Hello! We are moving to Milan in February and I have a five-, seven-, and nine-year-old. As this is our twelfth move in nine years, I've homeschooled the kids up until now. I've read the discussion about homeschooling in Italy and am really confused. Can I or can I not homeschool without fear of jailtime? If I can't, can anyone recommend a school-either international, private or public-- in Milan? Many thanks!

Hi Judith,

I went to School in Varese - not afr from Milan. It was a European School and has a fantastic reputation. People move to Varese especially for the School....

Helen,
Thanks for your reply. How close is Varese to Milan? My husband will be working in the city center and we'd like to live a reasonable commute to both office and school.
Also, every expat website I've read warns of how non-child-friendly a city Milano is. Is this so?

Check the international school of milan. there is an AMerican School and Brittish School

Personally, if we were going to be in milan or close by I would do the international school.

We are looking up in Varese and the EU school will be our choice.

Good luck

quote:

I've read warns of how non-child-friendly a city Milano is. Is this so?

I am afraid it is pretty much so...
I am originally from Milan, though I have been living abroad for the last 16 years.

I gave birth to my two children in Milan, and lived there the first 7 months with my eldest one.

Then I spent two years in Milan when the boys were six and one y old. I also go back every summer. Of all the cities I know in Italy, I think Milan is the worse to live with kids. It is polluted, full of cars, has very little green spaces, people are always in a hurry and get irritated by all sorts of delays of annoyances you can generate (which is sometimes the case when you have children....).

I do not want to discourage you, every experience is subjective, but I think it is good to be prepared.

As for schools, my eldest one was in the French school in Milan, but I guess that is of no interest for you....

You've probably made your choice by now, but another option is the Italian public school. We lived in Friuli for four years and chose to put our kids in the Italian school rather than the school at the military base. It was the best thing we could have done for them. They are now absolutely fluent in Italian and they received a great education!

Ok.......so what do you think of putting a 5 yr old and 9 yr old in the italian school. will they sink? they are pretty good at picking up lanugages but I don't want them to sink.
Dtr will start 4th grad son will be in 1st. Do you need to bring your own supplies as they require in the states?? The EU school is over 12k a year for both.
How good is the italian school system. do they require uniforms??? Oh I am soooo Stressing

Most kids of those ages will do fine in school in another language. The first couple of months will be hard, but they'll pick it up very fast, especially once they start making friends and playing in the new language.

You buy your own school books and supplies,which can get quite expensive. I don't know of any Italian school requiring a uniform, but some elementary and middle schools require a grembiule - sort of a buttoned smock - which goes over their street clothes. I think the idea is to protect the clothing from ink, etc.

The Italian school system is academically very good, though it's best in pre-school and gets a bit worse as you go up. It can be very rigid; there is little or no understanding of learning styles or disabilities, e.g. even something as fundamental as dyslexia can go unrecognized for years - few teachers are trained to spot it. If your kids are normal/average learners, they should be fine, though.

One thing that may weird you out in a smaller place like Varese is that almost all the kids will be doing (Catholic) religion class, even though it's not mandatory. Your kids may feel left out if you choose for them not to do it!