they believe in attachment parenting and understand the deep connection we have with our children as parents. There is dirt, mud, clay, swings, and tree climbing every day. The children are constantly engaged with enriching play-based learning experiences. It's a place for children to be children and simply play. Carol, the school director is incredibly knowledgeable of early childhood education and has such a deep love and appreciation for children. She just gets them in a truly magical way and children love her as well. The teachers are amazing! Most of them attended MBNS as children or were once parents there (or both). They are always so kind, caring, and patient with the children (and parents!). It's lovely to see teachers who truly care about what they do and it shows every day by the simple interactions they have with the children. This is a place where children's ideas and feelings are respected and appreciated. We have had the best 2 years there watching our child develop in her communication, social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills all while having fun and playing! We wish we could stay forever. read more

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If you are looking for truly child led, play based and supportive, respectful, community oriented place for your kiddo, look no further, this is it. The space is really cute and there are a lot of RIE and Waldorf principles that are implemented with children, while they get to explore at their own pace and interact with each other with amazing conflict resolution support that is socio-emotionally sound and based on latest research about child development.. I love this preschool and so lucky to have found it for my 3 year old. Many preschools say they are child led and play based but rarely do I find it to be executed correctly. read more

MBNS is an amazing oasis of brilliant and beautiful opportunities for 2 - 6 year olds!  Obviously no one school is the perfect match for every child. But Manhattan Beach Nursery School is the perfect match for so many lucky kiddos.  The director, Carol Tatsumi is a loving, competent professional who is highly trained and does an excellent job of providing an environment of self directed, child-led, enriched educational options like their extensive library, and indoor and outdoor activities. The co-op model allows parents to spend time with their children on the grounds of the neighborhood based quiet residential street nursery school.  The staff is first rate.  They are also dedicated, caring professionals. All the children are treated as valuable individuals. read more

If you are looking for a place to take your child to explore the world and play and interact with other children without needless rules and regulations then this is the school for you. MBNS is a supportive and kind environment where my attachment parenting principles were respected. Children have a voice at this school and the teachers are loving and respectful. They have continuing parent education as well where you can work on your communication skills. It is a co-op so there is major parental involvement and it gives you a sense of community, it feels like home when you are there. I would not be the parent I am without this school. It's a treasure. read more

Manhattan Beach Nursery School is a child-led, play based, parent participation preschool in Manhattan Beach. This non-profit co-op was founded in the late 1950's, and continues to provide families of children 2-6 with a sensory rich, artistic, creative, progressive and diverse social/emotional curriculum - in a homey nature filled environment! read more

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This is a school where your child can run and play and be free. This is a school where it is the parents who do the more traditional "learning." You learn child development, you learn how to raise a child who has true inner confidence, you learn how to communicate in a positive and effective way with your children and everyone you meet. The children learn by exploring, being free to make mistakes without shame or judgement, learning to trust that the adults around them are there to support them. This school may challenge your preconceptions about how raise children, but the results are beyond rewarding. This school works to have children learn to resolve their own conflicts, which prepares them for life in one of the most important ways. This is illustrated by a moment from my very first year here. Two young children had set up a small fort on top of the slide/playground structure and were telling other children that they couldn't go on the play structure. To my own less-experienced mind this sounded like 'exclusion' and 'bullying,' the director stepped in and instead of telling them what needed to happen or labeling the behavior, started asking the children questions about how people might know that this was a private fort, did it need a sign, how would the younger children know what the sign said, what it would be like if the other children also set up a fort there. After a series of questions and responses, the children came up with a plan, all on their own, on how to make the slide available to all, to set up a more private fort in another section of the yard, and the play continued totally uninterrupted. The children solved their own dilemma, and felt confidence in doing so, and I learned an invaluable lesson. All of the teachers and staff here are so knowledgeable on child development and truly embrace and employ what all of the most recent child-development research shows. Reading any of the books by Alfie Kohn will give you a clear picture of how this school enables the children to learn. This school has shaped my child, my family, and my outlook in such a positive way. read more

If you want to raise a healthy solid whole human being-start here!

This is a coop preschool that has been in business since the fifties. It is play based and developmental. The teachers here have masters degrees in early education and teaching is their passion. They are so loving and warm. My son loves it here. There are so many fun activities for them to choose from and they are encouraged to use their skills and their imaginations in finding fun things to do. This school is one of a kind. Kids get to play in the mud, dig for bugs, climb trees and ride trycycles and all of the things kids don't do anymore. Update: They do not supervise the children properly, and it is honestly not safe for the kids. Yes they get to be free and explore and play in the dirt, but I had to pull my son out because he was getting bullied and beat up by kids twice his size and age. And the director made no moves to stop this from happening. It felt as if though it was pro bully, which is just not ok especially with young kids. The love is there but they mainy train kids for home schooling, not to get them ready for kindergarden or any social school environment. It need's to be more balanced. If you do your research and this is exactly what you want, you will be happy. Otherwise, do not send your kids here. read more

This is the perfect place for our future(the children). When one of our leaders eventually leads us to the apocalypse, only those that went to this school can lead us through the fallout. All the other survivors that exist in this post-apocalypse will only have training and skills that were helpful before the big one dropped. The kids here will be the guiding light of how to exist in an environment with no rules, laws or implications. read more

This special place provided a wonderful experience for our two children. But, the supportive community with superior parent ed was an unexpected bonus. I credit MBNS for making me a better parent. It is truly a gem for the entire family. read more