Why is kindergarten in Russia better than in Italy? Nurseries and kindergarten in Italy Why don’t they change children’s clothes in Italian kindergartens

We are accustomed to the way our education process is organized, we are accustomed to our kindergartens, but there is always room for change. To do this, you need to look at your neighbors and see how everything works for others. Today we decided to look at how kindergartens are organized in Italy and find out what we can learn from them.

Editorial "So simple!" delved into this issue and will tell you how the process of preschool education of children takes place in Italy. We tell you everything honestly, without embellishing anything. There are both good and bad there too.

Italian mothers have a completely different approach to raising a child. The official decree in the country lasts only 5 months; if desired, it can be extended for another six months. Most mothers go back to work six months after the birth of their child and, it is worth noting, they do not at all think that this is bad.

Children can be sent to nurseries as early as three months. Italian mothers are sure that the child needs this, because babies also need socialization. It is believed that it is in kindergarten that a child will be able to communicate more with other children and quickly acquire the skills needed for life. It is impossible to say for sure whether this is correct or not, but with the Italians it is so.

Frankly speaking, it’s quite difficult for mothers there. The maternity leave is very short, and the nursery is only open until four o’clock, and then you have to somehow get out. Some work only the first half of the day, while others hire nannies or ask grandparents for help. In general, a lot depends on the older generation in Italy, because these are the people who most often babysit their children, take them to extracurricular activities and hobby groups.

Preschool education in Italy is optional, but almost all children go to kindergartens. Parents have a choice: private, municipal or Catholic kindergartens. They differ in many ways. Private ones are not suitable for many due to the high cost (400–500 euros). In municipalities, the pay is a little less and you can get benefits, but the queues there are crazy and the requirements are quite strict.

The easiest way to get into Catholic kindergartens. It does not take into account the income and employment of parents, and preference is given to those who live nearby. The conditions there are better than in municipal institutions, and the pay is much lower than in private ones. This is a good option if parents are not embarrassed by the fact that in addition to teachers, nuns work with children.

We will talk specifically about Catholic kindergartens. Let's figure out what the features are.

Features of kindergartens in Italy

Walking is optional

There is always a large garden or park next to such kindergartens, but children are taken out for a walk quite rarely. From October to March, teachers do not take children outside at all, but parents do not mind. It is generally not customary for Italians to walk with children every day; they do not consider it a necessity. Personally, I think that this is still a minus, because children need to see nature, breathe air, and not sit within four walls.

Small groups and friendly attitude

According to the law, groups in kindergarten should not contain more than 29 children. For this number there are two teachers. Most often, the number of children does not exceed 18, which is very good. Children under three years of age are also allowed to come in diapers; the child is not required to be potty trained. This is treated normally here. And children are not forced to change their shoes. It is believed that this is for fire safety purposes. So no “change”.

Menu

Usually children in kindergarten only have lunch, because they have breakfast at home and bring an afternoon snack with them. Main dishes on the menu: pasta, rice, beans and pizza. Fish and meat are cooked a couple of times a week. The food is quite varied and very tasty. They do not prepare only dairy dishes and soups in kindergartens, because they are not considered mandatory for the children’s diet. And parents do not need to worry about organizing the child’s birthday; the kindergarten organizes everything itself.

Creativity is encouraged

In kindergarten, the child will not be overloaded, but he will always be busy. The curriculum consists of simple goals for the month: distinguish colors, learn parts of the human body, learn to put on your own shoes. Children dance a lot, play, run around in the gym, and also do various crafts. The creative process is encouraged, but the child does everything himself; parents are not involved in this process. And there are no competitions for the best crafts. In older groups, English, music and dance lessons are added.

Mandatory vaccinations

You won't be able to get into kindergarten without vaccinations. There are only ten mandatory vaccinations: against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, whooping cough, Haemophilus influenzae, measles, rubella, mumps and chickenpox. It seems to me that this is the main advantage of the Italian system.

Parental committee

Once a year, two representatives are elected from each group to the parent committee. They organize holidays and trips. And no one is raising any money for new floors or repairs; they just hold charity fairs a couple of times a year, the proceeds from which go to the needs of the kindergarten. It’s also not customary to give teachers expensive gifts, except perhaps symbolic little things.

Agree, there are very important differences. There are pros and cons, but we have a lot to learn. Sometimes even the little things can be important.

Good day everyone :)

It turned out that unexpectedly (but pleasantly) there were a lot of comments on my post about the cost of food in Italy - if anyone is interested, now let’s talk about kindergartens :)

My daughter is 5.5 years old, this “school” year is the last of three in kindergarten. We live in the suburbs of Milan, in a small town with 6 thousand people. Since last year there have been three kindergartens; before that there was only one of ours that was public and one that was completely private.

