Our Beginnings
Mariana founded The PEACE Program in 2016 with a small Montessori play space in Oakland, CA. The popularity of this drop-in support group for families with infants gave way to supporting families in the home. The play group and the 1:1 home visits served over 1200 families in the first three and a half years alone! Much of the guidance Mariana offered during this time was summed up into her award-winning book about parenting that published at the end of 2020: Babies Build Toddlers (now an eBook!)
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mariana moved all of her parenting support program online and began re-imagining the parent support space in a virtual platform…
“I feel like we walked away with really tangible, do-able next steps for handling stressful moments with our toddler. I feel empowered with some additional skills that will truly make us better parents. I tried some of it out last night at bedtime, and my toddler responded to it really well!” - Cate
📚eBook 📕 Paperback 📖 Hardcover
📚eBook 📕 Paperback 📖 Hardcover
“Wow. This was so. good. This is just a really thoughtful, well-done book with so much knowledge and goodness packed in. It’s something I return to again and again as my child grows.” - Lauren A.”
“These home visits continue to help our family thrive/ cope/ enjoy/ navigate the early years with our son. Mariana gives structure and expertise to all of our parenting hopes and wishes. Our little family is set up for success, and we couldn't be more appreciative!” - Whitney
Back in 2020…
In 2020, Mariana began to examine The PEACE Program’s unwritten policies & practices the kept The PEACE Program as a single-facilitator program. In centering The PEACE Program’s commitment to being/becoming an Anti-Bias / Anti-Racist organization, Mariana reflected on the lack of representation in the parent-coaching space, especially in 0-3 Montessori.
In 2020, The PEACE Program launched The PEACE Scholarship, a program for aspiring Montessori teachers-in-training to practice parent facilitation alongside their training year, in addition to being given mentoring and financial support for training.
In 2022, Mariana left her administrative position at a Montessori school to pursue The PEACE Program as a full-time endeavor and knew she wanted to work with a broader team of Montessori educators to work with! With the idea of coming together on a single platform to uplift each other and give essential mentoring in the field of parent education, PEACE Facilitation began!
We now offer a practical, holistic, virtual support program for parents and educators alike. Join Us (free!)