Pixie Nursery School

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Pixie Nursery School Pixie Nursery School, is a RIE inspired childcare program located in Mill Valley, CA.

We proudly work with infants and toddlers offering play based outdoors and indoors learning opportunities to support children growing bodies, mind and spirit.

There is a particular kind of quiet that only lives in the arms of a child.When I hold a baby close, something in me set...
10/07/2026

There is a particular kind of quiet that only lives in the arms of a child.

When I hold a baby close, something in me settles. The noise of the world falls away, and what’s left is pure presence: a love so high and so steady that it seems to radiate from my chest into everything around me. My breath slows. My heart opens. Time stops asking anything of me.

After 35 years with little ones, this feeling has never faded. If anything, it has deepened. Babies don’t need us to be impressive. They need us to be here, fully. And every time I give them that, they give me something back I still can’t put into words: a calm that feels like coming home, and a joy that feels like prayer.

This is the place my work comes from. This is the place I hope every child gets to rest in. 🤍

10/06/2026

Full attention during care. Freedom to explore during play. 🤍

At Pixie, we protect both. When a child is deeply engaged, we can stay available without interrupting their discovery.

10/05/2026

Independence grows from connection. 🤍

At Pixie, we give infants and toddlers attentive care, time to participate, and space to explore—with a trusted adult nearby. Clinginess and big feelings still happen. Children learn that they can come to us for comfort and try again when they’re ready.

Raise the child. Protect the connection. Grow the mindset. 🌱A growth mindset is not simply teaching our children to beli...
10/05/2026

Raise the child. Protect the connection. Grow the mindset. 🌱

A growth mindset is not simply teaching our children to believe, “I can do anything.” It is teaching them that they can learn, practice, struggle, make mistakes, try again, and grow.

As parents, our words can become part of our children’s inner voice.

Instead of focusing only on results, we can praise effort.
Instead of fearing mistakes, we can normalize them.
Instead of saying, “You can’t do this,” we can introduce one powerful little word: YET.

But especially as our children enter the teenage years, there is something even more important:

Connection before correction. ❤️

Our influence grows from the relationship we build with them. When our children know that home is a safe place to talk, fail, question, disagree, dream, and begin again, we give them something far greater than confidence—we give them a foundation for resilience.

Don’t raise a child who is afraid of failure.
Raise a child who knows that failure can be part of becoming.

Their abilities can grow. Their thinking can evolve. Their story is still being written. 🌱

— Adriana Palmeira
Positive Parenting Coach

10/03/2026

At Pixie, we don’t sit babies up before they can get into the sitting position themselves. We don’t place them on all fours to teach them how to crawl.

And we don’t rush milestones. 🌱

In our RIE-inspired approach, we believe babies deserve the opportunity to discover their bodies through natural, self-initiated movement.

Instead of constantly positioning or prompting them, we offer something incredibly powerful:

✨ Safe, uninterrupted floor time
✨ Freedom of movement
✨ A thoughtfully prepared environment
✨ Observation instead of unnecessary intervention
✨ Trust in each child’s individual developmental rhythm

When we give babies the space to explore movement, they have opportunities to develop the strength, coordination, balance, persistence, and confidence that support each new milestone.

Our role isn’t to rush a baby toward the next stage.

Our role is to create the conditions for development—and then trust the process.

Development is not a race.
Trust the child. Trust the process. 🤍

RespectfulParenting BabyDevelopment PixieNurserySchool

10/02/2026

What if we stopped thinking of babies as people we need to constantly teach, entertain and direct—and started seeing them as capable human beings worthy of respect from the very beginning?

This is one of the reasons I chose the RIE approach as part of the foundation of our work at Pixie Nursery School.

RIE, inspired by the work of infant educator Magda Ge**er, invites us to slow down and truly observe the child in front of us.

It means talking to a baby before picking them up.

It means treating feeding, diapering and dressing as moments of connection—not simply tasks to get through.

It means allowing time for uninterrupted play and natural movement.

