Preschool
The Preschool, which serves children from 3 to 6 years of age, was established in September 1984 in response to requests from families who wanted their children attending the Nursery to continue their educational journey at Bolchini School.
A State-Recognized School since February 2001, it now consists of six sections.
Virtual Open Day for Preschool
Let’s discover the Preschool together. We will introduce you to our educational approach and the exploratory pathways through which our little ones grow, learn, and have fun every day!
The objectives of the preschool
Since the beginning of its activity (academic year 1984/1985), Bolchini Preschool has complied with all national guidelines provided by ministerial reforms, from the “Guidelines for the Educational Activity of State Nursery Schools” approved in 1991, to the “National Guidelines for the Curriculum” of 2012, to the “Guidelines for the Integrated 0-6 System” (2022), without however renouncing its autonomy and identity, carefully selecting staff and respecting the requirements of the law and the identity of the Christian-inspired school.
In its educational offering, our Preschool, through the enhancement of play, exploration, experience, research, and relational life, aims to promote the maturation of personal identity as the discovery of one’s self as a positive self-image; the achievement of autonomy as openness to relationships with others and to discovery; the development of competencies as consolidation of learning and renewed interest in exploring and knowing; the development of citizenship as welcome, integration, and inclusion.
The teacher acts as a mediator of culture; stimulates discovery, encounter, and exchange, and becomes a strategic and decisive point of reference for the child, who through their help learns to read reality from different points of view and can thus explore the multiple territories of knowledge. The teacher has the role of guide, of one who orients toward the acquisition of criteria for choice, evaluation, and awareness. Their task is therefore to recognize, “draw out” (e-ducere), and enhance the child’s abilities.
Spaces for the Preschool
The Preschool classrooms are located on the first floor of the building and are welcoming, spacious, and well-lit.
They are furnished with structured corners, designed to facilitate the organization of spaces aimed at encouraging children’s encounters with people, objects, and environments, allowing for the carrying out of recurring daily life activities, and differentiated according to the age group that inhabits them.
For the implementation of various workshops and projects for the preschool, the School also has:
- a space for psychomotor activities
- a large multipurpose room
- a dining hall for lunch
- a library
- remida space
- an equipped garden
- a soccer field with synthetic flooring
The "Chiacchieramento"
The experiences that preschool children live every day are numerous, all aimed at the emotional, rational, and social growth of our little ones.
The teachers lead them every day to discover the Italian language through “chiacchieramento” (conversation), which begins with conversation between children and between adults and children. Each teacher prepares a space and a ritual that introduces children to chiacchieramento, after which the teacher-director poses a question or resumes a topic that has emerged and, stimulating everyone’s participation, allows free expression of ideas to each child.
The Preschool places the child at the center through experience and chiacchieramento, from which educational planning emerges. Each section develops it starting from the questions, fantasies, and attempts at answers of the children.
The orientation toward bilingualism plays an important role at Bolchini, during the week and within curricular hours, with specialized teachers.
Finally, the Preschool offers a simple religious pathway, in which morning prayer and prayer at lunchtime hold particular importance, as does the celebration of major holidays linked to Catholic tradition.
For children in the final year of Preschool, a preparation pathway for Primary School is provided, which includes from January to May activities aimed at familiarizing children with the working methods characteristic of Primary School and strengthening learning prerequisites.
The teacher acts as a mediator of culture; stimulates discovery, encounter, and exchange, and becomes a strategic and decisive point of reference for the child, who through their help learns to read reality from different points of view and can thus explore the multiple territories of knowledge. The teacher has the role of guide, of one who orients toward the acquisition of criteria for choice, evaluation, and awareness. Their task is therefore to recognize, “draw out” (e-ducere), and enhance the child’s abilities.
to accommodate working parents, children can arrive at school at 7:30 AM and remain until 6:20 PM. Children can use the after-school service from 4:00 PM to 6:20 PM; during these hours, an educator guides the children in recreational and creative experiences.
in-house kitchen managed by the school's qualified staff.
Activities take place from Monday to Friday and follow the calendar according to adjustments introduced annually by the Lombardy Region, with variations established in consultation with the Institute Council. They close on June 30 of each year.
The state-recognized school is a public school recognized by the Ministry of Education pursuant to Law 62 of 2000.
The school manages its educational and cultural orientation project in complete autonomy while respecting ministerial regulations.
Teachers are carefully selected by the School Principal and supported to promote and ensure pedagogical continuity.
Classes are formed with few students so that everyone can be followed individually and valued in their educational journey.
Enrollment takes place through initial contact with the school (in person, by phone, or by email); an appointment is then scheduled with the educational coordinator to meet the family unit of which the child is part, visit the school, and present the educational offering. If the family decides to proceed with enrollment, documents are provided that must be completed and signed by both parents to formalize the enrollment; at the same time, one of the educators arranges an initial interview with the family, in order to get to know each other and establish the procedures for the child’s integration.
Where experience and education take shape
The history
The “Ada Bolchini dell’Acqua” Institute in Milan is the latest acquisition of the Pio Istituto pei Figli della Provvidenza.
Since 1953, some families and ladies of the Milanese petite bourgeoisie and aristocracy, including Ada Bolchini dell’Acqua, have been committed to supporting mothers and their newborns. In 1956, they opened a Maternal Home to welcome about thirty mothers with children from 0 to 3 years old.
The environments
The Ada Bolchini Dell’Acqua facility is located in Milan’s Inganni district and was also built thanks to the contribution of renowned architect Marco Zanuso and artist Lucio Fontana: his are the decorations of the internal chapel and ceiling, the famous pink Via Crucis, now preserved at the Diocesan Museum of Milan, and the four cherubs on the sides of the altar.
"Children know something that most people have forgotten"
