The Importance of Leisure Activities in Asylum institute for the Development of Social Interaction Mother – Child The projects of leisure activities in the asylum, which are presented in the paper, are primarily focused on the development of social interactions between the parent (mother) and the child, on the support of mutual relations, and on the active support of a change in the way of life and on the personal development of the child who is at risk of social exclusion.

In asylums, in addition to personal development, it is necessary to work to support the mother-child relationship, these relationships are very often disturbed. As part of the projects, it is appropriate to strengthen parenting skills and abilities, to guide parents to appropriate solutions to educational difficulties and difficulties at school, when preparing for classes, when taking care of the household together, etc. The aim of these projects is to restore the inner strength of parents to regain self-confidence in caring for their children and to take responsibility for the upbringing and education of their offspring.

By supporting the personal development of children and youth from disadvantaged families, where they are handicapped by the original unstimulating environment and do not have enough stimuli for healthy development, we try to prevent a repetition of the destructive behavior of their parents, to find their own strength, their abilities and skills in order to minimize their social exclusion among peers.

The essence of care in shelters is to support mothers with children who find themselves in a difficult life situation, providing accommodation, helping to solve the problem, stabilizing the mother's mental calmness, and as a result of these steps, it is possible to raise children in a peaceful environment without losing the mother's natural authority.

The contribution aims to offer project proposals for practice, while the projects respect the environment for which they are designed and focus on those target competencies whose development needs to be developed in the given institution.

The content of the projects is the creative activity of the author of the text, during the conception of the projects the author used practically acquired experience with the techniques of art therapy and music therapy. The students of the PALESTRA University of Physical Education and Sport took a significant part in the actual implementation of the projects, for which we owe them a big thank you, as they always undertook the implementation responsibly and with enthusiasm. It is also necessary to thank the management of the university for providing an excellent background for creative activity and financial security for the implementation of individual projects in practice.

Mission and goal of shelters for mothers with children

Asylum for mothers with children is not an ordinary homeless shelter. Mothers with children need more privacy, children need more care. A mother who applies for accommodation in an asylum already belongs to this care, in a way, because she cannot deal with the situation in any other way.

More often, they are mothers from lower social strata, with lower education, from children's homes, single-parent families, without a background.

The children of these mothers represent a considerable risk group, as they represent the next possible generation of problematic and socially less adaptable citizens. For these reasons, it is in the interest of society that children placed in asylums receive exceptional care, supporting their all-round development and supporting appropriate social inclusion and the building of positive social ties in the wider environment. (1)

The mission and purpose of shelters and the work of social workers includes:

  • To provide temporary accommodation for mothers with children, or pregnant women who find themselves in a difficult life situation that they are unable to solve on their own.
  • To create a home for these mothers and enable them to live without problems, with respect to privacy, preservation of peace, protection of personality and personal dignity.

  • Provide social counseling related to the stay of mothers and children:

  • create a relationship between mother and child;

  • teach mothers how to take care of a child;
  • to help and advise mothers in raising a child;
  • teach mothers proper hygiene habits;
  • teach mothers to manage money;
  • teach mothers to take care of the household (laundry, ironing, cleaning, cooking);
  • teach mothers social coexistence, mutual respect and tolerance;

  • teach mothers to correctly understand the values ​​of life.

  • The help of social workers in solving and ensuring their further life focuses on:

  • employment mediation;

  • placement of children in preschool and school facilities;
  • solving their housing needs in cooperation with the relevant authorities;
  • settlement of alimony from fathers (determination of paternity, father in custody);
  • provision of income determined by law;
  • filling in various forms;
  • handling correspondence and assistance in further negotiations.

The result of the efforts of shelters for mothers with children should be their resocialization after the mother's departure, i.e. the mother should raise the children, fully integrate into a socially functional society, or establish a functional family.

Staying in an asylum is meaningful only for the duration of the mother's critical period, and in this situation the mother has the opportunity to decide voluntarily (also with the help of social counseling) what to do next.

Asylum housing in the Czech Republic after 1989 and Quality Standards of social services

At the end of the eighties, the legislative definition of social care was anchored in Act No. 100/1988 Coll. and this adjustment was also used in the transitional phase after the change of the totalitarian regime.

Within this regulation, social care was defined as care provided by the state to help citizens whose living needs are not sufficiently covered by income from work, pension or sickness insurance benefits, or other income and to citizens who need it due to their health or age, or who cannot overcome a difficult life situation or unfavorable living conditions without the help of society.

Of the social services, only three were legally regulated: counselling, nursing service and institutional care. The activity of social service providers existed without special legal regulation.

At the beginning of 1990, asylum houses began to be established (the term asylum house is mentioned in the social law only from 2006, see law 108/2006).

