By Jelena Pilipovic, YES 2015-2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina, hosted by AFS in Roseburg, OR

With all the bad things happening in the world, sometimes it gets hard to find a positive perspective. We get tired of hearing about the many attacks, deaths and sorrow on the news and often forget the bright side of life. But, actually, following the example of our youngest population, we just need to focus on the things that bring us joy and make us laugh. Essentially, children are sources of eternal positivity and happiness. Unfortunately, growing up in these hard times can leave a negative impact and create a lot of spite and bitterness. That’s why dedicating more quality time to young children and helping them grow up in a healthy environment is one of the ways we can improve our community and the world in general.

The American Councils local coordinator in Banja Luka contacted both the YES alumni and YES Abroad students living in Banja Luka and suggested that we organize an event for children. After we gathered to plan the activity, we decided to hold a children’s story telling event. Our idea was to entertain the young ones by reading and acting out children’s stories in English.

I was very excited about this activity, as I have always wanted to work with children. When we met to plan our event, we discussed potential stories to use, how to act them out, and how to help the audience understand. We decided to read two stories and then do some enrichment activities appropriate for kindergarten-aged kids, such as drawing their favorite characters and what they want to be when they grow up. We also created fun props to use, like pig ears, pig tails, and wolf whiskers.

The activity took place at the American Corner in Banja Luka on Thursday, September 29, 2016. Our main concern was not knowing how many children would show up, but we had nothing to lose, because our event was worth doing even if only one person came. When the time was right, we set up the place, put our costumes on, and waited for the little ones to arrive. As I was waiting for the first guests to arrive, I glanced through the window and spotted a merry group of kindergartners and their teachers approaching. After them, there were more and more children coming in, and the atmosphere was great. Once everyone was seated, we introduced ourselves, the YES Abroad students and the YES program to the audience. The event could finally begin!

Our first story was the popular fairy tale The Three Little Pigs. Our goofy YES Abroaders and YES alumni created a lot of giggles and smiles as we acted out the story of the three little pigs from the wolf’s perspective. Our second story was a series of skits about the adventures of Snoopy from the book, You Can Be Anything! based off The Peanuts comic strip.  Afterwards, children got to do what they like best – drawing and coloring, creating their own world of fantasy and dreams.

Over 30 children attended the event with their parents, grandparents, and teachers, as well as Katherine David-Fox from the Department of State’s Youth Program Division. I was thrilled to see kids from the local elementary schools and kindergartens, as well as the kids who live in a local children’s home. We talked with some of the older children in English, and it was amazing to see how much they already knew at such a young age.

Due to the success of the story time, we are hoping to make English story time become a regular occurrence at the American Corner, and get even more little ones to come and empower us with their positive energy and light.