Almost Eden

This is in response to those of you who have been asking me via Facebook and e-mail about the education system in Israel. If I've missed something, please feel free to ask questions in the comment section below and I'll attempt to get you answers.Qua… more »

I can't believe three months have already passed and I haven't told you all about our new home in Ra'anana. I do apologize for the delay and for the fact that this is going to be a long one! Work If you've been reading this blog for a while, yo… more »

With tears welling up in my eyes I exited the school and hid my face with the camera taking shots of the crowds and scenery surrounding Yavne elementary school. My son was not happy about starting at yet another school and I couldn't blame him... At 8-1… more »

Thirteen months into my Aliyah I started ulpan today :)! Before telling you about it, I have to apologize for letting so many weeks slip by without keeping you up-to-date on what was happening with us. I'll do my best to catch you up in the near futur… more »

Advanced planning and notification doesn't seem to be a strong point for Yisrael's teacher - and maybe this is just the way Israeli schools operate. Last Monday, Yisrael came home and told me that four boys would be coming to our house on Tuesday. Why?… more »

In case you haven't picked up on this already from reading my rantings, I am one of those mothers who constantly worries about her children; safety, health, nutrition, behavior, academic achievement, social assimilation, cleanliness, weather-appropriate clothing, etc. Aside from the language factor, making Aliyah wasn’t much different for me than moving from New York to California, South Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee or Ohio when it came down to my children’s welfare. There are always the worries and challenges of whether or not the child will fit in socially and academically. A few weeks ago I met with Yisrael’s ulpan teacher and her assistant to discuss his progress. I went expecting the worst because I perceived his apprehension to speak Hebrew in social settings to be lack of skills. I was in for a surprise... more »

Yisrael is finally happy in both school and ulpan – I am so thankful! His ulpan took us on a park outing Tuesday morning that was a lot of fun. We were greeted by seven teenage camp counselors who did a terrific job entertaining and teaching the eight ulpan kids. They played playground type of games, using only Hebrew and the kids really got into it. The yeladim (children) searched for pine cones to feed a campfire. Then they made pita dough (without washing hands first - things are different here!) Yisrael couldn’t stay away from the fire (no surprise!) and kept bringing more pine cones to keep it going. The pita was cooked on the campfire with a metal dome over it. The children retreived their hot pita from the fire by stretching out their shirts in front of them as the counselors tossed the pita to them - no plates or napkins here! Then Morah Rachel smeared chocolate spread on top for them. And the kids took them in their hands (it was amusing to hear how many of them asked for paper plates and napkins - their parents should be proud) and enjoyed their treat. Fortunately I had tissues and wet wipes in my backpack, it took the whole pack to get the gang cleaned up. Surprisingly these kids actually asked for help getting their hands clean, but there was no running water or paper towels available. The counselors then demonstrated the old-fashioned method of making-tea-on-the-fire which amazed most of the kids. Especially Yisrael who was so attracted by the fire (he can't help it, it runs in the family - dad, both grandfathers, etc.) They made the tea very sweet, which really appealed to the kids who sipped it while bouncing up and down on the see-saws. Certainly not the type of outing I would have planned - much better (which is why I work with words and not kids!) - it turned out to be fun and relaxing and gave me an opportunity to have a one-on-one meeting with his teacher who says he’s blossoming nicely. An added treat was a new view of Ma'aleh Adumim - not only do we have palms, we have trees with fragrant pine needles! Oh how I love this place! Click the link to view the photos... more »

I tend to run a few days behind the rest of the school world - Yisrael's school that is - because there is often a delay between the time they send me a note and the time someone translates it for me. This week the challenge was immunizations and getting to my new Touro College Memoir Writing course on time... Taxi drivers here are interesting people - this guy is yelling "Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv" and I tell him I need to go to Givat Shaul and ask "cama oleh?" (how much?) - he tells me THIRTY-FIVE shekels for what is normally a 20 shekel ride. I don't have time to waste so I offered him 15, he got the message and agreed on 20. As he drove, we discussed American politics, and he read the newspaper on his steering wheel at red lights. To liven things up he turned on the radio and we listened to American-Israelis debating American politics in Hebrew - and I actually understood most of it. Then I changed the conversation to Israeli politics and we discussed his feelings about the current administration vs. Netanyahu. I asked who will be best for Israel, who can bring about positive change and clean up this mess? And this kippa-less man pointed to the sky and yelled "only GOD!" What a country we live in - I love this place! more »

Was last week just a bad dream? Have I been living in a Wizard of Oz delusion for the past month? No, I checked and there are no bumps on my head. So how do we explain the drastic turn of events? You may recall that I was told the school had a new teacher in 2nd grade who doesn't speak English and none of the 18 boys in the class do either. Well, Friday was Yisrael's first day in the new school and we were in for a big surprise! more »

About an hour before Rosh HaShanah, while I was in the middle of ironing about a dozen white shirts, I received a call from Ma'aleh Adumim's Aliyah Coordinator informing me that Yisrael could start school at Sde Chemed on Friday morning! Yeah! more »