In 2002, there was a significant shift in the provision of social services thanks to the adoption of the "Quality Standards of Social Services" by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. On the basis of these standards, requirements for the quality of social services are unified, the level of quality that the provided services must achieve is defined. (2)

The way to establish standards was a pilot project in Olomouc, which tested standards for thirty different organizations with the participation of both workers and users of social services. The course of testing was accompanied by the participation of experts, including representatives of the Czech-British project to support the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in the reform of social services. The key material "Quality standards of social services" can therefore realistically be considered a comprehensive program document for all social service providers.

The standards are not understood in isolation, as the main tasks in the field of social services include:

  • prevention of social exclusion;
  • supporting life in a natural community;
  • protection of vulnerable population groups against unprofessional provision of services.

At the same time, the content of the standards follows the deepening of:

  • dignity, development of independence and autonomy of users of social services;
  • participation of users of social services in everyday life in a natural social environment;
  • respect for their natural and civil rights. (3)

The definition of asylum housing is found in Act 108/2006, within the framework of this regulation, asylum houses are defined as houses that provide residential services for a temporary period to persons in an unfavorable social situation associated with the loss of housing. (4)

Basic activities of shelters include: provision of food or assistance in securing it, provision of accommodation and assistance in exercising rights, legitimate interests and assistance in taking care of personal matters.

Accommodation is provided for up to two years, the service is provided 24/7 throughout the year. The user of the service is accepted on the basis of a contract for the provision of the service, for this service the provider is paid, usually in the amount of 70 CZK per day for an adult and 40 CZK per day for a child.

Creating conditions for independent food preparation means that the user of each apartment unit has the possibility of preparing food in the kitchen, which is equipped with dishes, a stove, and a refrigerator.

Assistance in exercising rights, legitimate interests and in taking care of personal matters is provided by a social worker and in cooperation with other professional workplaces. Health services are provided through medical facilities according to the choice of service users.

In some cases, these are state institutions, in some places their establishment is supported by the municipality, in others they are created as non-state organizations. These are houses for different target groups: women, but also men, mothers with children (men with children), seniors and so-called half-way houses – facilities built for young adults who can no longer be placed in a facility for children and youth and are a certain support solution for them in a situation where they do not have the option of other forms of housing, because the original family is dysfunctional and the individuals have so far been placed in the care of some institution. Typical clients of the Halfway House are e.g. adults from Klokánky (5) who, due to reaching the age of majority, can no longer stay in these facilities. (6) In the Czech Republic, the clients of shelters most often include mothers of children under the age of three who have been threatened by their husbands/partners or have been affected by other adverse influences, directly or indirectly affecting their children. Asylum houses provide, in addition to preferential accommodation, support for mothers in raising children. (7)

Characteristics of asylum house clients

Any woman who finds herself in a difficult situation that she cannot solve by herself can become a client of the shelter for mothers with children. Characteristic for these women is the lack of a family background that could replace the help of society. Clients enter shelters for a variety of reasons.

Among the most serious are:

  • single mothers or pregnant women who grew up in a dysfunctional family background;
  • mothers who spent their childhood and youth in a children's home, educational institution and did not have enough opportunities to gain experience to manage an independent life;
  • mothers who have become victims of domestic violence.

Roma mothers are a specific group of asylum house clients.

A very common reason for seeking the services of an asylum is domestic violence. In some cases, a dysfunctional family background in childhood or other unfavorable circumstances can be read from the mother's anamnesis, but it is worth considering whether these circumstances subsequently lead to the development of a certain type of personality, which domestic violence - i.e. the pathology of this type of behavior - does not trigger through learned patterns of behavior, communication, and social experience.

Specifics of working with Roma mothers

Given that the majority of the clientele of the asylum in Čejetičky - Mladá Boleslav, where the described projects were implemented, is made up of Roma ethnicity, the text is also focused on the specifics of working with Roma mothers.

Roma mothers who become clients of the asylum mostly come from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, have low incomes and often live below the subsistence minimum. They tend to have low education because education is not a priority value for them. Thanks to this, they find it difficult to find work and generally make their position on the labor market more difficult, which leads to subsequent financial problems.

The Roma have their own history, culture and mentality. They have a different hierarchy of values, a different family system, a different relationship to education and property. In order to effectively help the Roma, it is important to know and respect their mentality, history, value system and other differences. Precisely for these reasons, it is very expedient to employ Roma themselves in key positions in the asylum for Roma mothers. On the one hand, this ensures a full understanding of this specific target group, and on the other hand, thanks to national belonging, the word of such an employee has much more respect among asylum seekers.

The Roma family is distinctly patriarchal. Old family members and men are held in the greatest respect, women are valued according to their fertility. The least valued are women who cannot have children. Children are born as soon as the woman is sexually mature. A Romani mother usually has many children, the man decides on the number of children in the family.

The family as such has a high value for the Roma, these families are deeply rooted in cohesion. It is thanks to the fact that the Roma were originally able to survive as a nomadic society thanks to the fact that family members were able to help each other as much as possible under all circumstances. In this direction, their widely branched family network ensured a certain stability and a significant protective function of individual members. Today's Roma family is going through similar changes as "white" families, its structure and cohesion are changing, and the security function of the multigenerational family is also reduced by a certain reduction of the family.

