משפחה
סְּפָרִים
Book-Related Family Activities
Family reading advice
This is a special book about a special family, in which one brother is visually impaired or blind. The narrating brother is well aware of the challenges in his family and the restrictions required of him at home, yet chooses to see the world in a positive light. We suggest that you, parents, read the book before reading it together to adapt the reading and discussion to this book’s unique contents.
How Lucky I Am
Discussion
Do you think the child in this story is lucky? Why? What makes you lucky? You can share with one another, parents and children, the good things in your shared life as a family. You can create a regular ritual during which, once a week, family members share the positive things that they experienced that past week.
How Lucky I Am
What can you see…?
How do blind children experience life? Scan the code to watch an episode of “I’m sorry for asking” about blind children. Following the video, you can discuss what makes our lives similar to or different from that of the children depicted in the video.
How Lucky I Am
What do we discover when we reread?
Rereading can reveal new and surprising things. We recommend reading the book twice, looking at the illustrations and searching for clues about Hagay’s visual disability: What about the words and illustrations hints at this family’s challenge? Did you notice it the first time you read the book?
How Lucky I Am
Make believe
Hagay knows how to tell made-up stories. You can try it too! How about choosing two items and using them to tell a made-up story: a brush and a rug, a bottle and a stuffed cat, a hat and a window – what can happen to them in the made-up story you will come up with together?
How Lucky I Am
More arts & crafts and activities can be found on the Sifriyat Pijama Pinterest page.
How Lucky I Am
Family reading advice
Simachi’s Big Day is a long book. We therefore recommend reading it in two parts, pausing at the point where Simachi wonders why her brother, Avram, is dressed in his best clothes, and reading the rest the next day.
Simachi’s Big Day
Memories
In this book, Grandma is recalling her childhood memories. This is your chance, as parents, to share special moments from your own childhoods too. Talk about the things you did, those you never thought you would do, or the relationship between you and your siblings. Ask your children: Can they recall special things they did and, looking back, surprised them because they made them discover their own abilities?
Simachi’s Big Day
Listening to Simachi
What does the story sound like? Scan the code and listen to the story while looking through the book.
Simachi’s Big Day
A pineapple on my head
Avram and Nemi play a game by walking with a pineapple on their head and seeing who lasts longer without dropping it. You can also play a similar game: choose an item that you can put on your head – a pillow, toy or box, and find out: Which of you can walk while keeping it on your head? And how far?
Simachi’s Big Day
Following the sea
The book describes many seaside activities: the fish moving, rowing, swimming, bringing fishnets in, sailing or flying a flag on the boat’s flagpole. You can choose one of these activities, and mime it. Your family will need to guess which activity you meant, and look for it among the book’s illustrations. Good luck!
Simachi’s Big Day
More arts & crafts, songs and activities can be found on the Sifriyat Pijama Pinterest page.
Simachi’s Big Day
Pesach trivia
What are the three things you would have taken with you when leaving Egypt? And who can leap like a frog from the second plague? Scan the code and you will be able to print out an amusing card game that will enhance your Seder Night experience.
Where is the Afikomen?
Hide and Seek
You can hide the afikomen or any small item and ask family members to look for it. Is it in the kitchen? Under the couch? Perhaps in the closet? In the next round, the one who found the item will hide an item of his or her choice, while the others go looking for it… Good luck!
Where is the Afikomen?
Pesach activities
This book offers parents the opportunity to tell their children about their childhood Seder Night experiences: Did you hide the afikomen? And who found it? What did you like about Pesach as children? And what do you like about it now – parents and children?
Where is the Afikomen?
Where is the frog?
A small frog is visiting for Seder Night wearing an ancient Egyptian headdress. Can you look through the illustrations and find it? Why does it appear in the illustrations, in your opinion?
Where is the Afikomen?
For more ideas for activities, check out our Instagram page – and discover more surprises.
Where is the Afikomen?
Where is the Afikomen?