The cost of visiting in the first year was 170 euros per month (paid for 10 months a year, from September to June inclusive). Last year 180 euros, and this year 190 euros per month. Inflation is obvious))

The kindergarten opens at 8 am, and until 9-15 you can take your child to the kindergarten, after which the doors close, those who did not have time are late. You can pick up your child as early as 15-45 and until 16-15. Everything after this is considered an extension and is paid separately. Lunch is included in the standard price.

Photo at the entrance to the kindergarten

Multi-colored stickers on the floor in the shape of hearts make it easy to get lost - they lead to groups that are divided by color.

At the entrance there is a notice board on which, among other things, there is a menu:

For example, the first week of the month:

Monday - whole grain pasta with tomato sauce, Edamer cheese, mashed potatoes, bread, fresh fruit

Tuesday - saffron risotto, chicken cutlet, spinach, whole grain bread, fresh fruit

Wednesday - polenta (corn porridge), veal goulash, grated carrots, bread, fresh fruit

Thursday - pureed vegetable soup, turkey escalope, green salad, whole grain bread, vanilla or chocolate pudding

Friday - pasta with pesto (green sauce made from basil and pine nuts), oven-baked flounder, oven-baked fennel, bread, fresh fruit.

I am a member of the parent committee for the cafeteria - one parent from each group - this gives me the opportunity to come unannounced to the cafeteria at lunchtime and try the food, open kitchen drawers and freezers to look at the expiration dates of food, and I remember this - great :)

Children staying for after-school hours receive an additional bun and juice... So no first and second breakfasts, as happens in other kindergartens.

Our kindergarten is considered half state, half church, that is, attached to the church. The preview photo shows that the garden is like an extension to the church. To be honest, at first this really bothered me, but then it turned out that apart from a small verbal prayer and several religious holidays a year, this is not expressed in any way.

There are only 6 groups in the kindergarten - they are named by color - blue, yellow, red, orange, green and fuchsia (pink). There are approximately 24-26 children in the group, all mixed by age, that is, in one group there are children of three, four and five years old. I think this is great, because the little ones learn a lot from the older ones, and the older ones learn to help the younger ones. The children of the first year of visiting are called pulcini - chicks, the second year - cerbiatti - fawns, and the last third year - puledri - foals.

This is the entrance to my daughter’s group (as you can see, there are pink hearts on the floor):

Quiet time only for the little ones - the first year of visiting. They sleep on these folding beds, and their parents bring bed linen and pillows from home - to each their own. At the end of the week they get it back to wash and iron everything, and on Monday they take it back to kindergarten.

Since the last year, English classes have been held once a week; in addition, there are physical education classes once a week. Various holidays are celebrated - carnival, Christmas, etc..

Behind the kindergarten there is a small garden where children walk - but only when the weather is good, in winter no one takes them out)) Parent meetings three times a year..

A couple more photos of our group and the toilet room:

That seems to be all)

All the best and cat!!

Recently, our family was faced with a choice: whether to send our child to a nursery, and if so, which one. I was forced to study from all sides such a curious phenomenon in the life of Italy as a kindergarten, which I will talk about in this article.

You can send your child to a nursery here almost from birth. This is due to the fact that many employers give mothers only four months of leave. If you want, stay at home for a month before the baby is born, and three months after, if you want, do the opposite, the point is that the job is only retained for a very short period, by our standards. Sometimes mothers, as soon as they find out that they are pregnant, rush headlong to register for kindergarten - otherwise they may not make it in time!

HISTORY OF SYLVIA

My neighbor Sylvia found out that she was going to become a mother at the beginning of May, the period was already almost two months :) Not yet knowing the gender of the unborn child, not even imagining what she would call him, Sylvia went to the municipality to register him in a nursery.

The baby was due in December. This means that Sylvia will have to return to work in February. She did everything right, because enrollment in the nursery is only for two months: from May to June, then places are distributed, funding for this year is closed, and... everyone who was late in the flight.

SEARCHING FOR A GARDEN

Our situation is a little different. I have the opportunity to be at home with my child. Kindergarten is needed in order to provide communication with other children and provide a burst of energy for our one and a half year old “sniff”, and his energy is overflowing!