Although the Roma family is patriarchal and a woman does not have a high social value, she is an important person for children until adulthood.

Goal of the leisure activities project

A very important component of helping female clients in asylums, as already mentioned, is the support of the mother-child relationship. It is important to strengthen parental competence, to provide parents with help in solving children's difficulties at school and in preparation for teaching, in case of educational difficulties.

The goal of the projects is to restore the inner strength of parents to gain self-confidence in caring for their children, or to show ways of working with children educationally, including meaningful and creative spending of free time, games, etc. The whole project is a reaction to the current state of the concept of social services, which is very often limited to the passive provision of social assistance, although the element of active support is also emphasized in the legal regulation. It is based on the need for the asylum to serve not only to ensure the basic needs of the asylum's clients, but to contribute with its concept and services to the support of resocialization and adaptability of the target group, the minimization of social exclusion and therefore to the support of the integration of vulnerable groups.

The entire system of the program is intended as a support for mothers, as an example of the path that can be followed. It does not aim to change the behavior of all mothers, but to offer variants of solutions to those who are open to a new path, but do not yet know how.

Unfortunately, in practice you can still come across the opinion that such programs make sense for children from orphanages, from Klokánky and other types of social services, where e.g. children do not have their own parents. That it is not possible to take responsibility for parents as such. But did parents and mothers from the asylum always have enough opportunities to learn this responsibility? Then, apparently, all the programs to support parental competences, which are implemented in various areas of social life, would be meaningless. And often for parents whose conditions for acquiring the given competences are ideal and for parents whose competences are richly developed. Such parents a priori look for similar programs, because they are aware of the importance of each development of both their own and their child.

It is necessary to realize that we have before us a client who has failed in many life situations, or is dealing with a situation that is very demanding, economically, psychologically, socially.

We cannot decide in advance whether he has enough information, whether he knows the means to improve his situation. And therefore, in my opinion, any such program makes sense. At the same time, support for accepting one's own responsibility, support for overcoming self-centeredness in the current situation does not only apply to clients receiving social care, but to the entire society. It is also true that freedom can enrich a person only if we are able to remain ourselves and follow the path of self-development, self-fulfillment and self-respect with everything that goes with it.

The essence of the leisure activities project in the asylum

A concrete part for showing the direction, the path, is an appropriately compiled project of leisure activities. It is designed in such a way that it is based on the specific regional conditions in which the relevant asylum is located and at the same time it is sufficiently general that it can be used by any other institution that cares for children and youth. The goal of the project is to support the appropriate inclusion of families from disadvantaged social environments as one of the preventive factors affecting the social exclusion of these population groups. The project is based on the need for the asylum to serve not only to ensure the basic needs of the asylum's clients, but to contribute with its concept and services to the support of resocialization and adaptability of the target group, the minimization of social exclusion and thus to the support of the integration of vulnerable groups.

The essence of the whole project is the mutual interweaving of two basic lines of leisure activities - namely the connection of long-term activities with short-term projects. The project includes proposals for individual activities, setting goals that are followed by the activities, including the financial budget and staffing.

Obr. č. 1 Model volnočasových aktivit v azylovém domě

Within the implementation of long-term projects, attention is focused on developing cooperation with parents (which in many facilities appears to be a serious warning signal from the point of view of the healthy development of social relations between mother and child), as well as with surrounding organizations and institutions. All activities in long-term projects must be carried out in a natural, playful way with the inclusion of elements of creativity and experiential learning. The main methods are play, conversation, explanation, praise, listening, illustrative example, repetition, etc.

As part of long-term projects, it is appropriate to implement the following activities, as their connection with the activities of the region is possible in all areas where the asylum is located.

They are:

  • creative dramatic activities;
  • sports activities;
  • tourist circle.

For an appropriate and specific compilation of the content of the long-term project, it is necessary to carry out a careful analysis of the educational, cultural and sports possibilities in the given region, establish cooperation with individual institutions and create a basic framework for the implementation of individual activities.

As part of the implementation of long-term projects, attention is mainly focused on:

  • on the personality development of children;
  • on developing cooperation with parents;
  • to support acceptance of responsibility for one's own existence;
  • development of cooperation with surrounding organizations and institutions.

The second line consists of short-term projects, which in the time horizon complement the cultural and sports projects of the respective region and seamlessly follow on from leisure activities of a long-term nature. Their main advantage is the annual difference, while projects of a long-term nature have their basic content similar in subsequent years. In them, it is possible to start from the assumption that the children are placed in the facility with their mothers for a period of one year, so individual topics should be adjusted according to the experience and needs of the lecturers, not from the need to innovate the content for sufficient motivation of the children.

An integral part of the projects is support for increasing the success rate of the group of Roma children and youth, taking into account their cultural and folklore customs.

