Little Italy 24

[BananaGio]

Ciao tutte!

I hope she is better now Rosa. What a nightmare, poor mini.

My dd has pidocchi...

Oh Franca . my sisters children really suffered and she found that the best thing after doing 1 treatment of the chemical stuff was a really thick balsamo - like the Garnier stuff in a pot. Wash hair then put this stuff on and then sit and comb through with a fine ( she preffered a plastic comb). she did this every evening and the nasty creatures couldn't hang on to the hair as sit was so slippery. One of my nipote has really thinck curly hait and she used to sit there for 40 mins after her bath.... The chemical stuff used to make their eyes red if they did it too often and the skin itch so you had no idea if it was the nits or the cream.
Good luck its an evil cycle and you have to wash everything ( don't forget the hats)
We had snow here this morning it started round 5am. DH has taken dd1 out to make footprints minirosa seems better she had some toast this morning but she also has the anti vomit stuff in her.
I have no ispiration to pack and I just keep staring at the stuff.... I am guessing as I am just so shattered that I can't think straight... We are in a hotel so we need proper clothes as well as shorts and t shirts...arrggghh normally I am so good and just lay it all out then divide up and wam bam in it goes. Making alist of odd things as I think of them . I haven't got past writing passports on the list yet !

I am here stuck in washing galore Rosa! This morning I also discovered that ds has uova on his hair... che palle! It's the first time they have pidocchi, grrrrrr

I don't envy you about the packing, I hate packing nowadays, I used to be much more enthusiastic about it. But think that you will soon be somewhere warmer... and on holiday !

Oh bloody hell, I have them too

Oh nooo auguri for all of you I am dreading teh day. minirosa has very fine blonde hair ( so will be easy to spot) and dh is almost bald ...Its windy here so I hope with you as well so teh washing will dry !

4 loads of washing today

vile pidocchi! we have had them 3 times so far, and I have had them each time. Revolting things. Make sure you do a comb through for 2 weeks Franca to break the cycle.
we have had febbre here, ds first then me, he is on the mend now but keeping him at home today.
Sput keep me posted re planetarium and yes lets make 2012 the year we meet up rather than talk about it

Gio, hope you are better today.
Freezing here, I am drowning in laundry, I don't know where to hang it anymore. Che palle.
I am also in a vile mood because of the children's constant bickering, don't they get fed up of always winding themselves up? I guess not. Boring though.

Have you kept the children off ? I thought if they were treated they could go in. I have done most of teh packing am now in a panic that I have put the worng things in and I can't find the beach bag.I saw it a few weeks ago and thought 'oh yes I will need that' and I can't find it now at all . Thing is my house is small and there are not many places to hide things.. Its driving me mad....

Oh yes, they are at school. But they've managed to bicker while brushing their teeth and putting their shoes on

Brava rosa. Oh beach bags have a tendency to hide. I now wonder where mine is.

Mine are just starting to do that but DD1 is the whinger where as minirosa just looses it big time..... They are all asleep now so I can't carry on hunting it out ....

I hope you are all set now Rosa!
The dc have redeemed themselves this afternoonby being absolutely lovely, mind you it's bedtime now... So plenty of time to wind each other up!

better here now. ds loads better although coughed twice so dp put his foot down re him going to school . I gave in before the - you don't understand re illness and febbre being English - argument started due to lack of energy. DS meanwhile was smirking behind his Dads back knowing he was fine and had just secured another day in pyjamas watching TV....
Hows the packing Rosa?
Question ladies- we would like to go back to Follonica again this year but do you reckon there is a chance the water could be polluted due to the Concordia? Not missing the fact that the scale of the tragedy being more important than my holiday but...

Mmmm, that's a good question actually Gio. I've no idea re the pollution of the sea. Certainly the authorities are worried about it, and not just the petrol, but the tons of food, detersive and stuff that were on the boat... boh!
I probably would book Follonica again, how about emailing the Lega Ambiente website? They should know, shouldn't they?

Massive rant alert: this morning, after taking the children to do their passports, then school, then greengrocers, I realized I had the time to go to the ferramenta do buy/order 2 curtain poles (after having put it off for years). Before going there I went to Zara home, and then made my way towards it stopping at shops etc.
I arrived there at 12.32 and it was closed! For the pausa pranzo! Can't believe it, this is the biggest, most famous ferramenta in the city centre, it must employ at least 15 people, why the hell does it close at 12.30??? We are in the XXI century ffs!!!

Hello Ladies, just after a but of friendly advice & this seems like the perfect thread. Me dp and ds (5) ds (3) are considering relocating to Modena/maranello for dp work. He lived out there for 10mths a couple of yrs ago, it was hard work backwards & forwards with the kids. Couldn't all move out back then as the boys were having medical issues (glue ear, grommets, speech therapy...) still an issue with the youngest but we are really positive about doing this as as a family this time!!!! I loved it out there & think it's a lovely place to bring up kids.

I have contacted the local international school and got all the info on fees, admission etc but as they are so young wonder if it would be better to try them going to a local school but I can't seem to find any with my google search.... I saw a number of schools when we visited in Maranello & surrounding towns (Pozza) which looked wonderful from the outside looking in but would like to see the reports/parents opinions. Do the Italian school systems have a similar ofstead kind of thing to us?

So many questions buzzing around my head at the mo, would be B nice to hear from people in the know that have already done this.

School & Paed are my main concerns initially x

Hi Momma,
Modena and the area around it are very nice, with a very high quality of life. In fact, the region around Modena, Emilia, has always been one of the wealthiest area in Italy and is known for its very good public services.