Family reading advice – Books everywhere
Like many toddlers, Berale also asks Grandma – “What are we going to do now?”. Among the surprises Grandma keeps in her basket is a book that they can read whenever they want. A book is a world unto itself that can be taken anywhere quite easily. You can also keep a book in your bag, and enjoy it while waiting for a doctor’s appointment, relaxing in the park, or taking a long car ride.
Berale Berale What’s in the Basket?
Discussion – Special times with loved ones
You can discuss your toddler’s relationship with Grandpa, Grandma, or other significant family members and ask – What do you enjoy doing together? Are there any special activities that you only do with your grandparents or uncles and aunts? Are there any special items that only they have at home?
Berale Berale What’s in the Basket?
A made-up story
Grandma’s stories make Berale laugh because they are made-up, and unusual things can happen in our imaginations. Try making up your own story, like “The Hippo that Fell into a Soup Bowl”, “The Lion Who Was Afraid of Being Left Alone at Night”, or any other idea that comes to mind. You can start with an object you see around you, and take it from there.
Berale Berale What’s in the Basket?
Grandma baked a cake…
Do you know the fingerplay that accompanies the nursery rhyme “Round and Round the Garden”? Or the Israeli version “Savta Bishla Dasya” (“Grandma made some porridge”)? You can play a similar game by bending your fingers inwards and leaving your thumb out to create a ‘snail’. Your toddler’s upturned palm can be the bowl. Now say: “Grandma and Berale baked a cake. They added flour, they added sugar, they added eggs…” while touching your toddler’s upturned palm with your thumb as you name each ingredient. You can take turns being Berale and the mixing bowl.
Berale Berale What’s in the Basket?
For more ideas and surprises, check out the Sifriyat Pijama Pinterest page.
Berale Berale What’s in the Basket?
Reading-assisting touch
Toddlers need physical contact. That is why you should sit close to one another while reading, hug, touch, and look into each other’s eyes every once in a while. That way your toddlers will experience story time as a warm and relaxing activity that makes them feel loved and safe.
The Hill Tickle-Tickle
Tickles and games
You can ask your toddlers – do you like tickling games? Which of the games that we play together do you enjoy? What would you have liked us to play? In relation to the mother’s telephone call in this book, you can also ask – how did Gan-Yah feel when her mother went to answer her phone? How do you feel when you have to wait?
The Hill Tickle-Tickle
There’s a hill in this house
You can play the same game they play in the book: Your toddler or another family member can hide under a blanket and become a hill. You can tickle the hill, feel it and search – where’s the hill’s foot? Where is its head?
*Some children are hypersensitive to touch or tickles, and therefore, it is important to remind players before the game that one can say “stop” at any point, just like they do in the book.
The Hill Tickle-Tickle
Moving together
There are many body movements in this book. You too can jump, dance, roll or lift your legs up in the air just like the hill does. You can look at the illustrations and copy Gan-Yah’s movements too.
The Hill Tickle-Tickle
For more ideas for activities, check out our Instagram page and discover more surprises.
The Hill Tickle-Tickle
With an open heart
Following Yonatan, you can discuss and share: What can be the meaning of the phrase: “to open up your heart”? Is there an image or item that reminds you of loved ones, and make you feel like your heart is opening up and your feelings are welling up?
The Key to My Heart
QR code
Would you like to listen to The Key to My Heart? Scan the code and you can listen to this book together
The Key to My Heart
Where have I been and what have I been up to?
Thanks to the lost keys, Yonatan gets a glimpse into his father’s daily routine. And what did you do today? You can play charades, miming to one another a place you have visited or something you have done. Take turns acting out a place or action, while the rest of your family tries to guess where you have been and what you have been up to.
The Key to My Heart
Details in the illustrations
Yossi Abulafia’s illustrations are full of details. You may want to stop and look: Which animals can you find in the illustrations? Do they appear more than once? What are the people on the street up to? And now, look at the illustrations again: Have you discovered anything that you did not seen the first time?
