Little Park, Big Vision: How One Small Playgroup Grew to a Respected Early Education Center

Little Park is not your typical nursery school. Founded by Nina Xu, a teacher originally from Henan province who has been living in Beijing for 10 years, it originally grew from a small playgroup in her apartment back in 2015 to a professional early education center with a loyal following of mainly expat parents who love the schools caring environment and play-based program, which is rooted in the Resources for Infant Educarers® (RIE) approach.

I caught up with Xu to talk about the origins of Little Park, how RIE comes into play and the launch of her new bilingual podcast, Amazing Parents 了不起的爸妈.

“Kids have the right to grow in a healthy, safe environment”

Xu’s motivation to start a nursery school came after she overheard an ayi telling a child that if he kept crying, mommy wouldn’t come back. Although she knew that it was quite a common thing for someone to say in China to stop a child from crying, she was still shocked by what she considered an outdated mindset and parenting technique that should have stopped with the last generation.

Xu was ready to make a change by teaching parents and ayis how babies can grow and develop by themselves if shown the right steps. Letting children grow and express themselves emotionally without fearing that something bad happening to them was and has been her philosophy. “Kids have the right to grow in a healthy, safe environment, not with the old traditional ways that are still very present in us. Many things in society grow and develop, like the economy for example, but the way we treat or raise our babies is still old”.

Little Park grew from a small playgroup in Xu’s apartment

With that in mind, Xu prepared a corner of her living room to start a children’s playgroup. She was eager to put into practice her knowledge and continue her observations and research on child development in the early years and posted a sign on her apartment window advertising a child playgroup for 0-3 years. After a full month of no one showing interest, someone finally knocked on her door to see about this playgroup idea. The rest is history, and parents were so impressed with Xu’s methods that word quickly spread about her unique school. Every educator’s goal is to impact their students through their teaching so that they will eventually make a difference in the future, and this was Xu’s purpose too: bring change to the ways we traditionally raise our children in the early years, even if this change is done on a small scale.

Xu is a certified high school teacher, however, she has taught throughout all grade levels. Her desire to continue learning about the newest trends in education led her to find an interest in education for the early years. Her school adapts the RIE approach for Infant Educators which is based on the idea that children are capable and understanding of the world around them, able to learn and flourish if given a safe space and freedom from too much adult direction.

Problem-solving, respect, and understanding boundaries are fundamental to the RIE approach.

According to Xu, teachers serve as a secure base to support children in their social skills, and at Little Park, children are given opportunities to solve problems among themselves with little intervention from adults. “I teach them to say no, thank you, and please. It’s ok for children to say no when they are not ready to share. If another child says no to them, they won’t feel bad or rejected, they will understand that sometimes a child is not ready to share, that they need more time”. Xu tells us. These personal boundaries will teach children mutual respect. “If their decision is respected, they will respect other children’s decisions as well. We also model and show them ways on how to deal with emotions. Children should be able to express their emotions, not telling them “don’t cry” but to guide them and give them opportunities to solve problems among themselves.”

Much has changed in the last few months, and in order to stay connected with her community of parents, Xu recently created her own bilingual podcast as a way to maintain ongoing support during the closure of the school. She invites parents to share their educational experiences, professional knowledge, or any parenting tips. “Parents are a great source and have valuable information that will help us grow”.

These past five years with her school, Xu  has felt that she has grown professionally, mentally, and personally thanks to the support and encouragement from her families. This gives her the ongoing incentive to keep her nursery authentic and pure as she intended to do when she first founded her school. Her vision will always be to educate and support parents and keep the focus of her school into making a difference for those that she can reach out to.

Little Park Child Development Center
Jingda International Apartment, 11 West Road Chaoyang Park.
朝阳公园西路11号院 京达国际公寓
WeChat: 15011273676

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Photos: Courtesy of Little Park