Our journey began in 1999 from the dreamy but concrete minds of Giuseppe Bilancioni (pedagogist) and Patrizia Cascella </b(set designer), who found in the theory of multiple intelligences developed in the 1980s by Howard Gardner, psychologist and professor at Harvard University, the path to follow in order to work on what would become our educational approach.
The theory proposes the overcoming of the old conception of intelligence as a factor measurable by IQ (intelligence quotient) because, according to Gardner, the child does not have one intelligence but several intelligences, i.e. numerous ways/opportunities to achieve a goal
Guided by the supervision of Professor Paola Nicolini of the University of Macerata, a developmental and educational psychologist and the greatest expert in Italy on the theory of multiple intelligences, we have opened 3 schools in Milan over the past 20 years: in via Ruggero Bonghi (which includes both nursery and preschool), in via Erasmo Boschetti (nursery), and in via Cesare Zocchi (preschool and micro nursery).
In addition to games and activities aimed at stimulating and observing the 9 intelligences (linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalistic, existential) at school, we strongly believe in OutDoor School, by taking the children weekly to natural environments such as the Cascina (Farmhouse) or the Orti (vegetable garden), where they can experiment, explore, and stimulate their curiosity.
On the artistic side, we collaborate with an Atelierista, who proposes and supervises the implementation of activities and the decoration of our entrances, providing constant training for our teachers and educators.
We also pay great attention to food education and respect for the environment, which is why we have decided to use only ecological Bambo Nature nappies in all our nurseries from February 2021.
Our method has surprised and enthused parents, so much so that in 2016 they founded the association “Parents and Friends of La Giocomotiva”, a project aimed at providing organisational support for nursery and preschool activities. This group was set up to say thank you to a school that gives children in nursery and preschool classes a wonderful time. It helps them to grow and become autonomous, serene, responsible, respectful, cheerful, self-confident and trusting of others, capable of expressing their feelings and ideas. It is the school that every parent seeks and desires for their child” (Nicola Specchio)
From 2020 La Giocomotiva is a subsidiary of people&baby group. Established in France in 2004, people&baby is the first independent international child care organization, wholly owned by its founders Odile Broglin, pediatric nurse, and Christophe Durieux. The people&baby group operates 850 quality facilities in 13 countries (Belgium, Canada, Cambodia, China, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United States). Over 33,000 children, 0 to 12 years of age, are cared for by our network of 10,000+ early childhood professionals. Together, we strive to deliver best in class child care through the lens of nature, art and the world around us.
The story of People&Baby began in 2004, in response to the need to increase the number of places available in nurseries in France, which at that time were in short supply. Today, with 630 private and public childcare facilities, People&Baby is the leading family-run, independent childcare provider in France. Entirely owned by its two founders, Christophe Durieux (entrepreneur) and Odile Broglin (childcare professional), the People&Baby network is the only one to be managed on a daily basis by a woman specialising in early childhood.
The people and the nurseries are essential places to host and accommodate young children. The quality of the human relationship and the commitment to children and families are therefore at the heart of our philosophy and all our actions. Sharing a strong professional ethic in the service of early childhood, our teams are united around the same common belief: providing meaning to practices is the most trusted way to move forward, innovate and progress together. Our know-how and our ethics are therefore guided by four ethical and social values above all for committed and caring nurseries: kindness, responsibility, innovation, and enjoyment
In order to contribute to the well-being of children and their families, we have selected a list of paediatricians, psychologists, pedagogists and speech therapists that parents can meet free of charge at La Giocomotiva centres. The visits are scheduled monthly by email
All Giocomotiva locations have their own kitchen. Our chefs prepare tasty dishes for the children and are in charge of running the kitchen. They have developed tasty, wholesome recipes such as the vegetable pie. Our cleaning staff also clean the classrooms every day
Recent studies show that modern parents, the millennials, are constantly looking for comparisons and information on the world of parenting: how to bring up their child, how to wean them, when and how much to breastfeed them, if and how to reprimand them and so on. Having dismissed Truby King’s theory that we should ignore children’s cries and not hold them for more than 10 minutes a day, there are now countless articles, blogs and websites dedicated to the subject of parenting. To meet this demand, we organise monthly debates and round tables with experts in the field and university lecturers to answer your questions and curiosities. Among these is Paola Nicolini (in the photo), psychologist and lecturer at the University of Macerata, Italy’s leading expert on the Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
https://merlino.it/arredo-0-6-anni/
The Giocomotiva locations are also recognisable by their characteristic wooden furniture, specially designed in collaboration with Merlino furniture
A collaboration that led to the finalisation of tailor-made and customised environments, from the reception, to the workshop, to the tables, to the classrooms, to symbolic play.
One of the fundamental objectives of La Giocomotiva is to offer food for thought and support to their families, because only parents who are serene and at peace with themselves can raise their children with the same level of serenity.
These are the parental potentialities that must be supported, watered and cared for so that they can blossom!
For this reason, in our nurseries we have the “Parents’ Dimension”, where parents and professionals, or parents themselves, can meet and compare notes in order to shed light on and share their difficulties, joys, fears…emotions and feelings!
This service that has been enriched by the presence of a Doula: Loredana Miola.
The Doula is an emotional-practical support figure in pregnancy, labour and childbirth. She is a person capable of enhancing parenting skills, both during the pregnancy – childbirth phase and after the birth.
Loredana (who is a member of the Italian Doule Association and collaborates with the Centro Umanamente) will hold meetings to introduce the figure of the Doula, and will organise group sessions with mothers and babies 0-6 months in which the mothers, together with their babies, will be able to get to know in advance the mothers and babies who will attend La Giocomotiva, thus becoming familiar with the place and the faces they will meet later on, slowly getting used to them so that the introduction to the nursery can be much smoother and more natural.
We live in an ever-changing society.
The children of today are certainly not the same as they were in the past. Just think of their relationship with technology. Everything in life evolving, and so should the educational system.
For this reason, while looking respectfully at established pedagogical methods, at La Giocomotiva we wanted to focus on an innovative, almost revolutionary approach: that of the theory of multiple intelligences of Howard Garner, professor at Harvard University. Professor Paola Nicolini of the University of Macerata, evolutionary psychologist and the greatest expert in Italy on the theory of multiple intelligences, supervises our work.
Every educational innovation that we introduce in the Giocomotiva nurseries and preschools is discussed with a team of expert psychologists and pedagogists from the University of Macerata. This is how, year after year, we are configuring our educational approach inspired by the theory of multiple intelligences, so much so that we have presented it at the Harvard University, the temple of pedagogy
We have chosen the theory of multiple intelligences because we believe it is democratic and revolutionary. Too many approaches are based on the intelligence quotient, which is standardising and predictive of academic success. However, this theory does not. Stimulating and observing the multiple intelligences of a child means opening up more ways to achieve a goal.
Various educational models claim that there is only one way to reach a goal, only one path from point A to B. The theory of multiple intelligences, on the other hand, tells us that there are multiple paths and that they are inherent in the child. All we have to do is observe the child during play and stimulate his or her intelligences, namely: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalistic, spiritual-existential.
