For most children the Nursery represents the first moment of separation from the family of origin and the first opportunity to enter into a relationship context, interacting continuously with other peers.
The Nursery welcomes children who have completed the third month of life up to one year of age in the section of the Lactating Bears, and children from one year to two years of age in the Middle Bears section. The environments are different, designed and structured on the basis of age and level of understanding, maturation and self-awareness.
In the Nursery almost everything is related to the predisposition of the environment and to the interpersonal relationship between the child and all the people around them; the direct and spontaneous action of the child is the starting point for every educational project in a reality divided into structured environments and rich in problematic situations deliberately offered to the child’s curiosity.
Every moment at the Nursery is exploratory, educational and didactic: not only the activities created and designed to be educational, but also the change, lunch and sleep contain many educational possibilities for growth in autonomy and cognitive development.
NURSERY INSERTION AND ACCLIMATISATION
For the new enrolled children there is a period of insertion and progressive setting, usually lasting two weeks, so that the child gradually learns about the new reality and the educational figures.
Particular care is given to this delicate phase, which marks the transition from the parent to the educator as a reference point and the beginning of an educational relationship between the child, the educator and the parent placed in the interweaving of two systems (family – Nursery).
The initial presence of the reference parental figure, a safe base from which the child can leave for their explorations, allows the child to know the new environment and the others, adults and children, in a situation of affective reassurance
DIDACTIC ACTIVITIES AND NURSERY EXPERIENCES
The experiences and activities offered to the children of the Nursery are different and closely related to the age and degree of maturation of the young. For this reason they take place in groups, contained in the number and as homogeneous as possible.
Children under one year of age need safe spaces for free movement on the floor, with interesting, handy, sound objects, alternated in the proposal with frequent periodicity (baskets of treasures, single-purpose baskets, tactile panels, various materials). It is important the presence of mirrors, support for clinging, soft corners, lairs.
For children between the year and two years of age, there are the game of discovery, the symbolic game, the games of manipulation and disguise, of movement and of language. The experiences and activities offered to the children of the Nursery are based on the 5 senses, fundamental for their growth and evolution.
THE MOMENTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE
| 7.30 – 8.30 | pre-class acti |
| 8.30 – 9.15 | reception |
| 9.15 – 9.45 | snack of fruit or milk |
| 9.45 – 11.15 | activities and laboratories |
| 11.15 – 11.30 | tidy up and personal hygiene |
| 11.30 – 12.30 | lunch |
| 12.30 – 12.45 | personal hygiene / part-time leaving |
| 12.45 – 14.45 | nanna (nap) |
| 14.45 – 15.30 | personal hygiene and snack |
| 15.30 – 16.00 | full-time leaving |
| 16.00 – 18.30 | post-class activities |
The officially recognised school is a public school recognized by the Ministry of Education under Law 62 dated 2000.
The school manages the didactic and cultural orientation project in full autonomy in compliance with ministerial regulations.
The teachers are carefully chosen by the School Director and accompanied to encourage and guarantee pedagogical continuity.
The classes are formed by few students so that everyone can be followed individually and valued in their schooling.
Enrolment takes place through a first contact with the school (in person, by phone or by mail); an appointment is then set up with the teaching coordinator to get to know the family that the child is a part of, visit the school and present the educational offer. If the family decides to proceed with the enrolment, the documents that must be completed and signed by both parents will be handed in to formalize the enrolment itself; at the same time, one of the educators agrees with the family for a first interview, in order to get to know each other and to establish the modalities of the insertion.
HISTORY
The “Ada Bolchini Dell’Acqua” Institute in Milan is the latest acquisition of the Pio Istituto Pei Figli della Provvidenza.
Since 1953 some families and ladies of the Milanese petty bourgeoisie and aristocracy, including Ada Bolchini dell’Acqua, were committed to the benefit of mothers and their newborns. In 1956 they opened a Maternal House, to welcome about thirty mothers with children from 0 to 3 years.
THE ENVIRONMENTS
The headquarters of Ada Bolchini Dell’Acqua are located in the Milanese Inganni district and have also arisen thanks to the contribution of the well-known architect Marco Zanuso and the artist Lucio Fontana: the decoration of the internal chapel and ceiling, the famous Via Crucis rosa now kept at the Diocesan Museum of Milan and the four cherubs on either side of the altar.
“All adults have been children once. But few of them remember it.”
