FOR PARENTS

be the parent you planned to be with a coach & a community

Our parent programs provide expert advice, guidance, and developmental context for families with children under six using the liberatory method of Montessori education

As an educator, Mariana is well aware of how crucial the child’s early years are. Children in the first six years of life are constructing their most foundational parts of development that will shape their lives forever. Too often, parents find themselves in survival mode during these essential early years… but they don’t have to be! Worse yet, many parents find themselves repeating old patterns of punishments and rewards that were used on them as children. These systems of punishment are damaging to the child’s development and potential. Montessori gives us a structure to create liberatory spaces with and for our children. Mariana helps you implement it.

PEACE (Parent Education And Child Empowerment) is a unique program that Mariana founded in 2016 to give families access to crucial development context so that they could make informed choices about their child. She uses the Montessori method as it centers the child’s liberation from the oppressive systems that constrain the child’s ability to develop as they are trying to. And the beauty is: Montessori is flexible and can be done in your own home TODAY without any special equipment (no matter what the internet makes Montessori out to be). Plus, with her international team of AMI 0-6 trained Montessori parent-educators, they are ready to support you whenever you are ready to start.

“Everyone is always asking me why I take parenting classes when I seem so good with my kid. I always tell them, ‘I’m good with my kid because I take parenting classes!’”

— Britt

BUY THE BOOK

Babies Build Toddlers

Babies Build Toddlers is an illustrated guide to parenting through a child’s first 18 months. With its casual and accessible tone, this book gives readers clear developmental timelines, practical suggestions for how to support the child’s development, and the basics of Montessori Education from birth.

Montessori is an approach to education as an aid to life; a life whose critical foundation is built in the first three years. Author, Mariana Bissonnette brings her experience as a classroom Montessori teacher, her two AMI Montessori trainings, as well as her experience parenting her own children to the design and content of this powerful book.

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

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THE PEACE PROGRAM

Online Montessori Programs

GROUP COACHING WITH MARIANA

Think of these live, facilitated groups like parenting "office hours". 

You bring any parenting question, struggle, or success and Mariana will guide you with the developmental context and practical suggestions for how to support your child. All groups are drop in, so you can stop by at any point to ask a question, attend all the groups throughout the week, or ask a question in the private community in the time in-between.

Through this program, participants:

  • Get a strong grasp of development

  • Feel more confident in parenting

  • Reduce clutter and mess

  • Have calmer mealtimes

  • Get a better night’s sleep (for everyone)

  • Cut down on screen time

  • Feel empowered during tantrums

  • Feel connected to a community

  • and so much more!

Offered as a subscription at a sliding scale.

THE MONTESSORI MASTERCLASS AND OTHER ONLINE COURSES

Mariana’s signature online course, the Montessori Masterclass is self-paced and focuses on equipping you with the basics of Montessori and child development from birth to six. This is a perfect course for parents, families, grandparents, educators, school leaders, nannies, and caregivers who are looking to unpack the fundamentals of Montessori with practical, doable ways to begin or continue this at home.

In addition, Mariana offers more online courses, including:

THE PEACEFUL PARENTING PODCAST WITH THE PEACE TEAM

Join us for conversation with Mariana and her Montessori trained Facilitation Team! We are a team of multilingual, multicultural Montessori trained guides from around the world. Some of us work in classrooms, others are administrators, some own schools, and a few of us are full-time parent-educators. We have come together on a single platform to support families with high-quality parenting support in an accessible, practical, and inclusive way.

The PEACEful Parenting Podcast let's you be a fly on the wall in conversations between Montessori educators as we talk about all things Montessori, parenting, and child development.

Check Out Past Seasons:

THE PEACE SUMMIT ONLINE CONFERENCE WITH THE PEACE TEAM

As Montessori practitioners, we are grounded in the liberation of the child from the oppressive systems that constrain their ability to develop as they are trying to do. Constraints to their movement, speech, and choice are of particular concern as they are primary features of the child’s inherent development and markers of a free society.

Come Mariana and her international, Montessori-trained team for workshops and discussion about how we use the Montessori Method toward the liberation of the child in our classrooms, homes, and everywhere in-between.

Past PEACE Summits:

  • Mariana offers such unbiased listening and helpful advice as you want it and in a format you can use right away (or whenever you are ready). It's such a gift!

    Beth

  • Mariana is amazing at giving a solid framework to approach different situations, so you aren't left only parroting helpful phrases, but really learning how to take on the situations yourself.

