Ciao a tutti, I have taken quite a long break from this page, we have been so busy creating and exploring new things that the time has just gone and hardly to believe is almost Christmas. Our last two terms have been a real blast. The music of the Mini-Opera still singing in my hears and all of you have showed up different feeling and sounds and with a big excitement we beat the cold winter and walked through the rainbow to land on a chimney top. Last week, my Mini-Explorers had so much fun to explore the charcoal and swept the soots on their beautiful artworks. A completely multi-sensory experience that has awaked the children imagination and let them create with new materials and draw new adventures inside the world of Minitalia Lab. A perfect way to pick up new vocabulary and a learn Italian for children. Our Mini-Explorers are all now waiting to see if Santa will bring them chocolate or a big piece of charcoal, because they all have obviously been amazed by the legend of “La Befana” and the stockings full of candy for the good ones, that we have in Italy. We have not entered yet in the spirit of Christmas, but we are preparing ourself to it, with an exceptional story of an enchanted world that appear after a long day of work and has a very black and dusty door that open on a gold rooftop near to the stars and the moon. I believe that all year along we start to pack presents. We let something new come inside everyday and build our life with new experiences, not always gold. Even though, we are always ready with a magic broom to fly up and clean the soot that covers our way. Respect, love, passion, creativity, bravery and generosity is the spirit and the holly sight we craft in our presents to celebrate our Christmas. As every journey the final treat is testier, that is why we have designed for this term a real hunt to the magic Italian words we learnt. Our last term this year is florescent and explosive. “…Soon the bells will start and the thing that will make them sing is the carol that you sing on your own front door”.  

Ciao a tutti, The Mini-Theatre has opened the stage to discover new stories. “The Emotionally Musical Note and Mr Metronome” is one of the new Mini-Stories for this term. Colours, shapes and emotion play a big part to tune a melodic music of happiness. This term Minitalia Lab has created a unique adventure that engage the children with expression, feelings and tell to them the story of those and the way to verbalise this. The Opera is the best scenario to discover different characters, bright, funny or serious all of them bring to life the drama, that is performed with the poetry of music and also with the magic of the ballet. I am very thrilled about this term, because the aim is to make the children to listen to the voice they have inside and sing the sound of this with us in Italian. Nothing could be more natural and spontaneous and definitely fun. My personal goal this term is to let my Mini-Explorers to express themselves and let them create doesn’t matter if the sound isn’t perfect or the artwork isn’t shaped has should be. I want to hear what they feel and what they see. The first words a baby says aren’t perfect but they make them to take the sound of the music by acting and performing every day on the stage of life. We have created the best stage with simply black and white set, colourful costume and lovely characters to play along with us.  

Ciao a tutti, I have to say that our first term was fantastic and even if it seems to be so far from now I can still look at the progress my Mini-Explorers made. Lots of new Italian words and a bunch of new artist inspired our trip around the farm. My favorite artwork was the scarecrow and the wonderful concept we could create around it, thanks to the masterpiece of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. The idea of creating with ordinary objects to shape the world is behind all ours workshops. Simple line becoming fairies or street light being a big dragon… the imagination of the children can really arrive inside everything and create a new world from the heart. Children use mostly their spirit, the irrational part of the brain, when they interact and it is amazing the way they can elaborate the world. This term 2 our activities are designed to explore feelings and emotions. The stage of “Teatro dell’Opera” is opening the curtain to discover what we like and what we see… acting, singing and dancing will give us the keys to express ourself and choose the colour we like for our picture. Art, music, stories, games are all designed to arrive to our heart and open it to a new world plenty of surprises. I keep with me the joy and the simplicity to be a child, that truly spirit that make you laugh and cry spontaneously to the good and bad things of life. I always remember the beginning of the book “The Little Prince” when the writer Antoine De saint-Expèry attempted to draw a picture of a snake with an elephant but the growing up could only see a hat in it. He had to fly to an imaginary galaxy to finally express his drawing skills and meet a little boy to animate it. Learn a new language it is creative and it is natural. Minitalia Lab is the galaxy where pictures move and tells you stories. Come and meet our new characters this term we have a lot of picture to draw with you.  

Ciao a tutti, I want to tell you about one of the first exhibition I have been in Australia. Few years ago I went to the Sydney Museum of Contemporary and Modern art and one of the room was filled with corns and photography. The artist Fiona Foley explores a range of concerns through her practice including colonial race relations, sexuality and the experiences of Queensland’s Aboriginal populations at the turn of the twentieth century. Through her art Foley mines forgotten or hidden histories, bringing them to light as a means to assess our present in relation to the past. Despite the complexity of her subject matter, there is a sense of playfulness and humour. I believe that we all born form Earth and we have the chance to look for good and discover the beauty of the world while respect each other. The main props for our journey inside the Mini-Farm is obviously inspired by one of the work of Fiona Foley and the experience I had on my visit that day in touching the ground filled with corns to discover a new place and to meet new characters. The research inside the corn box of the animals farms we have designed, bring to life the concept of exploring life and feed the curiosity of the children to give them knowledge and self-confidence. The powerful energy of the country and people is fascinating and exploring Australia is form me exciting as it is for you discover my Italy. We aim to reach you always through the immensity of the Colosseum and entertaining the children on the stage of the biggest theatre in the world to walk between countries and open the window on a multicultural vision of unify world. A new adventure is ready to be explored.  

Ciao a tutti, I hope you all had the chance to make a wish for you and your loved for a bright new year. The beginning of something is always exciting, discovering what is next and what the future hidden for us. A long year waits to be filled through the work we make each day with passion and generosity. Life is an explosion of all sorts of surprises and our drawing for the future change daily with these. I wish you to stay strong and cosy feeling loved and never alone enjoy as much as possible the present for a good will. We have new company around here a brand new adventure to be explored with new people and stories. This term we have designed some group games to help our Mini-Explorers to discover the pleasure to be a team and to share life with others. An unforgettable trip to the Mini-Farm will lead all of us to meet new friends, to create with new materials and listen to new sounds. Keeping your imagination alive is our biggest aim, developing a self confidence to recognize the shape and colours you need to put inside your suitcase… I look forward to seeing all of you.