The secondary goal is to increase the interest of parents (mothers) in children's leisure activities and establish closer cooperation with them (for projects intended for asylum homes).

Project content

The content of the project follows two basic lines.

The first of them forms a project of long-term (or permanent) leisure activities. As part of the processing of these activities, the emphasis is placed on the educational goals of the activities, for each activity a draft of the content of the activity, competences which it would be good to achieve through the implementation of the activity, and the conditions for its implementation are prepared.

The second line consists of short-term projects that smoothly follow on from leisure activities of a long-term nature.

Long-term projects

The main goal of long-term projects is to influence the all-round development of the child's personality, taking into account the socially disadvantaged environment from which the child comes.

Other, no less important goals include:

  • develop children's ability to communicate with each other and with their surroundings;
  • create such conditions so that children learn a more perfect understanding of the surrounding world;
  • help maintain their own and accept other cultural heritage and traditions;
  • create conditions for children that allow them to develop themselves, their interests and needs, self-confidence and self-confidence;
  • lead children to personal independence.

Part of the impact on children is the development of movement abilities, skills and fine motor skills, but these areas are not prioritized from the point of view of the set goals, but the activities are logically aimed at their development as well.

By fulfilling the main goals, it aims to fulfill the sub-goals:

  • to ensure that the child works gladly and with gusto;
  • create an environment for the child in which he gets enough experience that he can apply in practical situations and in further learning;
  • guide children to be able to distinguish solutions that are functional (leading to the goal) and solutions that are not functional and to be able to choose between them;
  • to give the child enough self-confidence by positive appreciation not only for success, but also for effort, so that he is not afraid to make mistakes;
  • create enough different situations and possibilities to be able to express and communicate one's experiences and feelings by different means (communication, creative activities, musical activities, dramatic activities, etc.);
  • make children responsible for their actions;
  • lead children to tolerance towards others, their differences and uniqueness;
  • enable children to co-create the rules of coexistence and lead them to understand the meaning of these rules;
  • lead children to become aware of the rights and obligations of each individual, so that they learn to defend and respect them and understand that everyone has the same value.

Thematic focus of activities

As already mentioned above, the ideal variant for the thematic focus of activities in long-term projects are creative dramatic, sports and tourist activities. They are therefore also part of a specific proposal.

It is advisable to ensure the financing of activities with the help of funds from European social funds or various grants at the regional level. For staffing, it is possible to contact volunteer centers or use students from schools with a social-legal, psychological or leisure focus, who could take over the management of activities.

Basic activities set up in the line of long-term projects should be supplemented with activities based on the traditions and direction of the respective region.

This block of activities is focused on the development of children's creativity, both in the area of ​​artistic expression and in the area of ​​verbal and non-verbal expression.

In the block, activities focused on artistic creation are connected with activities of a dramatic nature. Both activities can be suitably integrated into the work of the circle according to individual thematic orientations.

Art products are suitable for decorating the asylum (both seasonally and year-round).

An integral part of creative dramatic activities is also the establishment of cooperation with acting companies, which can perform various acting performances for children. The average cost of a nice show is around 4-5 thousand.

As part of the development of children's communication skills and the realization of the dramatic part, it is possible to involve children in the year-long Princess and Prince of Czech Fairy Tales competition, which tries to turn the attention of parents (educators) and children to Czech fairy tale creation, emphasize the richness and richness of the Czech language, deepen their interest in Czech literature, develop verbal imagination and the ability to improvise. (8) This project has been implemented in the Czech Republic since 2008.

As part of this leisure activity, attention is focused on:

  • creating enough different situations and possibilities so that the child can express himself and communicate his experiences and feelings by different means (communication, creative activities, musical activities, dramatic activities, etc.);
  • leading children to tolerance towards others, their differences and uniqueness;
  • co-creating the rules of coexistence and leadership is to understand the meaning of these rules;
  • developing creativity in children and supporting their imagination;
  • preparation of a stimulating environment for the development and cultivation of moral and aesthetic perception, feeling and experience;
  • developing cooperation with parents, surrounding organizations and institutions.

The work in the activity is divided into several main thematic areas, which are arranged according to logical continuity:

  • A year has 12 months, and each one is different;
  • Traditions in the seasons;
  • Health;
  • My favorite fairy-tale creature;
  • Carnival;
  • Puppet;
  • Free creation;
  • I live here;
  • Origami;
  • Prague (the city in which I live);
  • Mask;
  • Diary of joint activities;
  • I am a little gardener;
  • "wild game" hunter.

The year has 12 months, and every other

Children are guided to acquire individual knowledge about the world, the natural environment, its changes occurring in the seasons. They work with natural materials, make gifts and ornaments from nature. It is appropriate for them to make some nice decoration that would beautify the premises of the asylum or a separate housing unit, they can also make various gifts for mothers, friends, teachers. The goal is the development of creativity, the formation of a relationship with nature, the formation of a relationship with the environment in which I live, the support of positive social ties to family and peers.