    Shawna

  • With Mariana's group coaching, I was reminded that my child can do more than I think! I just need to create the conditions for his skills to emerge. Mariana is amazing and this program is a huge gift to our family! Thank you!

    Sarah

  • Even though I am Montessori trained, I think the way she delivers information has summarized the core principles in such a clear and easy way to understand.

    Shraddha

  • Marina offers extremely helpful and supportive services for new parents. I wish more people had access to this kind of tailored listening and feedback.

  • Mariana is always excellent. She is so helpful in how she talks about limits and freedoms.

    Shawna

  • I learned so much about where our three-year-old is in his developmental stage and how it differs from when he was two.

    Meagan

  • I hope an increasing numbers of families can benefit from her work!

    Sheila

  • Whether a seemingly small or larger issue, Mariana seems to provide flexible and tailored suggestions to guide parents based on their specific situation.

    Tanya

  • I am just continually grateful for Mariana and the support she provides for parents and our children. She has made the Montessori approach feel possible for our family.

    Tanya

  • Everyone is always asking me why I take parenting classes because it seems like I’m so good with my kid. And I always tell them, ‘I’m good with my kid because I take parenting classes!’ I don’t know why more parents take advantage of these programs!

    Britt

  • 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 I'm happy to report my toddler responded to it REALLY well.

    Virginia

  • Mariana has an incredible amount of expertise that I am sure has helped so many parents get through what is a lonely and difficult period.

    Sheila

  • I am grateful for Mariana and her program's places emphasis on reaching BIPOC families- thank you!

    Hana

  • We really appreciate the balance of offerings the Mariana has. Both the time in group coaching and the online courses, we have had lots of opportunity to learn and grow.

    Lindsay

  • The PEACE Summit presentation were fantastic. They were all so clear, insightful, and practical. Really excellent conference!

    Shawna

  • I love that the group coaching and 1:1s have video recordings of sessions so that my husband can playback the videos to catch up on what we discussed. It's so helpful also if I ever miss a class!

    Nina

  • I have had a great time learning from Mariana both in reading her book and asking questions in the group coaching lives.

    Beth

  • I LOVE the examples Mariana gives as they help me connect to the big ideas so easily.

    Shraddha

  • The open-mindedness and compassion that Mariana brings to her work is invaluable.

    Sheila

  • We've already started implementing some of the tips and strategies and are seeing improvement already. Thank you, Mariana!

    Lindsay

  • It's so wonderful to feel like there's someone who is there to answer questions from a child development perspective without trying to rush or judge you.

    Beth

  • I spent 30 days with Ms. Mariana and I call them 30 days of transformation because this course changed my thinking. Concepts that seemed very familiar in Montessori, under her teaching seem entirely new. I just listened and wrote about 50 pages of notes every time she spoke.

  • Our son napped BOTH days this weekend due to your guidance...SO helpful!

    Whitney

PODCAST & CONFERENCE

The PEACE Team

EACH YEAR, MARIANA COLLABORATES WITH MONTESSORI TRAINED EDUCATORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO PUT ON OUR PODCAST AND ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

Mariana started The PEACE Program in 2016 with a free, drop-in play group for families in her local area to be with their babies and learn a thing or two about the child's development. The success of the program led Mariana to serve over 1200 families in the first three years of the program alone! However, Mariana was the only facilitator available to families. 

In response to listening to and learning from Black and Brown activists in 2020, Mariana recognized that she would not always be the right parent-educator for all familie. To address this, Mariana created a Scholarship Program (now called PEACE Mentorship) where she supported four aspiring Montessori teachers during their training with mentorship and financial assistance. 100% of the PEACE Scholars were Black and/or Indigenous. From that program and in pursuit of supporting more teachers, Mariana began building a team of Facilitators to help her deliver parenting education in addition to supporting the mentorship of upcoming Montessori teachers.

About the 24/25 PEACE Facilitation Team:

  • 67% of 24/25 PEACE Facilitators are Black, Indigenous, or of the Global Majority.

  • 100% are multilingual

  • 89% are experienced classroom teachers and are parents themselves

  • 44% are experienced parent-educators and are cross trained in 0-3 and 3-6

  • 54% live outside the United States (including Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America)

PEACE Facilitators work closely with Mariana and share responsibility for contributing to a culture based on our communal values of self-reflection, self-care, responsiveness to being/becoming Anti-Bias / Anti-Racist and a deep commitment to the whole child within the whole family.