Two books, one journey, two directions. Saturdays at Three teaches Ukrainian to English speakers, and «Суботи о третій» (Suboty o tretii, “Saturdays at three”) teaches English to Ukrainian speakers. A family can read both on the same evening and learn in two directions at one table.
Where the books come from
Since 24 February 2022, people have stood with Ukraine on a corner in Kamloops every Saturday at three. The stand was organised at the start, and Sasha was one of its organisers; it has not needed organising since. People simply come. These books grew out of that habit.
How they teach
- Thirty-six days on the roads of Vancouver Island, one lesson a day
- Thirty-five songs, one for every year of Ukraine’s independence from 1991 to 2025, and a thirty-sixth day left open
- Each Ukrainian song has an English song beside it, so the two languages and their histories meet
- Three sentences to say aloud each day, with pronunciation help, vocabulary and listening tasks
- Notes for facilitators on Zoom and in the classroom
The books
- Saturdays at Three · A Song for Every Year: Ukrainian through thirty-five songs, for English speakers
- Суботи о третій · Пісня на кожен рік: English through thirty-five songs, for Ukrainian speakers
The series is open: new song years and new language pairs will be added here as they are written.
Review copies, classes and corrections
Teachers, Saturday schools, libraries and community groups can request a free review copy by writing to sasha@drokacademy.ca. If you find a mistake, send the page and the line, and you will be named in the next edition. If you know a better song for a year, or a better English pair, write about that too.
See you Saturday at three. Love. Care. Share.