Hebrew Causes Maths Confusion

I was helping my daughter with her maths homework today. She and her friend (originally from the US) where having problems understanding tens and units. I went through it several times and they continued to get confused. Finally I worked out that the root of their confusion related to their switch from English to Hebrew; they now worked from right to left, not left to right and were therefore reading their numbers the wrong way round, ie 12 was read as 21 with the tens and units switched over. Once I explained that numbers should be read, ‘the English way’, they soon got the hang of it. I think this typifies some of the unexpected difficulties children sometimes have.

We find it easy to identify and respond to straight forward language difficulties but the switch in text direction also carries with it areas of confusion. Since coming to Israel my daughter has resumed some basic writing errors she had when she was much younger, eg. writing 9 as a P or 5 as a 2. Again it is the change of direction which has sparked this. Not only has she picked up errors but we discovered that she writes English with her right hand and Hebrew with her left. For some reason she just finds it easier.

I have not only had problems with ‘left and right’ this week but have had my share of difficulty with ‘up and down’ too. This week saw the installation of a stair gate in our house. Since the baby started walking she has become obsessed by getting into every nook and cranny and particularly likes climbing the stairs. The other day I took something out of the oven and in those few seconds she had reached the stairs and climbed half way up. I left the kitchen and looked for her but as I did so I heard, ‘thump, thump, thump… waaaa!’. The poor little thing had fallen down and lay flat on the floor in a state of alarm. There was that long silence and gulping of breath before the wail was emitted, which as all parents know, is a sure sign they are shocked and hurt. I scooped her up and comforted her. There was no damage and she was soon right as rain.

So today the stair gate is up and that is one less trouble spot she can get into. No sooner was it up then she had another accident. We were out in the garden and she was wandering around looking up at the trees and enjoying the exciting sights and smells that surrounded her. Suddenly she came across a ball and decided to pick it up. Unfortunately for her she was next to a tree and as she bent down she banged her head against it. Unluckily, the tree she chose has bark which is covered in prickles. Poor thing, I think, at this age, they can turn the most innocent objects into a danger zone, even stationary trees.

Sharona B
www.judaicamosaica.com

Israeli Schools - Getting it Right

We have been in Israel for over 20 months now and during that time have moved three times.

We moved because we did not feel we had found ‘home’. Each move was in response to something negative (lack of community; too urban; not living in a religious area; not having the right quality of life; work/life balance…etc.)

Unfortunately, when we moved, as well as finding some of the benefits we were looking for, we also lost some of the good things in our previous day to day lives. Schooling, in particular, has proven to be a hard nut to crack. One child may be happy, another not; one school lacks something that another has; one school has friendlier, better controlled kids another has a bullying problem; one has better resources and learning support, another is less set up to cope with these needs.

Making decisions which are right for all members of the family is difficult. It is also true that problems that are experienced today often iron themselves out and can be worked through. I suppose there is a choice - staying and persevering to get things right or moving to find something which may (or may not) be better.

Life after aliyah throws up all of these challenges and, particularly where children are concerned, can make all the difference.

It’s always good to talk to other olim who have already been through the whole process of trying to find the best environment for their children. Here is the advice a few ‘veterans’ told me when I started to ask about school choices:

“Wherever you go you will find the same problems; it is not the school or the community, it is Israeli society”.

“Move and you may find the child who was unhappy has a better experience but the child who was happy does not….”

“You can move here, there and everywhere, but it won’t necessarily result in making everyone happy.”

“There is no comparison between what is in Israel with what you had back home – it is like apples and pears – just different”

Most olim, when you talk to them, made aliyah for their children, and ultimately it is the experience of the children that ends up dictating many of the decisions you make. You can plan your aliyah all you like, go on a pilot trip, speak to others… ultimately though you will be shaped by your own experiences and you would be extremely lucky to get it right first time.

