Prave priče

Between the ages of 3 and 5, children experience rapid growth in their speech, thinking, and imagination. During this stage, they are not only learning new words, they are learning how to have conversations, ask questions, retell events, negotiate with peers, and increasingly use language to express their thoughts and feelings. For children growing up in a multilingual environment, this is a crucial period for strengthening their heritage language and preserving it as a language of family, play, and friendship.

This program is built around play, songs, movement, shared reading, creativity, social interaction, and, above all, encouraging communication among children. Language develops best when children have a genuine need to use it in conversations with other children, not only when responding to adults’ questions. Activities are designed to support speech development, comprehension, vocabulary, storytelling skills, attention, early literacy, social skills, and a love for the Serbian language and literature.

Children who confidently speak Serbian attend classes independently (although parents are always welcome to observe). However, if a child primarily understands Serbian but responds in English (or another language), or if the child is still developing basic comprehension, the presence of one parent or another adult family member is required. This creates opportunities for active communication in Serbian between the child and the adult, which significantly supports language development.

Regardless of a child’s language level, a significant part of our program is dedicated to supporting parents. One class per week can provide a powerful boost, but without regular use of Serbian at home, progress remains limited. That is why we provide parents with practical guidance, ideas, and materials to help them continue building Serbian language skills through everyday family interactions.

The program includes carefully selected works from classic Serbian children’s literature, high-quality translations of world literature, and original texts adapted to the children’s age and developmental stage. Each week, families receive a “talking activity” that encourages shared reading and conversation at home, along with short activities that introduce early literacy skills through play, listening, sounds, rhyme, rhythm, and other pre-reading skills.

Classes take place in a small group of no more than 10 children. Each class is led by two members of our teaching team. The small group size allows for meaningful conversation, individualized support, and rich peer interaction—one of the most important drivers of language development at this age.

For this age group, individual class registration is not available. Children at this age are already involved in many regular activities, and to offer families a meaningful alternative, we must also provide the continuity that is essential for language growth and progress.