Traditions in the seasons

Thematically, this part is focused on the changes in nature, it seamlessly follows on from the previous block, during the year the group can return to it in their work according to the changes of the seasons. It is appropriate to focus the nature of the work on the characteristics of a specific time of year. Special attention should then be paid to Advent, Christmas (9) and Easter time. The children are preparing for the arrival of Santa Claus in an activity, they can rehearse the Christmas party. Children will learn about traditions and customs, carols, poems, they will create Christmas cards and other products. During the Easter period, the nature of the activities will correspond to the spring focus. A musical activity is part of this thematic block. The goal is to create a relationship with traditions, to influence the child's emotional development.

Hello

The thematic area focuses on acquiring knowledge about the body, basic hygiene rules, proper nutrition, health and appropriate physical activities. Through the targeted support of cooperation between mothers and children, children and their mothers adopt the principles of a healthy lifestyle, including the choice of physical activities in their daily routine. For processing, it is possible to use various art techniques, joint creation of mothers and children, group drawings of children in the form of project processing. It is also possible to take advantage of lectures by health professionals from the relevant region, excursions.

My Favorite Fairy Tale Creature

This activity focuses on supporting children's relationship to fairy tales, with an emphasis on Czech fairy tales. It includes audio listening to selected fairy tales, reading, dramatization of selected sections of fairy tales. Each of the participants chooses their own fairy-tale creature, prepares a short story about it, improvises in conversations on various topics for their fairy-tale creature.

While supporting the mother-child relationship, it is possible to involve children in the Princess and Prince of Czech Fairy Tales competition, which aims to develop the child's verbal creativity, the relationship to Czech literature and the interaction of parents with children. The main motto of this competition is: "Let's talk with children for at least 10 minutes a day."

Carnival

Within this block, attention is focused on working with art supplies and work aids. Children participate in the preparation of the carnival, such as making masks, decorating the room, devising the program, co-organization. The activity seamlessly follows on from the block My favorite fairy-tale creature, everyone prepares their favorite for the carnival right here.

Puppet

In this activity, the child's creativity, fine motor skills and skill are supported. Children can either sew a puppet from various leftover materials or make it from cardboard.

We cut out the individual parts of the puppet from the cardboard, which we connect to each other with hooks. This ensures maximum mobility of individual parts. The puppet is a nice decoration. We can also use it to develop the child's verbal creativity, using it to demonstrate various creative dialogues, using a puppet to support the dialogue between mother and child. If there is also a psychologist in the house, puppets can be used for psychodrama.

This technique can also be recommended for personality development projects for long-term ill and hospitalized children.

Free creation

The content of this focus is creative work with children, in which children have the opportunity to work according to their choice, both in terms of material preference and process preference. For this part, it is appropriate to offer children a material based on ceramic clay (modurit, self-hardening terracotta material, self-hardening white material), children can subsequently decorate and color the created products. In case of lack of funds, the use of salty (or Vizovice dough) is planned as an alternative solution. However, salty dough is more suitable for children, as it is soft and easy to process even for younger children who do not yet have enough strength. Vizovice dough is very difficult to process, but the products made from it are beautiful. A combination of materials is ideal - for younger children, salty dough, for older children, vizovicka. Material costs are minimal. Part of the activity may also include the preparation of an exhibition in the playroom (or after agreement with the local library in the premises of the public library). The goal is to cultivate confidence in one's own abilities and creative skills, build self-confidence, and support social inclusion.

I live here

As part of the thematic unit, children get to know the environment in which they live, strengthen their basic social habits, children are supported in taking care of the place where they spend time, they make various accessories for their room (pillows, textile decorations), they learn together with their mothers to take care of their own environment, they develop the attitude that taking care of their environment and the environment is very important.

Origami

This activity is focused on the targeted development of children's fine motor skills and imagination. The procedure of individual puzzles can be prepared according to templates from manuals, it is ideal, for example, S. Smith's publication (10): Origami for joy, or Dinogami by author Fernando Gilgado. The goal is to support creativity, develop fine motor skills, and patience.

Prague (the city I live in)

The activities and games used in this block are focused on getting to know Prague - history, legends, viewing pictures, monuments, interesting places. Artistic activities on the theme of Prague - making a collage about a selected Prague monument - can be used to decorate the premises. The goal is to expand knowledge about the city in which I live, building a sense of belonging, where I belong, where I am at home.

Mask

Making a mask is one of the very interesting art therapy procedures. Its production is easy and the result is very impressive. We need old towels or sheets, newsprint, water, Herkules glue, tempera.

We prepare a "ball" from the cloths, we shape newspaper according to its surface, which we soak with water and glue. We shape dimples for the eyes, mouth, and nose. After the basic shape has dried, we decorate the mask with colors.

These masks are then used to decorate common areas, we can use them to prepare an exhibition.

The goal of the activity is to release tension (children can project their fears and anxieties into the mask), they can make their own "spook", and the activity supports children's creativity and the cooperation of mothers with children (it is suitable to help shape and decorate the mask).

