June 2014, Written by Geula Zamist
Traveling to Israel involves many, many hours on an airplane, a large expense and other great challenges if you are only four or five years old. So, instead of going to Israel, we brought Israel to our Early Childhood Center in honor of Yom Haatzmaut, the celebration of Israel’s 66th anniversary.
The students were very excited for their “trip” after all of the learning they had done in their classrooms in anticipation of the big day. Each child had their names printed on a special Visa, which listed all of the cities in Israel they would visit, along with the special activities in each place. Everyone was dressed in blue and white to add to the festivities of the day.
After boarding an airplane for a quick flight, they had the opportunity to explore throughout the land.
Children visited each of the cities, which were manned by a wonderful group of volunteer parents. They had a chance to make fresh squeezed orange juice in Jaffa, pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem with Cantor Caplan, have their picture taken with a camel in the Negev, go fishing in Eilat, participate in an archaeological dig in Tiberias, and visit the Israel museum in Jerusalem.
When all of the activities were completed, the students boarded the flight back to New Jersey. There was hardly time to finish the scrumptious blue and white cookies on the flight, before the plane landed.
Fortunately, we arrived in Caldwell just in time for the grand Salute to Israel parade. Waving their flags, and singing to the live music provided by the Cantor, the children felt all the joy and exhilaration of a true Israel experience!