I started looking after the garden in the fall. I made inquiries among my friends and decided to go and see with my own eyes. Everywhere I was received very cordially. At the entrance they gave us shoe covers to prevent the floor from getting dirty, they gave us a short tour of the entire kindergarten, showing us where the children eat, where they sleep, and where they wash. The group has an average of 23 children and one or two nannies, plus a teacher. Nannies feed the children, put them to bed, change diapers. The teacher organizes various games and exercises: for the development of speech, motor skills, coordination of movements...

So I visited three kindergartens, which I liked to varying degrees. The first one was light and spacious; a special system was used there when children from birth to 3 years old are together. There are no partitions or groups, as such. The kids are separated only for classes: the older ones have different motor skills and speech skills, so there is no point in teaching them together with those who are still crawling. When my son and I arrived at this kindergarten, all the children were sitting at two large tables and getting ready for afternoon tea. They looked like a big friendly company, and the son immediately rushed to them - to communicate and play. This was a good sign...

The second kindergarten is located in the center of our town, which is very convenient geographically, and besides, a friend of our family works there - he is a cook. For Italians, this is an important point - they have their own kitchen in the kindergarten or food is brought ready-made. The management is very demanding when it comes to preparing dishes; they carefully check all packages of delivered products; if anything is damaged, it is immediately returned to the manufacturer. When my son and I came here, they brought us pizza on a plate to try. Tasty!

Then we went on a tour: an ordinary kindergarten, children are divided into groups according to age, there are glass doors everywhere that close tightly. In one group, a seven-month-old boy was intently hitting another on the head with a tambourine, while the nanny was changing the third’s diaper and scolding the “prankster” who showed no interest in her words. “Don’t worry,” the cook told me, “the baby will always be under reliable supervision, I guarantee it.” Let me explain: in Italy it is very important to place a child somewhere “by acquaintance”, with “one of your own” - it is believed that this way they will be better looked after.

The third garden was my mother-in-law's dream. It is practically in our yard and belongs to the mother of the parish priest Don Marcello. The only thing I didn’t really like here was the low beds, literally reaching the floor, standing next to the balcony doors. It is logical to assume that in winter there is draft from such doors, and children do not sleep very comfortably. One wing of the garden communicates with the church, and the other with the villa of Don Marcello. Having come home and thought a little, I decided to exclude this institution from the list - after all, I would not want to introduce a child to religion from an early age; it would be better if we had a nursery without an ideological background.

That's how I found out what they are kindergartens in Italy. I was a little disappointed, since they were not very different from the kindergarten I went to many years ago. And now, when we are in Minsk, my son and I visit a children's development center, where there are many more toys, games and developmental exercises. But since the main goal is to give the child communication with other kids, we decided to apply for kindergarten.

WHAT ARE KINDERGARTENS IN ITALY?

It's May. I came to the municipality with all the documents. Actually, it was necessary to fill out one short application, indicating who the mother and father of the child are, which of us works, and whether we have grandmothers who are fit “for service” for health reasons. “What does grandma have to do with this?” -- you ask. They are, to some extent, the engine of the Italian economy; many mothers, forced to go to work a couple of months after giving birth, entrust their children to their grandmothers, who then raise them for the rest of their lives... This use of grandmothers is the official position of the Italian government, so it is not be surprised to find questions about them in the columns of a variety of questionnaires.

Usually, another important document is attached to the application - information about the family’s annual income. This figure determines how much you will have to pay for kindergarten in Italy.

Now we come to the most interesting thing: the price of the issue. It is calculated individually, based on whether both parents work, whether they own a car and real estate, whether grandmothers provide assistance, and what is the amount of your family’s income.

What is included in the payment? Four meals a day, diapers, hygiene products and materials necessary for the development of the child - plasticine, paints, and so on. Parents don't bring anything from home. Time spent in the garden can last until the evening (usually until 16.00) or until lunch (12.45). Many Italians send their children to kindergarten only for the first half of the day, then their grandmothers pick them up and their upbringing continues at home. In terms of money, the difference is small: if you pay 300 Euros for half a day, then leaving a child until the evening will cost about 350.

We did not include information about income: in this case, it is automatically assumed that the family’s income exceeds 30,000 Euros per year, and the highest payment is calculated. For all other cases, there is a special table from which you can see how much a family with a given level of income pays. You must understand that this is a conditional figure that is calculated based on many factors. For example, an income of 5,000 Euros per family assumes that each parent earns 2,500 Euros per year, that is, approximately 200 Euros per month. This figure is fantastic; there are no such meager salaries in Italy. It is possible that one of the parents does not work, and the other works part-time during the summer season, for example, on the beach, receiving unemployment benefits the rest of the year. But even with such a relatively low income, the payment for the garden will be 92 Euros per month.

