NYC Program Exposes Kids to Italian Language and Culture

Collina Italiana, which teaches Italian language and culture to children and adults in NYC, is now offering a mini summer camp and an art class, in which children will learn Italian.

If a summer getaway to Italy isn’t in the books this year, classes and camp at Collina Italiana can expose kids to Italian culture instead. Collina Italiana, an Italian language and cultural center on the Upper East Side, helps aspiring Italian speakers learn or improve their language skills. This summer, as part of its Italian Summer in the City program, the center is offering a mini camp and an art class geared toward children.

The mini camp is held in two sessions: June 8–July 17 and Aug. 10–Sept. 4. At camp, which runs Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, children ages 12 and younger work with teachers and other students to master their Italian skills. Alessandra Greco, director of the children’s program at Collina Italiana, says camp is the perfect opportunity for children to “improve or learn Italian through fun activities.” Children play with blocks, do puzzles, go to the park, and learn through “music, coloring, dancing, and arts and crafts,” says Greco, and learning each week revolves around a particular theme.

Paint with Italian, which began in March, is separate from the mini camp. Another opportunity for children to learn Italian through fun activities, the class, which is geared toward children ages 3-10, runs from 4:30-5:30pm on Thursdays. Guided by a teacher, children will learn Italian words and phrases through art. “If you want to learn a word in Italian, we teach it through painting,” says Greco. “For example, if you are painting a flower you will learn [the words for] flowers and the different colors.”

Registration is now open. Children do not need to have any prior experience with Italian in order to take classes.

 
Main photo: Children learn Italian through hands-on activities at Collina Italiana.