Diary of joint activities

With this technique, it is advisable that the mother-child pair first create their own diary of joint activities. This diary can be made very simply.

With the help of Thursdays (white, different colors) it is possible to make a small book, we connect the leaves with a thin wire. If we want to have the diary nicely decorated, it is possible to decorate the top and back with the napkin technique, everyone can choose the motif according to their taste. It is not necessary to use special adhesives for the napkin technique, it is possible to use ordinary Herkules glue (both for gluing and as a top covering layer).

The child then writes joint activities with the mother in the diary, or can draw activities or use photos from completed projects, if the activity implementer takes photos during the activities.

I'm a little gardener

As part of personality development, it is appropriate to create a sense of responsibility for "someone" in children. In the family background, this function is performed by a small pet, which the children learn to care for. In an asylum environment, the situation would be complicated, in addition, mothers' financial resources are very limited and it would not be possible to provide appropriate care for a pet. But the ideal substitute in this case is taking care of your own bouquet.

In the "circle", the child first prepares a "house" for his plant - a flower pot. He decorates the flowerpot with various techniques - he can use the already mentioned napkin technique (using ordinary Herkules glue), or he can use different colors (tempera, colored balacryl), or he can decorate the flowerpot with various natural materials.

Then he chooses a nice flower - a seed, which he plants in the flower pot. Just like his pet, the child must try to take good care of the seed, transplant it, water it.

A suitable addition to the activity is "music education", we learn songs about flowers with the child.

The goal of the activity is the formation of responsibility for something, the flower is also a living decoration for the room where it lives. If possible, some flowers can also be grown in the garden. In some asylums, female clients participate in the maintenance of greenery, grow ornamental and useful plants as part of occupational therapy. Children can thus help.

Wildlife Hunter

As part of this activity, children get to know the tracks of various animals, they learn basic information and interesting facts about the lives of animals that are commonly found in their vicinity. Under the guidance of a lecturer, they learn to cast tracks (a little plaster, water and a crucible is enough), about which they can then create "posters" in the form of a project and thus create an exhibition about individual animals. The goal of the activity is the acquisition of knowledge about living nature, the development of fine motor skills, the ability to work precisely, patience, diligence.

Sports activities

The goal of involving children in sports activities is mainly the need to reduce the excessive liveliness of children, most of them have been diagnosed with hyperactivity. At the same time, sport enables children to stand out without any social or cultural barriers, to prove to others that they can do something and thus contribute to strengthening self-confidence. In collective games, children learn to follow the rules, respect the need for teamwork, and their collective awareness of WE (in a group of differently composed players) is strengthened. The frequency of sports activities is planned in the range of 2 hours per week. The instructor of the activities can be a specific volunteer, student, or a more active mother.

The focus of sports activities follows:

  • individual development of children's movement skills, with special emphasis on the development of sports skills of children of preschool age in disciplines – throwing, jumping, running;
  • compliance with game rules, compliance with fair play rules;
  • support of team cooperation;
  • overcoming personal discomfort and fatigue.

In the field of physical activity support, it is possible to establish cooperation with the association Happy Time, which has been organizing the Kindergarten Olympic Games for a long time.

This part can then act as a motivational factor for smaller children, so that they have the opportunity to achieve tangible success in sports activities, or to participate in a project that is not only interesting in terms of sports, but also socially.

Tourism

The main goals of the tourist club are:

  • development of gross motor skills;
  • development of the child's orientation in the field;
  • development of the ability to orient oneself in the terrain according to tourist signs and maps;
  • development of mental and physical fitness;
  • leading children to use the acquired information in practice;
  • supporting children in expressing their experiences and impressions;
  • supporting children in tolerance and respect for others;
  • leading children to create awareness of their belonging to nature and society;
  • building shared experiences between mother and child.

As part of the tourism-oriented activity, it is not a typical tourist club. The general starting point of the activity is to offer children the opportunity to get to know the surroundings in which they will spend a certain part of their lives, and also to enable them to gain experiences that they would not otherwise have the opportunity to gain. The initial consideration at this point is that it is necessary to offer children the maximum number of positive experiences. It is advisable to connect the activity with keeping a diary of common activities. Volunteers or university students can take over the management of the circle. Activities should be carried out twice a month.

Short-term projects

By their nature, short-term projects seamlessly follow the thematic focus of long-term projects, they need to be based on the current situation in the asylum and to follow important holidays or periods during the year. Their main advantage is the annual difference, while projects of a long-term nature can have a similar basic content in subsequent years.

As part of short-term projects, it is possible to think about celebrating Children's Day, St. Nicholas' Day, Christmas party, spring celebrations, Mother's Day celebrations, celebrating important Roma holidays, welcoming a new family member (birth), International Roma Day (April 8). These projects should be implemented 2-4 times a year. A suitable connection with activities of a long-term nature is the preparation of aids for short-term projects in long-term projects (eg masks for the carnival, Christmas carols, etc.).

