Yom Huledet Sameach to Israel

With our school's youngest children, the Levana class, we celebrated Israeli  Independence Day by talking about Israel as the Jewish homeland, singing Happy Birthday to Israel  in English and in Hebrew, and by creating our own versions of the Israeli flag using white and blue fabric. Two songs that are new to many of the children, Am Yisrael Chai and David Melech Yisrael, were introduced by Matt earlier in the week, and we have added them to our repertoire; singing in Hebrew is one of the ways in which we try to give our children a foundation for a strong, caring bond with Israel.

whirlwind trip...

To celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel's birthday), the Sunshine class boarded a plane to Israel this morning.  With passports and tickets in hand, the children found their seats on the plane with a little help from flight attendants Rebecca and Judi.  The flight was fairly smooth and we especially enjoyed the delicious chocolate cookies from Israel.

After going through customs and getting our passports stamped, we were ready to explore!

We visited the Dead Sea, planted trees in the hills of Galilee, went on an archaeological dig and strolled through the Jerusalem market.  We bought cucumbers, tomatos and hummus and had a delicious snack.

 
Despite terrific planning, we just did not have time to visit all of the places on our itinerary.  However, with a quick call to our trusty travel agent, we were able to extend our trip through Friday.

We look forward to visiting the Kotel (Western Wall) and participating in a special surprise in the Negev Desert!!