Celebrate Israel
Written By Rochelle Eisenberg Photographed By Justin Tsucalas
Israel Independence Day is a great time to introduce youngsters to the wonders of the State of Israel. This year, the holiday falls on April 26.
The Center for Jewish Education in Baltimore has suggested these tangible ways to celebrate while teaching young children about Israel.
Food
There’s nothing like cooking to make learning fun.
Create edible Israeli flags using a Star of David cookie cutter and your favorite cookie recipe or store-bought dough. Frost or sprinkle with blue icing. Place on a plate with two strips of blue fruit above and below.
Share Relevant Trivia
Do they know that the cell phone was developed by Motorola-Israel. Voice-mail technology also was developed in Israel.
Science
Want to replicate the Dead Sea at home? Take a wide-mouth jar or container and fill it with water. Have your child place an egg or a lemon in the jar. What happened?
Now slowly add a cup or more of salt to the water, letting the kids stir it to dissolve. Try the egg or lemon again. What happened this time?
As the water becomes denser, like the Dead Sea with all its salt and minerals, the egg floats.
Read
Check out these great reads:
“My Cousin Tamar Lives in Israel”
by Michelle Shapiro Abraham (URJ Press, 2007)
Join a young boy and his cousin Tamar as they learn about Jewish life in Israel and North America in this picture book about Israel.
“It’s Israel’s Birthday”
by Ellen Dietrick (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2008)
Celebrate Israel’s birthday with these youngsters as they take a pretend trip to Israel. See them board a plane, visit a kibbutz, enjoy the shuk (market) in Jerusalem, float in the Dead Sea and experience Israel in many other ways.
Watch
“Shalom Sesame: The Land of Israel/Tel Aviv/Kibbutz”
Shalva Snyder learns how the Dead Sea makes objects float in this sciene experiment. Her mother Neely helps while sisters Nava (right) and Ayelet look on.