No, we don't have anything similar to an ofsted report. But I'd be pretty sure that state or council run nursery schools in that area are outstanding, in general. In fact, the town of Reggio Emilia is famous for having experimented new, progressive pedagogic methods in its nursery schools, that are known world wide.
what is the Reggio Emilia approach
a survey of nursery and nursery schools in the Reggio Emilia Area
an example
These nursery schools are usually run by the council, so have a look at the website of the council you are moving to.

To be honest, if I was to move in that area, I'd def give the local nursery school run by the council a try. (and they are free!)

In Italy, children are entitled to have a free paediatrician until they are 12, after that they are switched to a family doctor.
Again, I am pretty sure that hospitals in the area are first class.

What I hope is that all these services will continue to help its citizens, in spite of the economic crisis and austerity!

Ciao Franca & Gio
Thank you for the very useful advice. I had heard a little bit about the Reggio Emilia approach / Montessori schools but look forward to reading some more on the subject. I will be looking up the school council website asap too, great idea!

I love the fact that Italian children dont start school as early as here in the UK. I think that will help us out as my eldest turn 6yrs on 12th Sept so wouldnt be starting 1st grade until then anyway. He is a bit of a live wire and very active so I am sure the outside lifestyle and not being so academic whilst he is still so young will help him develop his language and maybe by then he will be more interested in learning to read and write. At the moment he is not really enjoying the process at school, he just wants to play (like most boys his age I'm sure!!!!)

Are you all originally from England? How did you find learning a new Language? My dp found it quite easy as he was working and living out there by himself so just had to get on with it. I on the otherhand only visited a few times and only managed a few words. I wouldnt be working initially as I am a mental health/school nurse. Dont suppose there is much call for a non italian speaker with my skills/qualifications :)

Thanks again x

link to the council of Maranello, list of their "scuole dell'infanzia"

Momma, if you are planning to sign your dc to a scuola pubblica (both the primary school and the nursery school) you need to ring them NOW, as this is the time when applications are sent out.

Both me and dh are Italian, but we lived in the UK for a long time. Dh for 14 yrs more or less, me for 8.
I can totally sympathise with your ds, also my ds (now 9 and a half) wasn't remotely interesting at learning to read and write when he started reception in the UK.
We moved back to Italy when he was 5 and a half, so he went back to nursery school for another 6 months before starting primary in September. When I told his primary school teacher that basically he couldn't read much, she wasn't concerned at all. He made very quick progress in the first few months.

Baci da Tenerife we had 1st day of full sun yesterday but there is lots to do even if cloudy. Dd1 is having on and off tummy ache which is a bit of a worry. This is the girlwho was so excited about eating in a restaurant every day! Had a nice birthday as well - fingers crossed the weather remains and dd1 tummy sorts itself out.......

Hi Momma, nothing really to add to what Franca has said apart from the fact that 2.5 years into a state scuola materna in Rome I have no complaints whatsoever and would absolutely do the same again.
I am British, Italian DP and DS (5). I have been living between England and Italy since 1995 but with a long block of time in the UK in the middle of it. Re learning another language I have learnt it by being here, being with DP etc but it is still work in progress. I find that I am learning new things with each stage of DS as there is a lot of vocab I had no need to know until the stage was upon me IYSWIM. eg- technical giving birth vocab, childhood illnesses and now all the politics of inscription for primary school! I have never studied Italian, just learnt as I went and would advise you to study as well as my written Italian is not good and I find reading in Italian slow going. I keep saying I will start classes if I ever get time (ha) but am not sure where I would fit in as my spoken and listening is fluent but written and reading not so good.
I totally agree re the fact that the kids start primary here at 6 is a Good Thing. I look at my friends kids in the UK starting at 4 and they just seem so young!
Lovely sunny day here, temp back up finally and I have a childrens party this pm - tutti mascherati- and ds is driving me mad trying to decide if he is going to be spiderman, a cowboy, pirate etc etc. A load of kids, most of whom have had the latest virus this last week so been off school and have energy to spare, plus been cooped in for 2 weeks due to snow, all mascherati, full of fizzy drinks and sweets - what could possibly go wrong.....

Ciao ladies and thanks for all that advice & info. Hope the party goes well this afternoon, reminds me of our house, the boys always getting dressed up as different characters!

I am so looking forward to moving hope the work side of things gets confirmed soon!!!! The weather is terrible, cold, windy & raining hare went shopping yesterday & all the clothes in the shops were more suitable to an Italian spring than over

Take care & I'll pop by & let u know what we decide x

Hello everyone,

Rosa, have fun in the sun ! As for dd's tummy ache I hope it's nothing. Bear in mind that ds kept having tummy cramps for a few days after his d&v bug last year, therefore tummy ache might be related to having had virus.

Gio, buona festa! It was much warmer here yesterday, but today it's grey and miserable again.

Momma, good luck with the move! I have to second Gio re learning another language. It is a constant work in progress. When I moved to the UK my English was quite good, having studied it at school and I also had a Proficiency certificate, which is quite advanced. Still, as soon as I started living there I realised that I still had a long way to go...
My advise, if you move to Italy, is to do a little course before you move, just to get you acquainted with the basics.
And once you are here, lots of tv, lots of reading, etc.

Tummy turned out to be something but nobody knows what. Dd1 was admitted to Tenerife hospital for 48 hrs. Is now out but we can't get the meds they prescribed until tom am..dh has gone to 4 farmacie......... So so much for the stress free holiday. Well we have a week left dd has to take it easy for a couple of days. I am hitting the wine i think !!!

oh no Rosa what a nightmare!!! I hope you get the meds this morning. Did they give you no idea re what it is? I hope you manage to have a relaxing rest of holiday and that dd picks up now. And definitely hit the wine! With a whiskey chaser if neccessary!

Oh Rosa hope everything is ok now