Reflections


As the excitement mounts....

Notes on preparing the classes for the Israel Seminar, from Deborah Gardner
Monday February 18, 2019

With my classes, I've shared my excitement:

At Alef Bet Child Care in Cambridge, first we read and discussed Rachel Raz's delightful book, The Colors of Israel.  Afterwards, we wrote a book to give to a classroom in Haifa where students contributed what their favorite color is.  Next, we captured the many aspects of our day in photos, including playing in the snow.

At Temple Emanuel in Newton, where I teach a Gan Class Sunday mornings, we read Rachel Raz's book, ABC Israel, admiring the many photographs capturing Israel. For Tu B'shevat, as we munched on a fresh fig, Jaffe oranges, olives and dates, we revisited specific pictures showing the trees and how they grow.

At TBZ, Temple Beth Zion in Brokline, where I teach the K/1 class, we likewise read and discussed ABC Israel.  Since each week we feature a letter of the Alef Bet, before I left, we identified the letters which begin many of the places I'll visit, including Haifa, Sefat, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

I also shared my excitement with the parents of my students.  In my class at Alef Bet in Cambridge, we have a number of families who are here from Israel, with a parent conducting post-graduate studies at nearby Harvard University or Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Several parents mentioned that they attended the Technion in Haifa.  In fact, one parent not only told me how he attended middle school and high school in Haifa, but has distinct memories of teachers from Boston visiting his classes.  Now in its 30th year, the Boston Haifa Connection is forming long term alliances and relationships.

To prepare for the trip we first were with other Boston teachers who had traveled to Israel on prior trips and we learned about the 7 schools 3 centers for parent education we'll be visiting.  At our last meeting, a Zoom session, we actually saw and chatted with the teachers whose schools we'll visit. It was particularly exciting to see the teachers who visited us last year!

Before boarding the plane, we recited the tefillat ha derekh (prayer for travelers) and upon landing, passengers spontaneously applauded.

We're here. Let the adventures begin!


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