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This report traces the history and contributions of California's cooperative nursery schools (co-ops) within the context of the national growth in preschools. From the late 1870s through the 1920s, Froebel's ideas regarding the education of young children were evident in early nursery schools. By the late 1920s, nursery schools generally followed the tenets of either extreme behaviorism, with the goal of habit formation through rigid routines, or the Progressive Education practice of active play in a social setting. During the 1950s and 1960s, the number of nursery schools increased, nursery school boards were formed, there were attempts to incorporate, the council newsletter flourished, and there was effective legislative activity regarding licensing. In California, schools in different regions had different priorities and provided different types of services. Contributing to the success of California co-ops was the favorable attitude of state legislators. Co-ops also provided leadership training for women; several women who are currently influential in early childhood education got their start in these schools. In the late 1960s, the co-op movement reached a plateau, characterized by financial constraints and over-regulation. Changes in the family, especially the return of women to the workforce, contributed to the decline in co-ops since the 1970s, but the trend toward mothers choosing not to work full time and men assuming more nurturing parental roles has positive implications for co-ops. California co-ops have influenced the entire profession of early childhood education, ranging from the initiation of Nursery Education Week to the creation of Play Doh. (Contains 14 references.) (KDFB)