Visiting the schools in Brescia

Today was a day devoted to touring and learning about the various primary education schools in Brescia. The first school we visited was the Audiophonica school. This school was truly amazing. At this school deaf children and hearing children are integrated in the classroom. Children who attend this school start from infants to middle school. We sat in on a few of the interactive classes and watched how the students learned. For the math class, the teacher has interactive tools to help the students learn. I was really impressed with the emphasis on various learning styles and the need to be active in the classroom. It is very important to the school curriculum to have diverse classes with the deaf children. It helps them to learn and understand through other senses. 

This is a photo of the courtyard in the school. I didn't take any photos of the classrooms as to not disturb the children.

After we visited this school, we had another hearty lunch. I had asparagus pizza it was delicious! I also had lemon sorbet. After many of the meals here dessert is served and coffee is enjoyed afterwards. I haven't had any of the coffee as I never really have had any. 

While we are at the schools, we have a translator, Antonetta. She has been wonderful helping to translate. She is very friendly and seems like an awesome woman. 

After our filling lunch we hopped on the small bus to head to our second school of the day. As we pulled up, children were in the lawn playing and interacting with their teachers. The school was called Lonati Anglo American Schools. This schools blew me away. The impressive curriculum and elegant, positive setup of the school made me wish I was a teacher here. 

I cannot capture the impressive layout and elegance of the school with the few photos I took inside. The school was full of bright, encouraging quotes on every wall. The classrooms were very colorful and full of artwork and creative boards. The children that attend here are from kindergarten to grade 5. The school hopes to expand in the future. The students here are mainly Italian, but there are a small number of American students who are children of military parents. The schools main aim is to have various English speaking teachers with different dialects. There was a Bristish, Australian, and American teacher. There are two Italian teachers that help teach the students Italain. The directors want the children to become fluent in English and Italian by the time they are older. It amazing to see 5th graders who knew both Italian and English. The students seemed very intelligent, maybe even smarter than me! 

While we were at this school, the children had a fun activity of racing their own Milla Miglia cars. It was an adorable thing to see the kids racing around with smiles covering their faces. All of the children waited in line to eagerly put the car over their head and run in a circle. A few of the children fell and stood up with some tears, but they enjoyed it nonetheless. 

This painting was on the wall of the music room in the school. It was painted by a university student here in Brescia. If you look closely you can see a guitar. 

Once our visits to the schools concluded, we went to a bookstore where one of the owners read multiple children's books to us. He spoke only Italian, but he was so enthusiastic about the stories. You could tell he truly enjoyed his job. We all found ourselves laughing at the funny and surprising endings. 

It is time to wait for dinner now and rest up for another exciting day!