The Key to My Heart
More arts & crafts, songs and activities can be found on the Sifriyat Pijama Pinterest page
The Key to My Heart
Family reading advice
Reading books is a wonderful way to get to know a child’s world. When reading, you may want to pause every once in a while, and allow your child to respond to the events depicted in the book: How do the characters feel? How do we, as readers, feel? Has something similar ever happened to you?
BIG OR SMALL
Discussion – large and small
Have you ever helped to make a salad? Have you ever fallen and hurt yourself? You may enjoy recollecting together, parents and children, moments when you felt big, and managed to do something all on your own, and other incidents when all you wanted was to be hugged and comforted. This may be a good opportunity to get to know your child’s experiences, while sharing special moments with them from your own childhood.
BIG OR SMALL
Is it better to be big or small?
What is better? Scan the QR code to sing along with your child and think what is better – being big or small?
BIG OR SMALL
Looking at the illustrations
While reading, you may enjoy looking at the illustrations and searching for interesting details: What is Matan doing? How many animals can you spot? Who is large and who is small? Where can you see a cat? And which of the illustrations is your personal favorite?
BIG OR SMALL
Big or small?
Pick up two objects and compare them – which of them is small and which is big? Now, replace one of the objects with another, and check again: Is the teaspoon big or small when compared to a bottle cap? And what happens when it is next to a broom? You can use yourselves as one of the objects and check whether you are big or small. And what happens when you stand next to other family members?
BIG OR SMALL
More arts & crafts, songs and activities can be found on the Sifriyat Pijama Pinterest page.
BIG OR SMALL
Playing Hide and Seek
Let’s play hide and seek! We can hide our fingers in the palm of our hands, cover our nose and reveal it, hole up under a blanket, conceal ourselves behind the couch, or hide a toy behind our backs.
Who wants to go first?
Hide & Seek
Seek Out the Cat
Meow! The grey kitten has joined our game of hide and seek. You can search for it every illustration, just be careful not to step on its tail…
Hide & Seek
Some Reading Advice: How to Turn Books into Friends?
Reading from an early age plays a key role in toddler development; however, like anything new, the question is – how do we find the way? We suggest getting acquainted slowly and gradually; let the toddler connect to the book in their own way: Touching, opening and closing, and even “tasting” it with their mouths. Afterwards, you can read: A little each day, patiently and with pleasure. At first you could even read a single page, introducing it and getting accustomed to it, and hey presto – you have turned a book into a friend!
Hide & Seek
Sifriyat Pijama an opportunity to read together, at any age
Hide & Seek
No more than a box
“A house is merely a box to live in…” Please scan the QR code and sing along with the song written and composed by Datia Ben Dor.
Surprise at Home
We can build too
You can also build a house out of a box. All you need is a large cardboard box, some free time, and a good mood. Now you can invite friends over to spend time with you in the house you have built. If you can only find a small box, don’t worry, you can turn it into a dollhouse.
Surprise at Home
Playing a game of ‘Hide and seek’
Where is the best place to hide? Just like Mom and Yasmin, you too can play hide and seek, with toddlers hiding and parents looking for them. Were you able to find them? Then how about starting another round and inviting the rest of your family to join you?
Surprise at Home
שרים ורוקדים בעקבות הסיפור
“בַּיִת זֶה בְּסַךְ-הַכֹּל קֻפְסָה…” – צפו בסרטון שמציע לרקוד ולשיר יחד.
Surprise at Home
Surprise at Home
A piece of advice when reading to toddlers
We recommend reading the book alone first, before reading it as a family. Prior familiarity with the book helps to read it seamlessly later, at a pace suitable for toddlers. Enjoy reading this book!
Noni and his Mom Walk Home from Kindergarten
A discussion on who can help
We can all help others, even toddlers. You may want to ask your toddlers how they can help others, or tell them that they are helping when it happens: “Remember when you helped me set the table?” “Look at you helping me put away the toys!”
Noni and his Mom Walk Home from Kindergarten
Listening to the story
Would you like to listen to the book Noni and his Mom Walk Homefrom Kindergarten? Please scan the QR code to find a recording of this book. You could listen to it while traveling, playing, or sitting together while turning the pages of the book.