It means creating a safe environment where infants and toddlers can explore, attempt, discover and develop at their own pace.

And sometimes, it means resisting our instinct to immediately help.

We stay close. We observe. We support when support is needed—but we also give children the opportunity to experience:

“I can try.”

RIE does not mean being hands-off.

It means being deeply present without unnecessarily taking over.

After years of working with infants and toddlers, I continue to believe that some of the most important things we can give a young child are not more stimulation or more instruction.

They are respect, connection, trust and time.

That is part of the foundation of how we care for children at Pixie. 🤍

Follow Pixie as I begin sharing more about infant and toddler development, RIE, Positive Discipline, and what children truly need during the extraordinary first three years of life.

**er

09/30/2026

I’ve spent 35 years watching children learn. They taught me something many adults forget.

When did we become so afraid to be beginners?

I’ve spent 35 years watching children learn, and there is something beautiful about the way they approach something new.

They try.
They stumble.
They try again.

They don’t expect themselves to already know how to do something they’ve never done before.

Somewhere along the way, many of us adults forget this.

We begin believing that if we aren’t immediately good at something, perhaps we shouldn’t be doing it at all.

At 53, I’m learning to challenge that belief.

I’m learning new ways of coaching. I’m learning to communicate publicly. I’m learning to create videos, use new technology, and put my ideas into the world in ways that still feel unfamiliar.

And yes, sometimes I am a beginner.

But being a beginner doesn’t mean I’m behind.

It means I’m growing.

Neuroplasticity reminds us that our brains continue to learn, adapt, and create new pathways throughout our lives.

There is no age when we have to stop becoming.

So perhaps the question isn’t:

“Am I good at this yet?”

Perhaps it is:

“Who could I become if I gave myself permission to be new at something again?”

What would you start if you allowed yourself to be a beginner?

Equanimity — cocreating your own truth.

Conscious parenting is possible—even in today’s busy, demanding world. 🌿It doesn’t mean being a perfect parent.It means ...
09/14/2026

Conscious parenting is possible—even in today’s busy, demanding world. 🌿

It doesn’t mean being a perfect parent.
It means becoming more aware of ourselves—our reactions, our triggers, our expectations—and choosing to connect with our children instead of simply controlling their behavior.

At Pixie Nursery School, we believe children don’t need perfect adults. They need present, connected, emotionally available adults who are willing to grow alongside them.

Every child is an invitation to become more conscious.
Every challenging moment is an opportunity to pause, connect, and teach rather than punish.

Because when we change the way we see children, we change the way we raise them. ❤️

✨ Conscious parenting isn’t just possible. It is one of the most powerful gifts we can give the next generation.

“Babies thrive out of doors.” — Magda Ge**er, The RIE Manual (1979).
09/10/2026

“Babies thrive out of doors.” — Magda Ge**er, The RIE Manual (1979).

Today I learned Gloria Steinem has passed away. She was my friend during the years I worked at the cafeteria at Smith Co...
09/04/2026

Today I learned Gloria Steinem has passed away. She was my friend during the years I worked at the cafeteria at Smith College. On days when it was less busy, she and I would have wonderful conversations. She usually sat at a table quietly with a book, and she and I had a signal — if I saw her use it, I knew to come over. She was trying to show everyone else that she was busy and shouldn’t be interrupted. She used to say, “I would rather speak with you than any of them.”

Oh Gloria, my heart is sad. You taught me what true feminism is about. You taught me how much we women of this earth still have to accomplish — how much we still have to fight for. Even now, in 2026, in a country where more women than ever are in the workforce, maternity leave is still treated as a disability, and mothers don’t get nearly enough paid time at home with their infants. I hope to live long enough to see these policies change so that babies and their mothers can be together longer, because starting daycare at three months is far too early, in my opinion.

Address

11 Strawberry Circle
Mill Valley, CA
94941

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 7:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 7:30am - 5:30am

Telephone

+14156864282

Website

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