My advice? Do your homework,

• Talk to other parents, in particular find out the schools that the happy, well behaved, motivated kids go to.

• Make visits during school hours so you can see how the kids behave in lessons and also during break.
  

• Once your kids start school, ensure you have a good idea of how they are doing academically and socially.

• Talk to the school, sort out any problems as early as possible and make sure you are able to benefit from all help available. If help is available, is it suitable in the current form? If it is not available, can it be made available?

To all of you planning aliyah – good luck. For all the difficulties, for all the ‘spanners in the works’, it is still a wonderful decision to make.

Kids Are Smart!

Over Shabbat the baby took her first tentative steps. She is exactly eleven months old. She can manage up to seven steps then slumps down on her backside and claps and smiles, mimicking our enthusiastic response to her new trick. It is such a landmark – a transition from a baby to a toddler. Let’s just hope all this new found maturity will result in her sleeping at night!

Breaking News: The Comeback Kid is back! After going missing for a couple of days I discovered the tortoise at the bottom of a drain well. I spent some time blocking up gaps to make the garden as safe as possible. My daughter has decided that ‘he’ is a ‘she’ and finally a name has been decided upon - ‘Miri’

Last week my son came home from school with a request to bake some muffins for a school sale. All proceeds were to buy extra resources for the school. My eight year old daughter decided that she and I would bake them together. Tonight we had a nice session sieving flour, cracking eggs and generally making a mess. Whilst we were baking she asked me what the muffins were for. I explained to her and could see that she was giving this some thought.

“So all the parents are making treats and then giving money to the children to buy the treats?” she said.

“That’s right”, I said.

“And all the money raised is to buy books and things for the school?”

“Yes”, I said.

“Then why”, came the considered response, “don’t the parents just donate money to the school?”

She had stumped me. Why indeed! What a rigmarole for the same outcome! Sometimes kids are smart!

Sharona B

www.judaicamosaica.com

Stage Delight

So here I am, sitting admiring the view from my garden. The trees are weighed down with purple buds, some of them already flowering into pink blossom. The Israeli flag flying on a pole at the end of the garden is fluttering in the breeze. Beyond it, the Shomron Hills, dotted with trees and patches of rock, bask in the rays of the afternoon sun. The soundtrack is that of the leaves rustling and the birds chatting, aside from that… silence. I breathe in the clean air and exhale the stresses of the day. The view from my house is a true tonic.

I moved here a year and a half ago from the UK. We wanted to change our lives for the better; change gear, change priorities, take control. In that time we have lived in four houses (in three different towns). We have had a baby. I have written the first draft of a book. We have set up a new business. Well we wanted change….

When I decided to write a blog I wondered what I might write about. Now I am writing my first entry I am wondering which of the many topics on my mind I should select first.
This week has been busy. My husband just came back from his first business trip in the UK; my mum, who was visiting, just went back home; I had a birthday and I put the finishing touches to my website.

I could talk about any of these, plus more. However, the thing which made me swell with pride, that made me look back and consider our progress over the last year, was seeing my daughter perform in her first ever school show – talking and singing in Hebrew.

My just-turned eight year old is a bright child but a bit of a perfectionist. She has not spoken Hebrew for the 18 months we have been here, to much comment from her teachers. “By now she really should be speaking in Hebrew…” Her brother talks ten to the dozen and corrects my poor grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. My husband and I both knew that she was slowly taking it all in, assembling the language in her mind and would speak in her own time. During the preceding few weeks she finally gained the confidence to play with a neighbour’s little girl who speaks no English and very fast Hebrew. I started to hear her chatting away to her friend and knew that she was finally on the way. So when I went to see her at the school show; when she got up on the stage and spoke her lines in clear Hebrew; sang her songs and performed her actions with such joy and gusto; I just knew that she had passed a very important landmark.

So my first blog is dedicated to my daughter. As we say in Israel, “kol hakavod” – well done, or quite literally “much respect”.