Specific project of a short-term nature for an asylum - Around the world in three hours

This project is focused on the support of team cooperation, physical activity, the development of musical creativity and the support of the relationship between mothers and children (mothers participate in this project as cheering spectators supporting individual teams).

The partial goal of the project is the development of the child's creativity and the support of communicative skills with peers.

Program

The proposed project was verified in practice (11), specifically in the asylum in Mladá Boleslav. It was implemented with the active contribution of VŠTVS Palestra students, full-time and combined studies. The content of the project was a sports-oriented "pentathlon".

In order for the playful afternoon to run smoothly, it was necessary to clarify the basic points of the project.

Main points of the upcoming project:

  • determination of the number of children for whom the program will be implemented, the age structure of the children;
  • selection of specific sports disciplines for sports fun afternoons;
  • determining the financial budget that can be obtained from the school as support for the preparation of projects;
  • determination of the program, individual phases, time schedule of individual activities, supporting lines of the entire program, accompanying program;
  • drawing up a draft of the necessary material, preliminary calculations, verification of the correctness of the calculation, purchase of material;
  • preparation of the media presentation of the project – creating an invitation;
  • provision of sponsorship in-kind donations for competitions, determination of the remuneration principle;
  • consultation with a lawyer regarding legal consequences in the event of an injury and advice regarding the appropriate course of action so that the implementers avoid any legal difficulties;
  • provision of diplomas;
  • provision of a photographer;
  • provision of musical underlining throughout the afternoon;
  • provision of visualization of the progress of individual groups (selected map that gave the name to the entire project).

Main disciplines of the program

The center of gravity of the program was built on the implementation of sports pentathlon (the game line of the competition was the principle of proceeding along the marked route on the map of the continents from Antarctica to North America, individual teams had their own color). Using colored pushpins with colored ribbons, the teams marked their progress on a large wall map of the continents.

The main disciplines of pentathlon are:

  • water carrier;
  • jumping in sacks;
  • musical intermezzo;
  • tug of war;
  • puzzles.

The course of activities was organized in such a way that individual teams compete at different stations at the same time, i.e. all competition stations are open simultaneously.

A break was planned in the middle of the project. (12)

After a short break, a musical intermezzo activity was included, tug-of-war was also included, and the competition continued at the individual stations where the competition was held before the break. This prevented the waiting of the cooperatives of individual sites.

Water Bearer

In order to ensure the hygiene of this activity, it is necessary that each child has his own cup, into which an adult always fills him with a little water. The child "transfers" the water in the mouth and spits it out into the prepared measuring cup.

The activity is very popular with children, even though its description may look somewhat uncultured. Each team is then measured the exact amount of water in the measuring cup, the team with the largest amount of water transferred wins. For small children, it is advisable to correct the rules so that they do not run or walk with water in their mouths, it is possible to allow them to just transfer the water from the cup to the measuring cup.

Another similar technique is that water is transferred to a spoon. From experience, however, I can recommend that the first option is very popular with children.

The aim of this activity is to create a humorous atmosphere, to relax, to promote competitiveness. Not only the competition team has fun, but also the others who may be cheering.

Bag Jumping

This activity is focused more on movement. In this case, children can compete as a team (the time of all members of the given team is added up, it serves as a support for social interactions between children) or individually (it depends more or less on the ability to announce a larger number of winners, etc.).

Musical Interlude

The planned accompanying program of the project built in this way was a musical activity, in which the formed teams will rehearse one stanza of the song using sounding boards and then everyone will play the song, either to the accompaniment of an artificial recording or to the guitar accompaniment of adults. It is appropriate to involve mothers in this part as well, who can clap the rhythm of the song, help sing, etc. (emphasis on mother-child interaction).

Drag

During the music production, it is the ideal time to check the progress of the individual teams on the map, between the individual points - marked with pins - a string can be stretched, thereby highlighting the progress of the individual continents. Before the teams return to complete the positions they have not yet completed, it is advisable to include a tug-of-war. Two teams compete against each other, the other two with their mothers form spectators and encourage the competitors by cheering.

Tug of war has clear rules, the middle line is marked, it is determined whether the opponent who gets either the first or the last person from the second group across the border wins and the competition can begin.

Puzzle

The activity Puzzle aims to support teamwork and works with children's imagination.

Before the actual project, it is advisable to prepare this technique, ie. choose a suitable picture from the wall calendar and cut it into smaller parts (from personal experience, for the competitive nature of the game, it is more appropriate to choose larger pieces, not miniature ones, several centimeters long). The task of the group is to assemble the picture (without a template). We can enrich the activity by creating a story for the picture, in which case the technique also serves to develop communication skills. Children can write down a short story and before the end of the competition the individual stories are read, usually causing a lot of laughter and fun.

Evaluation of the implemented project

The children liked the project very much, they were excited about the opportunity to work with percussion instruments. The contestants appreciated that the other teams and the mothers were cheering. They actively shared their experiences with the editor of the Liberecký broadcast.

