Raising Second Generation Italian American Children in the USA

A guest post this week from Italian American Girl's sister, Maria.....

As a first generation Italian American raising my children I feel so honored to share so many special traditions and cultural knowledge with them. Growing up in a first generation household I learned the importance of art, history, cooking, traveling and most importantly- family. As I became a mother myself it never was a question of passing on all the beautiful and intense things I learned growing up.

I spoke Italian with both my children from birth instilling the gift of a second language and the flexibility to learn more than one language by the age of two. My children travel yearly to spend their summer on the breathtaking southern Italian beaches of the Mediterranean, indulging in the local cuisine, life style and building life-long relationships with all my relatives. The beauty is that it is all very normal to them to see a diverse lifestyle than here in the states and become educated on the vast culture Italians have shared with the world.

Cooking is an integral part of my children being raised Italian American, we follow traditions year round and indigenous recipes and tastes are always on our menu, not to mention the luxury of home-made, healthy foods, which are delicious! The kitchen is our meeting place and all family meetings are conducted around the table, not to mention my children appreciate wonderful baked goods we make regularly to pair up with our “coffee,’ which is a staple in our home.

My children are exposed to organic gardening by my father daily and appreciate the love and dedication it takes to nurture a delicious fruit or vegetable, they share the experience of loving the earth and nature with their Nonno and Nonna.

But for us the most important part is family, we support each other through thick and thin, we eat together, we cry together, we laugh and love together. We never think twice to help each other out if one of us needs a hand, my children are taught to share and give love unconditionally, which comes naturally because we lead by example showering them with love and support.

I am so proud to share all these wonderful things with my children and know that it will have a positive impact on how they interact in the world as adults.

-Maria

**Photo- Copyright 2011 Italian American Girl - you must ask permission to use any and all photos on ItalianAmericanGirl.com - Grazie

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This October Celebrate Italian American Heritage Month With The Thirty-One Days of Italians List for 2009.

Thirty-One Days of Italians 2009 List for Italian American Heritage Month.

CARY, NC – August 24, 2009 – The 2009 Quick Facts List of Thirty-One Days of Italians provides a date and name to celebrate for each day in October during Italian American Heritage Month.

October 1: The Italian Immigrant (A day to honor every Italian who journeyed to America from Italy.)

October 2: Amadeo Pietro Giannini (Established the branch banking system in America.)

October 3: Guglielmo Marconi (Known as the Father of Radio for his experiments with long distance wireless transmissions.)

October 4: Filippo Mazzei (Supporter of American freedom during American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson’s inclusion of “all men are created equal” into the Declaration of Independence is a paraphrase of Mazzei’s “All men are by nature equally free and independent.”)

October 5: Antonio Meucci (Original holder of the patent for the forerunner of today’s telephone.)

October 6: Joe DiMaggio (“The Yankee Clipper” led the NY Yankees to nine World Championships.)

October 7: Mario Lanza (Renowned tenor and film star in the mid-1950s.)

October 8: Helen Barolini (Award winning author of more than 50 literary works.)

October 9: Father Pietro Bandini (Missionary for Native Americans. In 1898 established Tontitown, “a perfect example of colonization," in Arkansas.)

October 10: Enrico Fermi (Discovered radioactive elements that heralded the nuclear age.)

October 11: Antonio Pasin (Created Radio Flyer wagon.)

October 12: Christopher Columbus (Navigator that changed the world, opening trade routes and immigration from Europe to the Americas.)

October 13: Maria Montessori, M.D. (Developed an educational method for teaching children.)

October 14: Henry Mancini (Awarded 20 Grammys and 4 Oscars for his film and television scores.)

October 15: John Ciardi (Poet laureate, etymologist, English professor, and radio host.)

October 16: Vince Lombardi (Football icon.)

October 17: Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini (First American citizen to become a saint.)

October 18: Enrico Caruso (World’s most acclaimed tenor in the early 1900s.)

October 19: Yogi Berra (Baseball player, manager, and famous for his quotes, known as "yogi-isms.")

October 20: Frank Capra (Acclaimed 20th Century film director, best known for It’s a Wonderful Life.)

October 21: Arturo Toscanini (One of the world’s greatest orchestra conductors.)

October 22: Giovanni da Verrazzano (First European explorer to enter the harbor of New York.)

October 23: Pietro di Donato (Author of the Italian American classic Christ in Concrete.)

October 24: Fiorello La Guardia (First three-term Mayor of New York City, and credited for changing its landscape and building the foundation for the city’s growth after the Depression.)

October 25: Amerigo Vespucci (Namesake of America.)

October 26: Geraldine Ferraro (First woman to be nominated on a major party ticket as Vice President of the United States.)

October 27: Constantino Brumidi (Known as the “Michelangelo of the [U.S.] Capitol.”)

October 28: Daniela Gioseffi (Award winning poet, writer, lecturer, and educator.)

October 29: Frank Sinatra (International entertainment icon.)

October 30: Andrea Palladio ("Father of Architecture," wrote The Four Books on Architecture, the most famous and influential books on architecture of all time, and still in print.)

October 31: Your Favorite Italian (Celebrate someone not on the list, but greatly admired.)

Author, educator, and researcher Janice Therese Mancuso established Thirty-One Days of Italians to promote the significant contributions that those of Italian heritage have made to America. She was awarded a grant from the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), and has received support from the Italian Historical Society of America and others in the Italian American community.

For More Information Go To: Thirty-One Days of Italians http://home.earthlink.net/~31italians/ Tweet