As part of my international experience in Florence, Italy, my classmates and I are able to gain experience working with children in a variety of unique settings including a local school, children’s hospital, and community garden. Throughout each of these experiences it has been amazing to see how we can form relationships with children and facilitate play programming despite the presence of a language barrier.

Working with children in an international context has allowed me to gain practical experience that can be applied to my future work with children who may not speak the same language as me. This has highlighted the value of non-verbal communication such as appropriate body language and matching the child’s affect as we attempt to initiate play programming. As a future child-life specialist, I believe play is the universal language of childhood, and it has been invaluable to see the truth behind that statement as we build relationships with children in Florence.

One of my favorite experiences so far has been facilitating play programming in the Borgo Allegri Giardino which is a community space where parents can bring their children to play freely in a beautiful garden. Within this setting I have been able to form relationships with many children who have come to the garden day after day. It is so rewarding to see how excited the children get when they see that we are back with another activity for them. We have been facilitating open-ended, child directed play activities in the Giardino including coffee filter art, pasta art, water play, and other activities which have been a huge success. I have observed ways in which the cultural mindset related to play differs in Italy compared to the United States, and this has caused me to adjust my mindset as I facilitate activities. Based on my experiences in the Giardino, most parents are far more open to letting their child take the lead in play compared to my experiences in the United States. For example, there were many times during the water play activity where I thought the children may be making too much of a mess or getting their clothes too wet. However, it was interesting to see how their parents were not concerned about the mess and even encouraging their children to squirt them with spray bottles. Many parents were fully encouraging of their children getting messy and wet within play which was refreshing to see as it allows children to fully express themselves as they engage in the activity. Overall, this has been an amazing experience that I will be able to reflect on as I return to the United States in order to consider the best ways to build rapport and plan play programming that meets the needs of the diverse population of children I will work with as a child life specialist.