Nursery school
(Italiano) accreditato
Our Nursery School is divided into two parallel sections, Mirò and Matisse, both welcoming children from 12 to 36 months.
The Kindergarten School offers an attentive, personalized and well-established Nursery School. The Nursery School is attentive to the requests of families and the diversity of approaches to learning in each family, we are conscious of being an important socio-emotive support for children and their families.
Our dedicated and specilised staff are here to welcome and look after your children.
The Nursery School is open Monday to Friday from 7.30 to 18.00 to meet the needs of all familiesOur Nursery School is divided into two parallel sections, Mirò and Matisse, both welcoming children from 12 to 36 months.
The Kindergarten School offers an attentive, personalized and well-established Nursery School. The Nursery School is attentive to the requests of families and the diversity of approaches to learning in each family, we are conscious of being an important socio-emotive support for children and their families.
Our dedicated and specilised staff are here to welcome and look after your children.
The Nursery School is open Monday to Friday from 7.30 to 18.00 to meet the needs of all families
A MOMENT FOR EVERY ACTIVITY
The day at the Nursery School is structured by precise rhythms specifically meeting the physiological needs of the child, and of routines with daily familiarity. In the adaptation period at the Nursery, children are introduced to the different moments of the day at the Nursery School: the morning welcome, lunchtime, personal hygiene, naptime, and playtime.
• 7.30-9.30
Welcome of children and their parents; the children acclimate to the Nursery and engage in free play with their friends;
• 9.30-10.00
Small snack
• 10.00-12.00
Daily Activities: manipulative and graphic-pictorial expression; movement and large motor skills; language; listening to fairy tales and stories, outside play time, etc.
personal hygiene and care before lunchtime.
• 12.00-13.00
Teachers and children sit down together in small groups to eat lunch; personal hygiene and care before naptime.
• 15.00-15.45
Waking up after naptime; personal hygiene; snack
• 15.45-18.00
Playtime, while waiting for Mum or Dad for pick up; a brief exchange of information between teachers and parents.
• (Italiano) 15.45 - 18.00
(Italiano) Gioco, in attesa che il babbo o la mamma vengano a riprendere i bambini: breve scambio di informazioni tra educatrici e genitori.
ACTIVITIES AND THE NURSERY ENVIRONMENT
One part of the activity of the Nursery is the exploration of the natural artistic sensibility of the child, encouraging by simple and spontaneous methods creativity and manual dexterity, experiences of significant importance in the cognitive and emotional development of early childhood.
The Mirò and Matisse classrooms are decorated with reproductions of the artists’ paintings.
The spatial organization of the classroom is very important for the cognitive and gross motor skills development of the child.
Thus the classrooms are organized into distinct structured environments (Soft Toys Corner, Construction Corner, Kitchen and Dress-Up Space, Animal Corner, Discovery Toys Space, Pouring Activities) where the toys are within reach of the children, so that they may freely choose their activities and their playmates.
To encourage a restful, peaceful, pleasing and non-artificial environment, natural colours and materials have been privileged, eliminating plastic from the interior spaces and exterior play areas, as much as possible.
THE CHILD TOWARDS AUTONOMY
The educative purpose of the adult is not so much the transmission of ‘teaching’ as pre-conceived content, but rather to help children organise their experiences with richness and variety.
The journey of growth and increased autonomy for a child begins in Nursery School, a journey which continues into the Pre-School and Elementary School years. Autonomy is not an objective which is reached immediately but rather a capacity which is acquired gradually, in the maturity of the child of today who will be the student of tomorrow.One part of the activity of the Nursery is the exploration of the natural artistic sensibility of the child, encouraging by simple and spontaneous methods creativity and manual dexterity, experiences of significant importance in the cognitive and emotional development of early childhood.
The Mirò and Matisse classrooms are decorated with reproductions of the artists’ paintings.
The spatial organization of the classroom is very important for the cognitive and gross motor skills development of the child.
Thus the classrooms are organized into distinct structured environments (Soft Toys Corner, Construction Corner, Kitchen and Dress-Up Space, Animal Corner, Discovery Toys Space, Pouring Activities) where the toys are within reach of the children, so that they may freely choose their activities and their playmates.
To encourage a restful, peaceful, pleasing and non-artificial environment, natural colours and materials have been privileged, eliminating plastic from the interior spaces and exterior play areas, as much as possible.
THE CHILD TOWARDS AUTONOMY
The educative purpose of the adult is not so much the transmission of ‘teaching’ as pre-conceived content, but rather to help children organise their experiences with richness and variety.
The journey of growth and increased autonomy for a child begins in Nursery School, a journey which continues into the Pre-School and Elementary School years. Autonomy is not an objective which is reached immediately but rather a capacity which is acquired gradually, in the maturity of the child of today who will be the student of tomorrow.
TO KNOW MORE…
An integrated pathway 0-6
At Kindergarten we have a Nursery and Pre-School that together form an integrated educational pathway from 0-6 years, privileging a coherent development of the child from 12 months to school age.
In this educational journey we offer children and families an educational environment that is open to dialogue, consultation, and mutual support, with the aim of helping children reach the objectives of the development of their identity, their autonomy and skills, within the scope of a larger, harmonious growth of the person.
Our activities are founded on essential principles:
- the importance of play as a valuable source of learning and socialization
- a free exploration and conception which sees every child as an active protagonist, constantly engaged in interchange with playmates, adults, objects, and activities which arouse curiosity
- educational mediation intended as an instrument to guide and support the development of learning
- knowledge of the communicative modes of every child, responding to their specific needs and ensuring the value of an educational activity
We pay special attention to moments of transition and adaptation, to ensure a serene transition between familiar environments for the child.
Another important feature of our 0-6 educational pathway is the commitment to teacher training of nursery and pre-school staff together. Staff meetings are regularly supervised by the Pedagogical Coordinator who guides, organises, and evaluates the teaching activities and programmes.
INTEGRATION INTO THE CLASSROOM
Integration into the classroom, an acclimation period, constitutes an important period in the life of a child beginning Nursery School. Until the child is comfortably integrated into the classroom routine, the introduction to the Nursery is gradual, from shorter to longer classroom hours and the presence in the classroom of a parent for some days. This process helps the child feel secure with the educator, who helps familiarize the child with the day at nursery school.
This introductory period is preceded by a teacher/parent interview in which the educators can meet the family and answer questions about classroom organization and routines.
An accredited Nursery School
Kindergarten is attentive to the quality of its services. For this reason Kindergarten has sought accreditation of the Nursery School with the Commune of Florence (Provvedimento dirigenziale 31/10/08). A further guarantee of quality for parents.
Hooray for Coloured Pencils!
In 2012 the Kindergarten School decided to eliminate markers in both the Nursery and the Pre-School for all graphic and pictorial activities and replace markers with coloured pencils, crayons, chalk, watercolour pencils…
This choice was the fruit of observation and experiments in previous years. The use of coloured pencils encourages the child to regulate pressure on the page in order to leave a visible mark and to avoid leaving marks that are too dark. A coloured pencil supports a correct grip and increased control over graphic expression.
Use of markers, by contrast, automatically decrease attention to the drawing and colouring process; it does not allow for colour changes or corrections of error (here the child often tears the paper), whereas coloured pencils encourage overlapping colours, change of colours, and use of shading. Markers simplify the understanding and execution of graphic work because however the marker is held or applied, it leaves a mark and is not precisely and personally expressive.
Finally, this choice was determined by an environmental approach, in which materials made of wood and natural materials are privileged and plastic objects are reduced.