So, I submitted an application to the municipality. She indicated that we were interested in the two kindergartens described above. And she began to wait. According to the law, applications are considered within two months, and the answer is sent to parents by mail. If there are no places in the specified kindergartens, the municipality offers other options...

ANSWER

came right on time. Our son was not accepted into any of the nice kindergartens. Why - places went to those with less income. Some of our friends who work as cleaners or fruit pickers in the summer season were happy that their kids would go to that garden in the center, which has its own kitchen, and for a purely symbolic fee.

We were offered two kindergartens to choose from, where I went without hesitation.

Alas, both groups were packed to capacity: 27-28 children sitting on each other’s heads and screaming at the top of their lungs. A sad picture - nannies with red faces and disheveled hair, torn and lost among them. No, I won’t send my child to such a kindergarten.

PRIVATE GARDENS

In a situation like ours, you should look at private kindergartens, which are a dime a dozen in Italy. Groups usually have up to 20 children, new toys, renovated rooms, everything is very festive and fun. The garden director will make an appointment with you, sit you in a leather chair and give you as much attention as you need. He will answer all questions, even the most tricky ones, such as: “What method do you use to develop foreign language abilities in children?”

An important detail: since we have the maximum income, we would have to pay for a municipal kindergarten at the highest rate - 481 Euros.

The cost of private gardens is fixed, they don’t care whether you earn a lot or not. The price starts from 500 Euros and goes up to 720 (for a whole day of stay, which can last until seven o’clock in the evening). It turns out that for parents like us, it is more profitable to send their child to a private kindergarten - he will receive more attention, and the money will be almost the same.

I started visiting private gardens, and I simply fell in love with one. A large bright room where there are children from birth to 3 years old, a lot of toys, crawling mats, slides, a pool with colored balls, a courtyard in which ten mini-bicycles are parked, on the wall hangs a huge board with the concept of a kindergarten, which tells the story so beautifully How adults should protect the inner world of a child. And also - in this kindergarten "English is studied from birth." I was dumbfounded.

At home, my husband advised me to cool down and think calmly. Do we need a garden at all, or can we solve the problems in other ways?

It turned out that this kindergarten also has one flaw: in order to send a child there for half a day, you need to pay a round sum, but visiting hours will be as follows: 7.30 - 12.00. It is unrealistic for me to bring my baby by half past eight in the morning, and if I bring him at 9 and pick him up at 12, it turns out that we only pay for three hours. "For that kind of money you can hire the best nanny in the world!!!" - my husband shouted triumphantly.

EPILOGUE

Thinking that learning English in an Italian kindergarten was comical (due to the innate inability of Italians to foreign languages, which has become the topic of many jokes), I decided that I would stay at home with the child myself. When I want to relax, there is a so-called “Baby Parking” in the city, where you can take the baby at a time that is convenient for the mother, the payment is hourly. If you buy a 10-hour subscription, it costs 5 Euros per hour. If you take more, the price decreases. True, there is no kitchen there at all, but when you need to leave the child for two or three hours, this is an excellent option. And there are always a lot of children.

When you get tired of this, you can go to a large supermarket, where there will definitely be an indoor playground with children's swings and slides, and a children's room where they sculpt, draw, dance and sing. Free or for purely symbolic money.

It's time to talk about the next stage of the baby's life.

Many mothers, especially if the work situation is unstable, prefer not to send their child to a nursery, which costs a lot of money, but stay at home with the baby until the age of three. From three to six, the vast majority of children attend scuola materna or scuola d'infanzia - kindergarten. A visit to this institution is not necessary, but it is desirable. Before admission to school, they are sure to ask whether the child went to kindergarten. There the child undergoes a harsh school of Italian life, learns to be skillful and independent.

It must be said that after the nursery, where the child is simply enveloped in care and affection and where they adapt to his rhythms, the kindergarten in its severity resembles our Soviet-era pioneer camp. From the mother's embrace or from a nursery, where there were 6-8 pupils per teacher, the baby suddenly finds himself in a group of 28 children. Groups are mixed, that is, children from three to six years old are together. Educators motivate this by the fact that the big ones help the little ones, the little ones follow the big ones and learn new things faster.

It is assumed that when admitted to kindergarten, a child must be potty trained and be able to take minimal care of himself: wash his hands, dry them with a towel, take off his shoes, put on a jacket. For our reality, this may be normal, but in Italy, children can ride in a stroller up to four years old and not be separated from a diaper and pacifier until kindergarten. If the mother does not try in advance, imagine what kind of culture shock awaits the baby! There are no potties here, only small toilets without a seat, which kids must climb onto with unprecedented dexterity.

