RIE® Foundations: Theory & Observation™
A deep-dive into the Educaring® Approach that provides instruction, observation, and self-study.
This intensive course is for students, parents (including expectant parents), and professionals who want to develop and deepen their understanding of infant development and care. Course content includes an overview of Magda Gerber’s Educaring® Approach - gross motor, fine motor, and social-emotional development of the infant - designing the environment - planning the curriculum - issues in parenting. RIE® Foundations training can be applied in settings such as the natural family, the childcare center, and family child care. The format for the course includes lectures, discussions, videos, and observations.
This interactive Course is a total of 60 hours. Please plan for work outside of course hours. There are also required readings for this course. See below for details.
July 12 - 20, 2025, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm daily with a one-hour break, half day on Sunday, July 20th.
Individual Fee: $1,395.00
The course is 60 hours in total and includes in-class and outside-of-class learning.
We expect this course to fill up quickly, so do not delay registering early.
Instructors: RIE® Associates Anna Ruth Meyers, Eileen O'Sullivan, and Nicole Vigliotti.
RIE Interns® are also part of the teaching team
Group discounts are available. If you have a group of 8 or more interested in a course, please contact us to arrange a RIE® Foundations Course in your area!
Required Reading
Items may be purchased here: https://rie.org/store/
Dear Parent: Caring for Infants with Respect, by Magda Gerber
The RIE® Manual for Parents and Professionals, edited by Magda Gerber and Deborah Greenwald
Unfolding of Infants’ Natural Gross Motor Development, by Dr. Emmi Pikler and the Pikler Institute
Pikler Bulletin #14: Sensory Awareness
Optional Encouraged Readings
Being with Infants and Toddlers, by Beverly Kovach and Susan Patrick
Origins of Free Play, by Eva Kallo and Gyorgyi Balog
Your Self-Confident Baby, by Magda Gerber and Allison Johnson
For questions, please contact theRIEway@gmail.com
Nicole Vigliotti
Nicole Vigliotti began her early childhood career in search of more meaningful work as an infant caregiver at Little Learners Lodge (LLL). After studying with Magda Gerber in 1998, Nicole received her Montessori 3-6 credentials in order to remain with herprimary group of infants through Kindergarten. She continued her studies under the guidance of Anna Tardos and the team of experts at the Pikler Institute in Budapest. During her 25 years as Head of School at LLL, Nicole also served on both the RIE® and Pikler USA Governing Boards, piloted the first East Coast RIE-certified center, produced Beverly Kovach's Being With Infants video training series, and chartered a public Montessori elementary school. Nicole primarily resides in Florida with her husband, David, and three sons but you will also find her spending plenty of time in South Carolina working with the frontline caregivers at Little Learners Lodge.
Anna Ruth Myers
Anna Ruth Myers, MA is an infant development specialist with over 20 years of experience supporting families and young children. A Pikler® Pedagogue candidate and RIE® Associate, her work is guided by the profound insights of Dr. Emmi Pikler and Magda Gerber. As a certified doula, childbirth and lactation educator, she has worked with hospitals and birth centers to advocate for respectful infant care from birth. Anna Ruth also holds diplomas in both Montessori and Waldorf education and has completed 2 study groups at Reggio Emilia. Anna Ruth is the founder of Nurtured Child, an early parenting program based on the peaceful and respectful approaches to infant care and education developed by Emmi Pikler and Magda Gerber.
Eileen O'Sullivan
Eileen O'Sullivan began her RIE journey in 1989 when she started a Co-Op nursery school for a small group of children. The children had all been in RIE class together and wanted to continue. She has taken two more such groups of RIE children through to Kindergarten. She trained with Magda Gerber at the original RIE center in Silver Lake, CA. For over 25 years, she has held RIE Parent/Child classes at the RIE® Center and in Culver City. Parent consults, small group training and coaching have been her recent focus. She is continuing her training with the Pikler Institute as a Pedagogue Candidate in Budapest, Hungary, where RIE has its origins. She has over thirty years of experience applying the RIE/Pikler philosophy with children in groups. She is currently on the East Coast of the USA and living in Philadelphia.