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School’s Out – Get a Sicilian Education this February half-term!

Villa specialists Think Sicily have come up with a great idea for families taking a Sicily holiday during the UK half-term in February: a pick and mix curriculum for children (and adults!) of all ages that transforms a holiday into a fun, hands-on educational experience.

History lesson ideas include a visit to one of Sicily’s many Greek sites with one of Think Sicily’s recommended guides. The ancient Greeks first settled in Sicily over 2,700 years ago and there are dozens of temples and theatres dotted all over the island. Science and Geography are catered for with a field trip: just let Think Sicily organise one of their 4x4 off-road trips up Europe’s highest active volcano, Mount Etna. A volcanologist guide will help you explore and understand the mountain and the kids can take home a piece of lava as a memento! If you’re really lucky you might even see an eruption!

For a rainy day, a Food and Nutrition lesson at your villa could be the answer. A local cook will teach the kids how to make pizza, pasta or, for those with a sweet tooth, one of Sicily’s speciality cakes! Parents can join in or just sit back and enjoy the results! Art and Culture are also on the curriculum with ideas including ceramic or papyrus-making classes, a visit to one of the island’s traditional puppet theatres or watching the Carnival processions in Acireale or Sciacca. PE lessons include racing down deserted beaches, kite or wind-surfing, skiing on Mount Etna, horseriding or, if you book one of Think Sicily’s villas with heated pools, swimming galore.

Choose as many or as few ‘lessons’ as you think best... Any trip to Sicily will be a positive learning experience!

Think Sicily, voted the world’s favourite villa rental company by readers of Condé Nast Traveller in 2011, has a wide variety of family-friendly villas in Sicily and over ten years’ experience organising family breaks on the Mediterranean’s largest and most fascinating island.

A week’s stay at Baia dei Turchi, with heated pool, spa, gym, Jacuzzi, sauna and Hammam, costs from £4,720 per week and sleeps 9 (why not bring the cousins or some family friends?).

A week’s stay at Casa Nuvola, a villa with heated pool near Cefalu, costs £2,940 per week in February and sleeps up to 10.