The pre-school, which is aimed at children from 3 to 6 years of age, was born in September 1984 in response to the requests of families who wanted their children attending the Nursery to continue the educational path in the Bolchini School.
Officially recognised Institute since February 2001, today it is made up of four sections, where children are divided into homogeneous groups by age (three – four – five years).
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PRE-SCHOOL
Since the beginning of its activity (1984/1985), the Bolchini pre-school is suitable for all national indications provided for by ministerial reforms, by the “Guidelines for the school activity of state nursery schools” approved in 1991, to ” National indications for the curriculum “of 2012, without renouncing its autonomy and identity, carefully choosing the staff and respecting the requirements of the law and the identity of the school of Christian inspiration.
In its educational offer our pre-school, through the enhancement of the game, exploration, research and life of relationships, wants to encourage the maturation of personal identity as a discovery of one’s self as a positive image of oneself; the conquest of autonomy as an openness to the relationship with others and to discovery, the development of skills as a consolidation of learning and a new interest in exploring and learning, the development of citizenship as welcome, integration and inclusion.
The teacher proposes themselves as a mediator of culture; they stimulate discovery, meeting, exchange and becomes a strategic and decisive point of reference for the student, who through his help learns to read the reality from different points of view and can thus explore the multiple territories of knowledge. The teacher has the role of guide, of the one who directs towards the acquisition of criteria of choice, of evaluation, of awareness. Their task is therefore to grasp, educate and enhance the pupil’s abilities.
SPACES FOR THE PRE-SCHOOL
The Kindergarten classrooms are located on the first floor of the building and are comfortable, spacious and well-lit.
They are furnished with structured corners, so as to facilitate the organization of spaces aimed at encouraging the meeting of children with people, objects and environments, allowing to carry out recurring activities of daily life, and diversified according to the range of age that lives in them.
For the carrying out of the various activities, the School also has:
- a classroom for psychomotricity
- an English classroom
- an IT and orientation classroom for the Primary School
- a classroom of music therapy and music
- an environment for the rest of the little ones (sleeping room)
- a recreational lounge
- a transfer room
- two canteens for lunch
- a library environment
- a garden
- a football field with synthetic flooring
The educational activities of the school
The educational activities and the experiences that the children of the pre-school live every day are many, all times to the emotional, rational and social growth of our children.
The teachers take them every day to discover the Italian language, through the method called “chat“, which starts with the conversation between children and adults and children. Each teacher prepares a space and a ritual, which introduces children to chatter, after which the teacher director poses a question or starts from an emerging topic and, stimulating everyone’s participation, leaves free expression of ideas to each child.
The pre-school annually develops the didactic planning, whose theme characterizes and involves all the classes, but the method of chattering makes sure that – even starting from the same topic – each class addresses it in an original way, starting from the provocations, from the questions, from the fantasies and attempts of children’s response. The educational project is therefore always changeable, but follows a scientific process, not random, which helps the child not to interrupt the learning process, coming to the answer by asking the questions and assuming solutions.
In support of this learning process, monthly outings are added to the neighbourhood library.
Bilingualism plays a very important role in Bolchini: the teacher of English language takes part in the section activities five hours a week, collaborating with the educators at various times of the day, and with the 4 and 5 year old children enhances the learning of the second language with specific activities in the English class. For all classes of children also the weekly psychomotricity is carried out in English.
Finally, the pre-school proposes a simple religious journey, in which the morning prayer and at lunch time are particularly important, as well as the celebration of the major festivities linked to the Catholic tradition.
For the children of the last year of pre-school, the orientation course for the Primary School is foreseen, which provides from January to June activities aimed at the approach of the children to the characteristic work of the Primary School, the screening of the prerequisites of learning and guided tours to some Primary Schools in the area.
THE MOMENTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE
| 7.30 – 8.30 | pre-class activities |
| 8.30 – 9.15 | entrance-reception |
| 9.15 – 9.45 | roll out and prayer + fruit snack |
| 9.45 – 11.15 | activities and workshops |
| 11.15 – 11.30 | tidy up and hygiene |
| 11.45 – 12.30 | lunch |
| 12.30 – 13.00 | part-time leaving |
| 13.00 – 15.00 | nanna/nap (for 3 year olds) and afternoon activities |
| 15.00 | 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.
“Children know something that most people have forgotten”
