Kids Place

 ____ Kids Place Coordinator

___ - Babies and Toddlers (BAT), Coordinator

Mara Scaramella,& Diana Pompei - Little League Coordinators

Carol Vaitkevicius - Mom's  Night Out, Coordinator

Zoe Milak  & Carol Vaitkevicius - Teach Me English, Coordinators

Millie Kneeland - USA Girl Scouts Overseas, Coordinator

When I first arrived in Rome, I was very much on my own. I had two small children who were not enrolled in school at the time and didn’t know anyone who had kids the same age they could play with. Then, I got in touch with AWAR, and, specifically with a mom who was very active in the BAT (Babies and Toddler) group. As we say in Italian, “mi si è aperto un mondo” or, a whole new world opened up for me and my kids. 

The BAT (for children up to 3 years old) and LL (Little League, for children 3 and up) groups are coordinated by a diverse group of interesting women who want to find fun and educational things to do for their children in English. Within a few weeks we attended our first morning coffee/play group, then an outing at the zoo, then a Halloween party to be followed by an arts and crafts session.

Each time the moms met, they were always discussing new ideas about future get-togethers and activities for their children. This just goes to show the effort that these moms put into the group to make it entertaining as well as educational for the children, but also equally important, enjoyable for the moms. Not only have my children made some great buddies by attending the play dates, but now I have a wonderful group of women I am proud to call my friends.

We have found that it's equally important to have some time for ourselves, as adults, to discuss not only our children and their related issues, but other things that are at heart. For this, we have our monthly ladies’ nights out - Mom's Night Out.  I know I always do everything possible to attend these evenings as they are always fun and relaxing. 

I congratulate all the BAT and LL moms who have so much energy and put so much thought into everything they do for AWAR. It really is a wonderful group.

Additional info is available through the AWAR office.

text by Gaia Striano Bondi