During the first phase of the LISTEN project we are working on the creation of practical learning materials for teachers and volunteers.
In total, teachers and childcare workers will receive 20 lesson plans for activities aimed at supporting the social inclusion of disadvantaged families. At the same time, supporting material for volunteers are being created for each of the curricula, which explains in more detail the methodological aspects of working with children and parents during the activity.
My country – Around the world in one day
On Tuesday, April 18, the first event took place in Most – in the Pigy kindergarten. The teachers together with the children prepared a rich program on the topic of My Country. Since there are several children with migrant background in the preschool, their parents chose to actively participate in the program and some of them prepared a tasting of various international dishes or brought interesting items to the preschool which are connected to their country and culture.
The children had an opprortunity to taste national dishes from Vietnam, Kenya, Slovakia, Moravia and the Czech Republic. Stations with didactic and creative activities were prepared for the participants. Together the children created a model of the planet Earth, a world map, a map of the Czech Republic and wooden figurines of different nationalities. The entire program was concluded with tasks for children and parents with various questions on the multicultural theme.
Persona Dolls Method
The second event took place in Play Wisely preschool in Prague 4 using the method of so called persona dolls. This methodology allows children to be introduced to the diversity of cultures and languages in the world in a playful way. During the meeting, parents could get to know their children’s imaginary friend, the Mexican Santi, and together with the children, learn more about his family and country of origin, as well as about the families of classmates.
For those interested in the method, you can attend one of the educational courses by Člověk v tísni or watch this video.
As part of the project, a total of 16 community events for children and their parents will take place, four of which will be organized in the Czech Republic. The purpose of these community events is to test the iactivities of the curriculum directly in the field and improve the teaching materials with the help of feedback from the participants.
The lessons learned during the two activities will be presented to the partners at the May LISTEN transnational project meeting in Athens.