Conclusion

Currently, when we are seeing a decrease in the intensity of social interactions at all levels, it is necessary to pay attention to the targeted support of social ties, especially for those target groups of clients who are threatened by the possibility of impaired social interaction, especially for those individuals who are brought up in non-standard educational conditions. (13)

For these reasons, the contribution represents the possibilities of supporting the social interaction of mother and child in the conditions of an asylum. It offers projects of leisure activities that can prevent social exclusion of children who live in an asylum.

The design of the projects is based on the basic characteristics of the asylum, using the principle of combining long-term and short-term projects, which can be used by all clients of the asylum to the maximum extent possible.

The use of such oriented projects in similar institutions can be considered one of the important ways both in the field of social exclusion prevention (or risk behavior prevention) and as an important part of the preparation of experts working with a given target group and the social context in which these groups are located.

PhDr. Markéta Šauerová, PhD. Literature

ČERMÁKOVÁ, K., JOHNOVÁ, M., Implementation of quality standards of social services into practice. 1st edition Prague: Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 2002. ISBN 80-86552-45-4. HUŠINOVÁ, I. Czech fairy tale princess and prince competition. Mateřídouška, no. 8, 2009. MATOUŠEK, O. et al. Social work in practice: specifics of different target groups and work with them. Ed. 1. Prague: Portal, 2005. ISBN 80-7367-O02-X SMITHOVA, S. Origami for joy. Prague: Euromedia Group, k. with – Ikar, 2007. ISBN 978-80-249-0827-4. ŠAUEROVÁ, Markéta. Personal development projects in non-standard educational conditions. Prague: VŠTVS PALESTRA, 2012, Prague: ESAP, 2012. ISBN 978-80- 904815-5-8. ISBN 978-80-87504-08-6. ŠIMKOVÁ, J. Shelter for mothers with children in Náchod. Graduation thesis. Prague: Jabok, 1999. Law no. 108/2006 on social services. [Internet] [12.12. 2010].

(1) (ŠIMKOVÁ, J. Asylum house for mothers with children in Náchod. Graduate work. Prague: Jabok, 1999). (2) ČERMÁKOVÁ, K., JOHNOVÁ, M., Implementation of quality standards of social services in practice. 1st edition Prague: Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 2002. ISBN 80-86552-45-4. (3) ČERMÁKOVÁ, K., JOHNOVÁ, M., Implementation of quality standards of social services into practice. 1st edition Prague: Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 2002. ISBN 80-86552-45-4. (4) Act no. 108/2006 on social services. [Internet] [12/12/2010]. ( http://www.mpsv.cz/files/c78f8175d42337697fcb0ebef1376357 ) (5) Klokánek is one of several activities of the Endangered Children Fund (FOD) - a civic association to help abused, neglected, abused or otherwise socially endangered children, operating since 1990 throughout the Czech Republic. They have the status of facilities for children requiring immediate help. The goal of its activity is to offer children temporary family care instead of institutional care until they can return to their family, or until permanent substitute family care is found for them (adoption, foster care, entrustment to the care of a third party). (6) Personal communication from J. Voldřichová during an excursion in Klokánek, Štěrboholy, 2010. (7) MATOUŠEK, O. et al. Social work in practice: specifics of different target groups and work with them. Ed. 1. Prague: Portal, 2005. ISBN 80-7367-O02-X. (8) HUŠINOVÁ, I. Princess and prince competition of the Czech fairy tale. Mateřídouška, no. 8, 2009. (9) It is possible to use the production of Christmas candy candelabra, but in this case it is appropriate that the Christmas story takes place in the privacy of each "housing unit", which intensifies the social bond between mother and child. (10) SMITHOVA, S. Origami for joy. Prague: Euromedia Group, k. with – Ikar, 2007. ISBN 978-80-249-0827-4. (11) The time requirement was planned for 4 hours, for an approximate number of 20 children aged 3-16 years. The activity was provided by a group of 10 students. The basic materials needed for the activity were: a world map (either ready-made, or the children can create it together in a long-term project), colored pushpins to record the travel of the teams on the continents, a jumping sack (or potato sacks), a rope (you can use a towing rope from the car's equipment), 20 disposable water cups, a ladle, a pot, water, a liter measuring cup, common percussion instruments, a CD player, a CD with song (guitar), big old wall calendar, stopwatch. The activity budget was set at max. 500 CZK, the limit was not exceeded. (12) As part of the practical implementation of the project, this break was used for a small treat, several liters of milk were donated to the project as a sponsorship gift, flavored straws and cookies were also bought. Each child received a new cup, milk with a flavored straw and cookies. (13) Blíže Šauerová, M. Personal development projects in non-standard educational conditions. Prague: VŠTVS PALESTRA, 2012, Prague: ESAP, 2012. ISBN 978-80-904815-5-8. ISBN 978-80-87504-08-6.