Club Mary Poppins establishes first Munari school in Italy

Laura Pesce and Lina Fochi founded Club Mary Poppins in Parma in 1977 as a baby parking service to support local families.

The founders initially created a space for parents to leave their children while they worked. As demand grew, the facility expanded into a nursery and eventually a primary school. The center now provides a continuous educational path for children from six months to eleven years old.

The school operates based on the creative principles of Bruno Munari, an Italian artist and designer. The institution became the first school in the world to adopt Munari's method, which emphasizes learning through direct experience and manual exploration rather than rigid instruction. Jacopo Casoli, the son of Laura Pesce, currently manages the educational project alongside his mother and a team of educators.

They focus on allowing children to manipulate materials, observe results, and experiment with solutions to build their own knowledge. To respect individual development, the school keeps primary classes small, with no more than 14 children. This structure allows teachers to build close relationships with students during play, meals, and lessons. The school prioritizes social values and personal growth over academic output, aiming to help children develop autonomy and respect for others.

In preparation for its 50th anniversary in 2027, the school is collecting memories and photos from former students and parents to document its history.