From 23 to 27 January 2023. in \u017bory, Poland, a training entitled \u201cInitial building of good relations between foster parents and children\u201d was held for foster families from Poland, Portugal and Lithuania. The training was conducted as part of the project \u201eConscious Parent Academy \u2013 Replacement parent urgently needed!\u201d project number 2020-1-PL01-KA204-082283.<\/p>\n
During the training, participants gained knowledge on the following topics:<\/p>\n
The above topics were discussed during:<\/p>\n
\u2013 training classes at the Municipal Library in \u017bory,<\/p>\n
\u2013 study visits to professional foster families from \u017bory,<\/p>\n
\u2013 study visit to the day support center \u2013 Children\u2019s Home \u201cHoryzont\u201d in \u017bory.<\/p>\n
During the workshops in the \u201cHoryzont\u201d Hall, all participants took part in active intercultural and intergenerational integration using the \u201cKlanz\u201d method, which is based on multidirectional activity combining movement, music, dance, art and cognitive activities. The following were used for this purpose:<\/p>\n
\u2013 games related to the organization of initial situations (establishing contact with the group),<\/p>\n
\u2013 playing with an animated scarf, during which the participants additionally learned the names of colors in different languages \u200b\u200b(English, Polish, Lithuanian, Portuguese and Ukrainian).<\/p>\n
Families were also presented with the forms used in sociotherapy concerning work on emotions and team integration. Participants learned what primary emotions are and how to call these emotions in the above context. The tools used in team building, i.e. the circle of communication and the circle of cooperation, were also discussed.<\/p>\n
During the training, the foster families, in addition to expanding their knowledge, had the opportunity to visit the City of \u017bory, the City Museum in \u017bory, the Historic Ignacy Mine in Rybnik, the Historic Palace and Park Complex in Pszczyna, the European Bison Farm and the open-air museum in Pszczyna and historic Krakow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that the training for foster families was very good, fruitful and useful. Thanks to this training, foster families could learn about the functioning of foster care in another country, thanks to which they can understand, appreciate and see the differences and similarities. In addition, foster families had the opportunity to share their own thoughts, observations and problems resulting from performing their functions, thanks to a joint conversation they understood that they are not alone and all foster families face similar problems. I also consider the classes in the \u201cHoryzont\u201d common room to be very successful, where there was a lot of integration through fun and laughter. Many tasks related to building relationships, trust, recognizing emotions and their meaning. It was a nice experience because of multiculturalism \u2013 a lot of positive emotions and breaking down barriers in relationships.\u201d \u2013 said one of the trainers about the training.<\/p>\n
Each day the participants of the training became more and more integrated with each other and with the teachers. Participants of the classes gained a lot of practical knowledge and techniques of building good relationships that they will be able to use in their families.<\/p>\n