Ciao a tutti, The trip to the North Pole is very close to the end and I am already nostalgic. There is a very famous poem in Italy called “Il Sabato del Villaggio” where the poet, Giacomo Leopardi pictures the day before the festivity. The preparation of a village to celebrate the Sunday and enjoy a break after a long week. I very look forward to celebrate this Christmas and I am so much enjoying this time before it. My Mini-Explorers have been engaged in new activities during these weeks and I feel that the spirit of Christmas is hugging us and preparing for a stellar final week. I really want to congratulate all of you for the fantastic job we are doing. We are having a lot of fun and it is amazing how the process of learning is very natural and unexpected. It is exciting to follow all of you in this process and I will miss all my big Explorers ready to the big school. We have designed an extraordinary new program for our workshops 2015 that always aim to follow the first steps of discover of children and encourage them to enjoy learning and in particular learning a second language. Imagination, creativity, fantasy, dreaming and play are the ingredients of our Christmas pudding. We hope to have given to you the best tools to make this journey. The poem of Giacomo Leopardi is also a celebration of youth and the spirit of adventures of those years. Christmas is a renaissance for all of us. Packing presents, folding surprises, preparing to welcome families and enjoying what we have built before start a new journey. Minitalia Lab is the place where children learn Italian through an imaginary world discovered by a broader passion for learning in general. This year our Christmas Mini-Tree will be full of decorations… I really look forward to make it with you this week before meeting Santa and take the rewards we all deserve Bookings for workshops 2015 are now open, don’t forget to spoilt you even for next year.  

Ciao a tutti, My busy Mini-Elves are working very hard to help Santa to fix his sleigh and be ready for Christmas. The ABC Tombola is the game we will start to play more during this term, to practice most of the words we have learnt during this year and to have fun with one of the most popular Italian games for the holidays. This week 4 our art and craft is very conceptual. It is a tools box made to be fill with the knowledge acquired during the term. Our pretend play is a good inspiration to make more games and practice what we learn. I am sure you will soon start to make your own Christmas and decorate the house. I hope you will enjoy with this our little creation as well. I have heard many of you singing our songs and play some of our games. I am so happy Minitalia Lab can be part of something so special as your Christmas. “The Elf on the Shelf” is one of my favourites games and I am sure you will have fun to make our own version of this. If you are looking for a unique present this Christmas the Mini-Alfabeto is also available in a very limited edition at our Mini-Shop. It is all hand crafted and come along with a colouring sheet to practice your Italian words. Open your box and fill it with creativity more tools are ready to build with us the perfect Christmas.  

Ciao a tutti, I have to say that this Term has completely captured me. Probably the relaxed atmosphere of the Mini-House has allowed all of us to be more ourself. I cannot forget the eyes of the children each week looking forward to see Lupo and discover in which room of the house he would be and which adventure they would have shared. Our mascot Lupo has definitely built a bonding with all my Mini-Explorers and create a sense of belonging to give confidence soars to explore the world, in particular the world of Minitalia Lab. Children understand intuitively that language is something to explore, to play with and enjoy. The speed with which they pick up a new language, the Italian language, is miraculous and such a joy to watch. After these 30 weeks of workshops I am really delighted to see all my Mini-Explorers so engaged and able to walk without hesitations ahead, through this unique experience. We couldn’t close this term better then having Lupo’s birthday party and celebrating the good job we all have done. I am so ready for a stellar last term and looking forward to hug all of you in the magic spirit of our traditional Mini-Christmas. Ten more weeks of fun and surprises are ready to entertain all my adventurous children in many creative activities to learn Italian and explore the world.  

Ciao a tutti, Our Mini-Shop is lighting with two new Mini-Stories to complete your collection. The trip inside the Mini-House has been a fantastic experience to learn more Italian words that we see in the everyday life. “L’Armadio” and “Violetta la Vasca” are the two sweet new adventures created for our Simulation Story inside the Mini-House. They have been designed to bring alive some of the object that we have in specific rooms of the house and the stories that we have created behind this characters not only tell us about friendship but also the way to look inside us and discover the treasure we have. These last few weeks are collecting a deep vocabulary to let the Mini-Explorers walking confident inside the house. On our week 7th , we saw Joan Mirò and one of the paint for the series “Constellations”, a perfect artwork to light the starts of the Mini-Bedroom. The artist has realised 23 works for this series, all of them are related. Mirò found his balance between the two places that life leads him to live. The distance from his home country and his native country, the one that divide the night from the day and winter to summer. I think he finds in the stars the way to connect them and travel between space and time. In fact, this artworks have all one piece of the previous one. This Term, I have collected for you some of the works we made during this 2 years to give you the tools to connect the world around you and to build your own house. I hope the Mini-House has been a good exercise to open your heart to the world of Minitalia Lab and help you to collect all the words you need to make long sentences. For sure you have kept me warm in this side of the world far from my native country and closer to my home country. Wishing you two more weeks of fun before another exciting journey!  

Ciao a tutti, Good five weeks have entertained all my Mini-Explorers to spy through the door of the Mini-House and discover the hidden treasure. Simply artistic and clever books have stimulated their imagination to create with shapes and build an entire world. My favourite is “Piccolo Cerchio e Grande Quadrato”, an exceptional story to see things beyond what they seems. It was a good exercise for the children and a fun experience to develop cognitive skills and stimulate their Italian language. The house is the place where we make ourself more comfortable and where we feel more secure. It is the place where we keep all our thoughts and treasure. Looking for shapes, such as a triangle or a circle, inside the house it is a good game to practice your Italian words of these weeks and to discover new ones. We are going to open the Mini-House in the next weeks to explore new rooms and meet new friends, ready to show us the treasure inside the Mini-House. Drawing ourself inside the house has been part of the activities of this past few weeks. My favorite inspiration was Nick Cave, the artist for Soundsuits (also in the video above). The American performer artist use a bright material to move is amazing sculptures made from twigs and human hair. My Mini-Explorers has performed with incredible puppets and delight a play with crazy and bright wigs to picture aspects of them better. Lupo, the inhabitant of Mini-Italia, Lab embody each of us inside the house and is guiding us to celebrate the space we live most, and enjoying and respect as the nest of our dreams. Enchanting your everyday life is the best way to learn more and create an exciting journey to discover a new world. A world full of magic surprise to learn Italian in a natural and fun way.