La Playa Cooperative Nursery School - Culver City, California

Megan Ibarra

La Playa is truly one-of-a-kind and my children love going here! The teachers are great at recognizing and anticipating the needs of the children and are always finding new ways to engage them and work with their energy and big feelings. As a co-op, the school relies on families to be involved and work together and we are so happy to have found this incredible community. The families care about each other and the school. We also appreciate the emphasis on social development and conflict resolution and have seen incredible growth in our children this year!

Emily Sheehy

Our family loves La Playa! After being away from kids for so long during the pandemic, it was a wonderful transition for them into this school! They love the teachers, and they love the kids! The school encourages play-based learning, which I love! My kids will get years of structured education in a classroom, so I want them to be kids as long as possible! It is a great way to meet like-minded families and build friendships in Los Angeles, which can be really hard. The teachers are delightful! They are really caring and help the kids build good social skills that they will use for the rest of their lives!

Grace J

I’ve had 2 kids attend this school over 3 years and I cannot say enough good things about it. My kids LOVE this school! The coop aspect with the parent involvement was what convinced me, but the emotional support for the kids and conflict resolution was what convinced me to stay. I think it’s important for children this age to engage in social interaction and to learn how to interact with each other and recognize their own emotions. La Playa has amazing teachers who lead by example and teach with heart and I cannot thank them enough for guiding my kiddos on their journey of growth. I highly recommend!!!

Sarah Natalini

We love La Playa! It truly is a school where children learn through play, and our son has thrived in this supportive, nurturing environment. The teachers support the children's learning and development by allowing them to choose what they play with (e.g. sand box, painting, play dough, tricycles, etc) while also providing some structure to each day (circle time, snack time, music, yoga) so that students get to know their classmates and develop their listening & conversation skills.

We also love the co-op model because we've really gotten to know the other parents and children in a meaningful way. When I'm there once a week for my workday, I love being part of a fun, supportive community where everyone pitches in and does their part for the school.

We highly recommend La Playa and it's a fantastic, nurturing place to send your child for his/her precious first years of school.

Roy Rivas

Where can one start with this truly magical place. We are on our third child attending this play based learning cooperative! From the first day we absolutely loved it. The safe outside play area only adds to the wonderful atmosphere at this parent lead pre school in Culver City. The parent to child ratios are perfect and the amazing teachers leading the way will truly transform the way you feel about schooling.
The monthly parent education seminars also provide reassurance to all parents who may have any questions or need a little more guidance in navigating pre-schooling. I can honestly say that La Playa has been a life changing and life altering experience for our family.

Bruno Dieseldorff

La Playa is a preschool that is truly different from most others. The combination of professional/tenured teachers and caring parents is a wonderful way to run a preschool. Our son has spent a year here and he loves it. Our daughter will soon join him. I look forward to my weekly "work" days at La Playa, to connect with friends - both adults and little ones.

Billie Larson Shipley

La Playa is such a wonderful school. My child was never in preschool/daycare before and I was looking for an affordable, part-time to help the transition to kindergarten. The concentration on play-based learning helped my children learn and the environment was extremely helpful in teaching socialization. The co-op aspect was great for our family and meeting other families in our area. The time commitment seemed overwhelming in theory (1 volunteer day a week, monthly board meetings and 2 maintenance days a year) but it’s completely doable and helped us feel more involved in the community. The response to COVID was amazing and I continue to feel very safe with most activities being kept outside. This place is now my village and I couldn’t see my kids or family in another other place.

William Brode

I went to La Playa 30 years ago as a 3 year old and now my kids are going there! It's play-based education with parents participating which is a ton of fun. We have been doing events outside of school too and are making lots of friends for play-dates. The teachers are an excellent source of wisdom for helping with issues we've had at home too.