What is Italian Preschool Like?
Entering our Italian Preschool is very much like entering any preschool (scuola dell’infanzia) in Italy. Our director, Lara Carnovali, has years of experience teaching in Italy, both in elementary school and in preschool. Our goal is to recreate an experience that is as similar as possible to what children living in Italy experience.
In Italy, every preschool includes some Montessori and Reggio Emilia elements.
Italy is home to some of the greatest minds in education, including Maria Montessori and Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia approach. Italian preschools are play based with children learning by doing in an informal setting. The focus is on social skills and emotional development in order to develop the whole child. Our teachers structure the environment to allow children to be the protagonists of their own learning, to build their own meanings, and to discover from experience.
In our preschool, we combine the children’s interests with the best Italian educational approaches.
Our teachers help the children grow fully in all aspects (360 degrees approach), while also learning about Italian language and culture. They will learn the new language in music and play with games prepared and guided by the teachers based on the language goals they are pursuing at that moment. The kids will be encouraged (but never forced) to express themselves in the language they feel more comfortable using, moving gradually from English to Italian.
Our goal is to help the whole child become a citizen of the world.
In our preschool, children learn about Italian traditions, as they do in Italy. The kids learn about La Befana, I giorni della Merla, Il Presepe and other Italian traditions through songs and stories. While immersing them in a foreign language, we also show them there is a wide and diverse world to explore!