by Laura De Benedetto on http://www.arttrav.com
It’s freezing, kids (and adults) have the flu and it’s a real pity as there are so many things to do and see around Florence… and it’s also a great time to take a winter break, like to Val Gardena where Family hotels make life easier for children and parents. Here is a selection powered by our kids’ correspondent Laura and three year old Francesco. Read more at….
Once again, I found myself hanging clothes on various drying racks pushed up against every radiator in the house and waiting two to three days for things to dry. I became an expert at knowing how long it would take to dry various articles of clothing by the radiator.
Normally we are against cellphones in the classrooms, but look at what this teache has to say about changing that to
Great blog post.
My husband and I, along with our 2 year old daughter are planning a move to Firenze in September 2012. We’ll be spending a year plus and looking for an apartment to rent. We’ve been told Santo Spirito and Santa Croce are good areas for (expat) families. If anyone has or knows of a 2-bedroom; minimum 80 sq. meter apartment, we’d love to get in touch. My email is deangelis.sarah@gmail.com
The Classes dates and time are still to be announced. If interested please send an email to yogaperbambini@gmail.com. Please let me know the dates and times you would prefer to have the course. Or for further questions call 3388991402
The Halloween party for the little ones will be on October 31st.
Time: 11:00am to 2 pm
Location: Fiesole , Via Pian del Mugnone 8. It will be an outside party.
Dress Code: Great Costumes for kids and adults.
Let me know if you would like to volunteer or help with something for the party.
Thanks!
Anna Maria amarosemena@yahoo.es
Hi Moms,
The Firenze Moms 4 Moms Network September Week 3 Newsletter is out. Take a look:
http://firenzemoms4moms.wordpress.com/september-newletter-w3/
Hope to see you all soon.
Kim
Firenze Moms 4 Moms spoke to Deborah Conquest about an exciting bilingual musical initiative for children locally.
Florence, Lucca, Pisa,Viareggio, Pontedera to name a few are the venues this autumn for Music Together, a great new music-making opportunity for children and their parents.
In a Music Together class, twelve children and their parents or carers (au pair, babysitter, grandparent) meet for 45 minutes each week for ten weeks to experience new songs, chants, movement activities and instrumental jam sessions. Both adults and children sit in the circle and participate, led by a teacher with early childhood and music skills. The teacher helps adults understand how to participate and the importance of relaxing and enjoying the activities with their children.
The Tuscan initiative is led by Deborah Conquest, herself a classically trained singer now living in the Lucca area. As she explains, “In the West African country of Ghana , there is no word for “performance”. The act of sharing music is instead called “play”. Children spend their days crafting elaborate clapping and singing games, and their nights watching adults sing traditional songs. Singing accompanies most daily activities. Music generates togetherness. Not so in our modern society, where many people have grown up feeling that music is a special gift, not a skill innate in each person. In reality, making music and exploring movement is for everyone. It’s not about performance; it’s about expression, celebration, growth, fun, and community, and in the case of Music Together in Italy , it’s about language. For in our classes, we teach in a mixture of English and Italian.”
The Music Together program has been developed in Princeton, USA by co-authors Kenneth K. Guilmartin and Lili M. Levinowitz. Guilmartin, Founder/Director of Music Together is active internationally in research and teacher training. He composes and arranges many of the songs and instrumental pieces for the Music Together song collections. “We believe that every child is musical and that each child needs a stimulating, supportive music environment to enjoy the wonderful human capacity for music-making,” said Guilmartin. “Parents may be surprised to find that they can support their child’s music development regardless of their own background in music.”
As Deborah Conquest says, “So much can be learned through music: language, rhythm, meter, melody, tonality. There’s lots of information in the simplest song or chant, that opens the child’s ears to language. Music is a uniquely coordinating experience, connecting eye, ear, voice, brain, heart, and the kinaesthetic self . Music Together classes are now offered around the world, finding great success in Italy already. Instrumental play-alongs, rhythmic chants, and songs with thought- provoking lyrics make Music Together classrooms hum”.
“Years ago, before the birth of modern technology, there was always someone in the home who played an instrument, and the rest of the family gathered around singing. Music Together was born from a desire to spend more family time making music. Research shows that children entering elementary school know only 3 or 4 songs by heart, one of which is “Happy Birthday”. You don’t have to be a professional musician to make music as a family. At Music Together, there are no recitals, no competitions, no judgement. What matters is just being a good example for your children and having fun doing it. As a mother and professional classical singer, I found in Music Together an opportunity to teach other families how to interact with their children in a meaningful, musical way.”
Like the people of Ghana , those involved in Music Together—administrators, teachers, parents, and children—have made music a way of life. It is not performance, it is play, and it enriches all they do.
Classes are taught in a combination of English and Italian or just in English.
For information on openings in Music Together classes, please call Music Together” at 377/1282512, email: info@musictogetherluccapisa.com or visit www.musictogetherluccapisa.com Registration is now open for classes and Free demo lessons Wednesday September 21 in Firenze centro storico, and all week throughout Tuscan. Reserve your spot now.
“All Children Are Musical!”
Overview on the fm36 Method-The shortest distance between two languages our Centre here in Florence is spreading. We are located near Piazza Ferrucci (www.fm36.eu).
We organize courses for any level and age: children, moms and also granmas…
But we do not say we teach foreign languages – we enable our students to learn to THINK and SPEAK in the desired language.
Come and try, I won’t say more! Here’s our next demo lessons in September:
|
Martedì 6 |
Mercoledì 14 |
Lunedì 19 |
Giovedì 29 |
|
Ore 15,00 tedesco |
ore 9,00 italiano |
ore 14,30 inglese |
ore 9,30 francese |
|
16,00 francese |
10,00 spagnolo |
15,30 italiano |
10,30 spagnolo |
|
17,00 spagnolo |
11,00 tedesco |
16,30 spagnolo |
11,30 italiano |
|
18,00 inglese |
12,00 francese |
17,30 francese |
12,30 inglese |
|
19,00 italiano |
13,00 inglese |
|
14,30 tedesco |
We can organize campus for children, mini or regular full-immersions for adults and have everybody acting an amusing and effective approach to learning the foreign language!
It would be great to have a link where your readers and friends could get to know our method.
Thank you for your attention and consider me at disposal for any further information.
Best regards,
Dinamica Linguistica – Centro fm36
Via de’ Baldovini, 35 – 50126 Firenze
Tel +39 055 0133008 Fax +39 055 0133009
Hi. I just moved to Florence with my two young children. My son is four and I would love for him to attend a preschool in Florence this fall. I have seen on a map that there are many preschools located near where we live. My only concern is that I only speak a little Italian (I’m learning now) and it will be difficult for me to get him enrolled in a school. I would love any advice anyone has to offer about this and it would be wonderful to find someone who could go with me to the school to help sort this out. We moved here for my husband’s job and I don’t know ANYONE yet. Thank you!