Daytime naps are only for the little ones. The conditions are Spartan. The bedroom is like a bivouac: the children sleep in their clothes on small cots. True, blankets and pillows are present. Daytime sleep lasts one and a half to two hours.

In some kindergartens, children wear a “grembiule” uniform - a similarity to the robes that boys wore in the USSR during labor lessons. Boys in blue, girls, of course, in pink. Practical, of course, but they look poor.

The kindergarten schedule is very inconvenient for working parents: classes end at 16-16.15. True, some private gardens offer “extended hours” until 18.00 for a fee.

Kindergartens, like nurseries, are private and public. In public kindergartens, parents only pay for food, about 80 euros per month. If the child does not attend kindergarten, there is no need to pay at all. In private ones, the standard tariff is paid regardless of whether the child attends kindergarten or not - 150-160 euros per month. But after the prices for nurseries, these prices seem simply ridiculous.

There are kindergartens at church parishes. In such institutions the director may be a nun. The focus, of course, is also appropriate: at holidays, children sing songs about Jesus, and each school year begins not with a solemn assembly with the raising of the Italian flag, but with a service in church. But the teachers in all kindergartens are secular.

In ordinary kindergartens here, religion is taught for an hour once a week - after all, Italy is a Catholic country, and in every government institution here there is always a crucifix hanging. Before enrolling a child in kindergarten, parents sign a document in which they declare their consent to teach the basics of religion. Otherwise, the child will move away from the group of his friends and do other things. This shows how correct and tolerant they are in Italy when it comes to religious issues. There are a lot of foreigners here: people from Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria, India, China, Ghana. Not all are Christians. So the parents fill out the forms.

As for language issues, the teachers show remarkable skill. Often children of foreigners do not speak Italian at all when they come to kindergarten. Many mothers from third world countries sit at home with all their many children and do not even try to learn Italian. So teachers must somehow understand children speaking Hindi or Arabic. True, then such children themselves teach their parents Italian and translate to them what teachers and educators say about them.

The “working day” starts at 8 am. Lunch - at 11.30, sleep from 13.30-14.00 and until 15.00. And at 16.00-16.15 the kindergarten closes.

In some gardens, you can use the school bus services for a separate and very small fee. Music, English and swimming courses are also offered.

In kindergarten they do not teach reading and writing, but they pay great attention to revealing the creative side of children. They work a lot with dough, paints and pencils. And they also engage in sports and psychomotor activities.

What kind of kindergartens exist in other countries? Find out from the following materials!

Italians are not fans of soups in general. In kindergartens, the first dish during lunch is most often pasta, risotto or pizza. For the second - fish, meat and vegetables. Meat and baked fish are not served very often (a couple of times a week), but white fish, turkey, chicken or beef are really healthy for children’s bodies. The menu is usually posted separately so that parents know the diet of their children. It is repeated every 4 weeks.

No winter walks

Italian winters are quite warm and above-zero temperatures are the norm between November and March. But even this doesn’t really make parents think about a playground. This is how you can distinguish those born in the CIS from Italians - “ours” will not be scared off even by the -15 mark on the thermometer!

Near kindergartens in Italy you don’t often find areas specially designated for walking, so there’s nowhere to go for a walk.

Quiet hour is not for us

Low mats, or at most a cot, await children in Italian kindergartens for daytime rest. By the way, there may not be one at all, since sometimes there are no folding beds with mattresses, and there is also no separate room for sleeping. Parents bring their own pillows and blankets for children.

About replacement shoes

None of the children change their shoes when they come to kindergarten. Everyone wears street shoes, and even sleeps in them. This may seem unreasonable, but the reason for this rule is important - it is believed that in the event of an earthquake or fire, children will be able to leave the room as quickly as possible without spending extra time on putting on their shoes. Children's clothing should be comfortable, with Velcro, without fasteners or laces. The only thing is that girls are not allowed to come in dresses and skirts.

Popular articles now

No crafts - just a restful sleep

The task of creating a children's craft for a holiday often becomes a task for adults. Often, after a hard day at work, instead of a long-awaited rest, mom (or dad) receives a portion of new worries. In Italian kindergartens, children are engaged in creativity exclusively during their stay there.

You can notice that in Italy (and in many other European countries) parents are not too worried about ice cream instead of soup, about diapers up to three years instead of a potty, about hiring a nanny from the age of six months. Perhaps you shouldn’t complicate your life too much and overprotect your child. The main thing is to love the child, and sometimes eating ice cream for breakfast never hurt anyone. Do you agree with the opinion of Italian mothers?

Material prepared by Yulia Zhitnikova