The Kids

Kids aren't known for their love of museums, or for enjoying a long meandering walk through a quaint village.  Certainly not my kids - remember, they are boys almost-4 and almost-8.  Here are some of the things we have planned and packed to help maximize their enjoyment of this trip.

Packed to bring:

• A bag of Lego's - for assembling, disassembling and reassembling
• Mini hand-stampers, for their own enjoyment or to be able to give to children they meet
• Little flashlights which attach to their backpacks
• Digital cameras of their own
• A few (paper) books as well as a few more books on kindle
• Multi-colored pipe cleaners
• Activity books
• Crayons and coloring pages/books for long restaurant meals

Planned to do:

• In the first week, while I am studying Italian at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci ( http://www.scuolaleonardo.com/Italian-language-school-Rome.html ) our dear Donia Dridi will be visiting Rome and she, Alessia and the boys will try out some of the most kid-friendly stuff in Rome:
• Explora Children's museum -  http://www.mdbr.it/en.html
• The Colosseum -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum
• Search for best gelato shops
• Perhaps something silly like the pasta museum or the cat sanctuary
• In the second week, Alessia and the boys will take a bus to a nearby pool where they will go to day-camp!  9:30 - 12:30 with Italian children, swimming, playing soccer, doing relay races, making crafts http://www.juventusnuoto.net/CentriEstivi.asp
• In the third week, Alessia and the boys will go to the same place for daily free swim and play

Beyond the things to see and do, we will have a "siesta-based" schedule, meaning, we will wake, eat breakfast, do something fun, lunch then return to our apartment for a rest.  Read, nap, watch local TV.... cool down and wind down a bit.  Then, we'll have a second pass for activities and dinner, a passaggiata then call it a day.  Hopefully, the key to their enjoyment is not to pack too much in and allow them to be kids.  Hey, we don't mind sitting in a cafe at any given piazza while they run around the central fountain!  Hope it works!!