EMILIA

Family Activities:

• שְׁמִירָה
• Share
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• Together with your children, take the time to look closely at Na’ama Benziman’s beautiful illustrations. You may want to stop at the page where Emilia approaches the three steps leading to the preschool, and note the changes in her facial expression.
• After reading the story, you can make up your own fantastic story and draw it.
• Emilia really wanted to enter the classroom on her own, “without any problems and without making a scene”. You and your child can look at the first illustration in the book, that depicts Emilia saying good-bye to her mother, and compare the entrance to her classroom with your child’s schoolyard. What helps your child say good-bye and go into the classroom in the morning? Do you have a special ceremony or technique that eases the separation?  After reading the story about Emilia, you may want to invent a new way to say good-bye in the morning, a way that will help your child feel grown-up and brave.
• Like Emilia, each one of us feels sometimes big and other times small. You can read the story together again and take note of the points in the plot when Emilia feels big and when she feels small.  You might ask your child when they feel big and small, and emphasize the advantages of each condition.
• Emilia’s friend Dana enters the story at precisely the moment when Emilia is feeling lonely. You can use this as an opportunity to talk about friendship. You might ask: What do we like to do together with our friends, when do we prefer to be alone and what is more enjoyable to do together with others?
• Dana is very happy to see Emilia, and they play together. You too can play together and even make your own tea party like the girls in the story. What will you serve at your tea party, who will be big and who will be small?  You can invite other family members, dolls or stuffed animals to join your party.
• You can recount all the things your child knows how to do alone, and some tasks he or she needs help with. You might want to share an experience of your own, and tell your children about a time when you overcame an obstacle on your own – and when you were helped out by family or friends.
• Emilia’s journey into the classroom is depicted like a dream. You might want to talk to your child about dreams. Do you remember your dreams? You can try to draw a picture of one of the dreams you or your child dreamt.
• You may want to take this opportunity to share one of your own childhood experiences with your child. Did you attend preschool? If so, do you remember being sad saying good-bye in the morning? With whom did you play, and what did you like to do with your friends?  You might want to compare your preschool with your child’s current classroom.