The 19th Võro Language Week kicked off in the Old Võromaa region of Southern Estonia on Monday, and at Kreutzwald School in Võru, students sang together in Võro during recess.

The kids like to sing, and they like the Võro language too, but their own language skills are lacking because their parents aren't speaking Võro with them.

To encourage parents to do so, the Võru Institute launched this year's language week with the slogan "Püsimi võro keele pääl" – "Let's Stick with Võro."

"Võro speakers have a tendency to switch to Estonian when speaking with children," said Võru Institute director Rainer Kuuba, speaking in Võro himself. "But that means that we adults are robbing kids of the opportunity to hear the Võro language. This year we came up with the slogan 'Let's Stick with Võro' – to give kids a chance to hear the Võro language."

Since one of the best ways to learn a language is by reading books, several new books are being released during Võro Language Week.

One of these is the cheerful story "Poiss ja papa," or "Boy and Grandpa," by the already beloved children's author Triinu Laan. "Poiss ja papa" tells the story of an old man and a young boy who have plenty of time for each other; the elder of the two is also something of an expert on finding joy in life.

"Papa believes joy in life means having time to cook for yourself, go foraging for mushrooms and visit favorite places," Laan said.

"It's about having time for each other," she continued. "It's a universal story that most Estonian families can relate to. Everyone has a story about a good elder who has cared for their little ones and passed something special down to them."

"Poiss ja papa" was also released as a Võro-language audiobook, available on helüait.ee.

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