When we arrived in Italy in December, 1990, Rossella was 16 months old. I had been full-time at home with her for most of her life, except for two months of increasingly long hours in a parents' cooperative daycare center at Yale in late 1990, when I needed time to pack up our house and make other arrangements to move. Ross, although the youngest in the group, had been quite happy in daycare; she enjoyed being with other kids. So when we got to Milan,

Under Italian law, working mothers have paid maternity leave for the first six months of a child's life. For ages six months to two years, there are good daycare centers, partially government- subsidized. Unfortunately, there had been a decline in births in Milan which had led to many of these public asili nidi being closed. Then there was a sudden rise in the birthrate around the year of Ross' birth, so when we arrived in Milan, mid-year, there was no space available in the local asilo nido. My in-laws kindly paid for a good private asilo, where Ross very happily stayed for two years; the catch was that it was a long way across town by bus, so it was quite a trek every day to get her there and back again. It was a financial and commuting relief when, at age three, Ross was able to transfer to the nearby pre-school.

Scuola materna is a wonderful thing. In Italy, every parent has the right - though not the obligation - to put their child in preschool, free of charge, for three years, until they begin first grade in their sixth year.

Ross's scuola materna was part of a loose cooperative of pre-elementary, and middle schools, all set in a large park, with each grade level occupying its own small building. The park had originally been a track for trotting races, hence its name, Parco Trotter. In the early 1900s, it was well outside Milan, and sickly children were sent there to breathe clean air and take the sun. There had even been a swimming pool and a tall, airy gymnasium, though these and the dormitories are now ruined past repair.

Parco Trotter is now engulfed by the city, but remains an island of green among the gray cement; not surprisingly, it has a lower incidence of absences due to illness than any other school in Milan. The pre-school kids spent a lot of time outside simply running around, as few kids in Milan are able to.

They weren't expected to learn to read or write, but they did many pre-reading and pre-math activities, construction and art projects, and more - Montessori methods were very much in evidence! They could be as messy as they liked outside with sand, flour, dirt, and rocks. The bathroom was designed for water play as well as other uses. They decorated their spaces with trees made of cloth, and their own paintings and other creations.

For one project, parents were asked to show the kids around their workplaces, which included a car repair shop and a bakery.

As preparation for the passage to elementary school, the kids visited elementary classes to see what the older kids were doing, and afterwards were interviewed about what it means to "get big."

School Food

At all educational levels, school hours used to be organized so that kids went home at lunchtime. Offices, shops, and factories would also close, so the family would gather around the dining table for a midday meal.