“Just me!” – Toddlers like to feel all grown-up and independent, as if they too are adults. While reading a book together, you can enjoy sharing with your toddler and strenghtening their sense of capacity: They can hold the book, point, say words they recognize, and even read the book to you or to one of their toys.
The pictures in this book help you see the challah-making process, and understand the various stages. You too can make a dish together and photograph the process of its preparation. That way, you can be reminded of preparing it, look at the pictures together, and take pride in the delicious result.
Challa recipe Dough: 1kg of flour ½ a cup of sugar 2 spoons of yeast 2 cups of lukewarm water ½ a cup of oil 2 eggs (optional, you can also make it without eggs) 1 spoon of salt An egg for brushing or some oil
Method: 1. Mix the flour, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead well for about 10 minutes until the dough becomes elastic and soft. 3. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic bag and leave the dough to rise until it has doubled in volume. 4. Use the dough to make challahs. You can make them large or small. You can brush the challahs with egg or oil. 5. Bake in an oven set to medium heat for half an hour, until the challah turns golden. Enjoy!
You can look at the pictures together and discuss the details in them. You may want to ask questions such as: Where is the girl? What are the children doing? Where is the broom? Where is the challah? You can return to an image you have already looked at from time to time, and who knows – perhaps you will discover some additional details?
The poems in this book present small moments in life. Every time you read together, we recommend selecting one poem, and reading it together. Does the poem remind you of something that once happened? This may be a good opportunity for you, parents, to share a childhood experience with your child, creating closeness and intimacy with them.
When did Hagit Benziman start writing? What does she write about, and why? You may want to scan this QR code to find out more about this author and her work.
You may enjoy looking at parents’ family photo albums together, searching for special childhood moments. You could also look at early childhood photographs of the children, and share information about the moments captured. Which memories do they evoke in you?
Do you have a favorite poem among those included in this book? If so, how about acting it out together, with the grownups playing the parts of the children, and vice versa.
Excuse me, what is your name? You may enjoy discussing your names: Why were you, parents, named so? And what has made you choose the names you have chosen for your children? Do you have any nicknames? How did you come by them?
Yoyo jumps, sits, climbs… Each illustration depicts Yoyo in a different posture. You may want to act out what Yoyo does, and have the rest of your family members look for the page in the book that shows him in the same position. Were you able to do so? Then it’s time for another member of your family to have a go.
Are you sometimes happy and at other times sad? So is Datia, who wrote the book, and also wrote the lyrics of the well-known children’s song I’m Always Me, the music of which was composed by Uzzi Hitman. Scan the QR code and sing along!
How about getting the following – a cardboard rectangle, crayons, stickers, and some plasticine, if you like – to make a sign for your front door or bedroom door? Write your name at the center of it, color it, decorate it, and hang it on the door! And how about this idea – print out a photograph of yourselves, add it to the sign, and write your names too.
All houses consist of walls, a roof, doors and windows: What’s special about your house? What makes it your home? You may want to discuss special objects and items found in your home, or the things you do there together.
How about making a house out of blankets, cardboard boxes, sticks and clothespins? And what else would you need? Decide on a location and workplan, gather the necessary items and accessories, and off you go!
Take turns announcing a topic and having all the other players try to work together to find a suitable item. For instance, when “red” is announced, all players must search the house for a red item. In the next round, another player might call out “big”, “small”, “cute”, “old”, “multicolored”, “annoying” or “wheel”, sending the other players to look for an item matching their announced topic.
It is worth sharing the reading of the story with the toddlers: Where is the key? What do you do with the string, and what are the crumbs for? What surprise is hiding in the small pocket?
Hide an object in a garment pocket and let the toddler guess what you hid with the sense of touch. You can provide clues, reveal a fraction of the object, and eventually disclose the item and demonstrate what it is used for.
Grandfather and the child are talking, sowing seeds, and feeding the rabbit. What do toddlers love to do with adults in the family? With grandparents and other family members?
“A key in order to open”; “A ticket to ride the train”; and what is a basket for? Or a spoon? You can walk around the house and choose items, then talk and check together what they are called and what they are used for. Matching Game –What Belongs to What – is waiting for you when you scan the code:
While reading, it is useful to include the hands on each page, follow their path and imitating their movements. Parents and toddlers can do this together: “walk” the hand on fingertips, make the hand jump, knock on the door in the picture, and be active readers throughout the entire book.
It’s so much fun to play with hands! Each and every one in turn makes a certain movement, and the rest of the participants imitate it. You can clap your hands, wave hello or goodbye, signal for “quiet” or fly!
Who has a small hand? Who has a large hand? Each family member is invited to place their hand on a sheet of paper. You, the parent, will draw the contours of the hands, and the toddlers will decorate and paint. The picture of all the hands can be kept as a memento, and you can also repeat the activity year after year and see what has changed.
You can sing songs accompanied by hand movements, such as “I have ten fingers” or “My hat has three corners.” It’s a good idea to add hand gestures to your singing, and you can add finger movements to other favorite songs. Have fun!
What can toddlers do at home? Many things! They can put glasses on the dining table, sweep with a small broom, feed the pets, and… offer cookies. It is worthwhile to talk and show what the toddler is helping with at home, and what else they want and can participate in.
The child in the story hands out cookies to other family members: grandmother, uncle, sister, cousin. Who are your family members? You can talk about family members, say their names and thier roles, such as: “Grandma Braha,” “Uncle Baruch,” use family photo, and use family photos.
You too can prepare refreshments together, such as chocolate balls, a plate of fruit, or a sliced cucumber. You can prepare “pretend” refreshments using play dough and offer to the dolls at home.
Do you know the game “Grandma made porridge”? “The child had cookies” can be played in a similar way, in which the toddler opens her, or his hand, and the parent begins to count: “The little boy/girl had cookies and gave one to Grandma (holding the thumb), and one to Uncle (holding the forefinger) etc. And so you count the fingers by allocating a family member to each one. Who will you give the last cookie to?
Stories Anat Especially Likes 
It’s Challah Time! 
Why Do They Always Remind Me? 
My Name is Yoyo 
How to Build a House 
שִׂיחָה
בִּשּׁוּל
שִׂיחָה
סִרְטוֹנִים
הַעֲשָׁרָה
שִׂיחָה
שִׂיחָה
שִׂיחָה
הַמְחָשָׁה
הַשְׁרָאָה
שִׂיחָה
שִׂיחָה
שֵׁמַע
סִרְטוֹנִים
הַעֲשָׁרָה
קְרִיאָה
סִרְטוֹנִים
יְצִירָה
מִשְׂחָק
הַעֲשָׁרָה
שִׂיחָה
מִשְׂחָק
שִׂיחָה
מִשְׂחָק
סִרְטוֹנִים
קְרִיאָה
מִשְׂחָק
יְצִירָה
שֵׁמַע
הַשְׁרָאָה
שִׂיחָה
שִׂיחָה
בִּשּׁוּל
מִשְׂחָק
סִרְטוֹנִים
