Learning gained momentum
On September 21st, learning gained momentum. The children returned to school vigorous and diligent as never before. This year is dedicated to the Lithuanian book smugglers, therefore we will try to highlight their history and importance. In each class, every student set on a journey into the Lithuanian language, history, and culture. Little by little we become like book smugglers or daraktoriai (19th - 20th-century teacher of Lithuanian peasant schools established and maintained secretly and defying a ban of the Russian empire) ourselves. The children started to collect and fill their Lithuanian books with interesting facts and insights about Lithuanian history and language. The students were preparing for the beginning of the year test, remembering the history lessons of last year. We spoke about Baltic culture, the abundance of Baltic goddesses, the first and only King of Lithuania. Our elders wrote and analyzed essays, read a short story “Sunki mama” by Aldona Lubytė. Our little ones learned the names of different animals. Thus we came back to Lithuanian school as if we would have come home!