תקומה וגבורה

A discussion: What if I were… Mom

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Which roles does each member of your household have? Who would you want to take over from? This book could inspire you to imagine switching roles within your home: What would your child do if they were to take over from Grandpa? What would Grandpa do if he took over from Mom? And how would you be able to help one another?

Listening to the story

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What do you play in a parade? And what do musical instruments in a band sound like? You can find out all the answers to these questions and more if you listen to this book by scanning the code.

A game of “my occupation”

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Am I a physician or a clown? Can you guess my occupation? Take turns choosing a profession and acting it out for the other players to guess. If a player’s profession is a little hard to guess, you could give them a clue.

Going into the illustrations

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Which character in this book would you like to take over from? You may enjoy looking through it, choosing a character you would like to replace, and share your thoughts with one another: Would you want to take over from the baker? Or play in the parade?

פִּינְטֵרֵסְט

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Reading & discussing

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Reading & pausing – this story is comprised of several events, and we therefore recommend stopping every once in a while, and trying to think what will happen next: What will the children do? What secret will be revealed?

Together & separately – what is it that you do better together than you do separately? You may want to discuss this with your child, and share stories of successful collaborations you’ve had as children and adults with them.

The branches experiment

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Having read this book, you may enjoy collecting some twigs or thin branches and finding out for yourselves: What happens when you try to break one as opposed to a bundle of them?

Encouraging and being encouraged

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When the children in the story begin to get frustrated, their mother says: “It’s ok, don’t despair, sweethearts. We fall down, we get up, we overcome, and hold our heads up high”. What encourages us when we feel like giving up? Then how about coming up with a family cheer for when the going gets tough.

Making a dragon

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To make your very own dragon, you will need a cardboard box, crayons, and some paper: you could cut out holes for your eyes and mouth, add on paper teeth and ears, as well as a cardboard tail. You could even make a family dragon, moving it in tandem – the dragon will only move if you all work together.

פינטרסט

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Suggestions for arts & crafts and other activities can be found on the PJLibrary website and on Pinterest

האזינו לסיפור המדינה של ילדי הגן

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אנו מזמינים אתכם/ן להאזין לסיפור “המדינה של ילדי הגן”, מאת: אמונה אלון | איורים: מנחם הלברשטט | הוצאת: ידיעות ספרים (גנים)

יוצרים ומגישים – ירדן בר כוכבא – הלפרין ודידי שחר
מוזיקה ונגינה – טל בלכרוביץ’
פתיח – דידי שחר
מגישים – יובל סגל, אפרת אביב ותומר שרון.
אקורדיון וחלילים – סלעית להב

מוכנים/ות? מת – חי – לים!

Family Activities

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Menachem Halberstadt’s wonderful illustrations speak to the adults reading the story as well as the children, and hint at well-known historical personae and experiences.  Even the teddy bear is wearing a hat from the days of the Palmach! Look closely at the illustrations together with your child and share the country’s history with them. See if you can find pictures depicting Theodore Herzl, David Ben Gurion, and dancing the hora in the streets of Tel Aviv.

Adi points to some pictures of famous photographs depicting stories of immigrants.  Ask your child to show you these pictures and try to guess from which countries the different immigrants came.  You can take out an atlas or map of the world, and look for the places where your family lived throughout the generations and where you have relatives outside Israel today.

The children in the story act out an imaginary version of “building the country”, which initiated in the make-believe corner of the kindergarten. Your child can also dress up in costume and choose a task in building the country.

You too can “build a country”.  Let your imagination run wild: How will you call your country? Who will live in it? Which buildings are needed? Will it have a flag? You are invited to send us a photograph of the country you created, and we’ll post the picture on the Sifriyat Pijama website pj.crunchcart.com .

It is not always easy to join in to an existing group and find your role in it.  The story can provide an opportunity for you and your child to discuss the emotions of the characters in the book, and for you to share with them your own life experiences – in your personal life, and on the national level.

The building of the State of Israel is a process that has not come to an end, and more new immigrants are likely to join the country in the future.  David, the new oleh in the story, brings a toy plane with him to the game.  What would you propose new immigrants bring with them to continue building and improving the state?

A number of well-known songs greet new olim as they arrive in Israel.  You can organize a sing-along one evening in your home and sing such favorites as “Heveinu shalom aleichem”, “Am Yisrael Chai”, and “Hineh ma tov u ma na’im”.