Noni and his Mom Walk Home from Kindergarten
A story in illustrations
The illustrations are part of the story, and using them, toddlers identify and recognize the plot and some of its details. You may enjoy looking at the illustrations together, and searching for the items that Nomi gives his mother: ‘Where do you see an illustration of a bag?’ and ‘Where can you find an illustration of a coat?’
Noni and his Mom Walk Home from Kindergarten
Playing a game of ‘An items tower’
Inspired by the items piling on top of mom in this book, you may want to take turns building a tower out of various items: Very carefully, one on top of the other, you can place building blocks, toys, hats, bags, and anything else you might want to add.
Noni and his Mom Walk Home from Kindergarten
Noni and his Mom Walk Home from Kindergarten
A discussion on yearning
How does yearning feel? Have you ever missed someone? Who? – This book is an opportunity for a discussion during which you, parents, can share your own experiences of missing someone and waiting for their return.
Bella and Zouzou
What does it mean to miss someone?
Pupik misses his father, and Ohad knows exactly how he feels. They share their feelings, and think of things they could do while missing someone. You may want to scan this QR code to watch them, and get some good advice for times when you miss others.
Bella and Zouzou
Arts & crafts – A yearning box
Does it feel like time is standing still while you are missing someone who is away? – You may want to make a box filled with items that could make time go by faster, and make you forget about that person’s absence for a while. How about putting some photos of the two of you in it, materials with which to make a gift or a drawing for them, which you could give to them upon their return?
Bella and Zouzou
A game for passing the time
A minute can go by very quickly, or it can almost stand still. Would you like to try? – Set your timer for one minute, choose an activity, and do it for a full minute: Hopping on one leg, sitting still, finding items beginning with the letter G – Which activity helped time pass by faster? And which activity made it go by extra slowly?
Bella and Zouzou
Arts & crafts, songs and other activities are available on the Sifriyat Pijama Pinterest page
Bella and Zouzou
Reading poems
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.
Why Do They Always Remind Me?
Pleased to meet you – Hagit Benziman
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.
Why Do They Always Remind Me?
Looking through the family album
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?
Why Do They Always Remind Me?
Dramatizing together
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.
Why Do They Always Remind Me?
Arts & crafts, songs and other activities are available on the Sifriyat Pijama Pinterest page
Why Do They Always Remind Me?
A little advice for family reading
To make family reading enjoyable, and encourage children to read, we should choose books to which children relate and explore topics in which they are interested. Some prefer a piece of fiction, while others would want to read a story that “once was”. Whatever their favorite book may be, it would encourage them to enjoy books, while helping them to develop their imagination and creativity.
The Machine
A discussion on belongings and memories
You too could look for items that remind you of past experiences: A family photo, gift you have received, or item associated with an experience you have had. Take turns introducing the object of your choice and sharing a memory relating to it.
The Machine
Listening to the story
What does Grandpa sound like? Does the machine make sounds? By scanning the QR code you too can listen to the story together or separately.
The Machine
Building something
Are you interested in making a machine of your own? You can gather some boxes, fabrics, crates and old toys to build your very own machine. You can plan what it would do and look like together, or simply build it and discover its attributes as you go along.
The Machine
Illustrations – Where are the machines?
Many of the illustrations in this book depict machines. Perhaps you would enjoy leafing through them and finding illustrations of machines and machine parts – Can you tell what each of them does? Perhaps you could be inspired by the part you found to invent a new machine, and imagine what it is capable of doing.
The Machine
A discussion full of delight
Having read this book, you may enjoy a discussion about why, you think, Uncle Simha (Hebrew for joy) is named so. What about the things he does or says that make you smile?
My Uncle Simha
Listening to My Uncle Simha
Would you like to hear a story? Go ahead and scan the QR code to listen to the book My Uncle Simha. You may enjoy listening to it together while turning the pages whenever you like.
My Uncle Simha
Happy songs
Which songs make you happy? Perhaps you could make a playlist of all the songs that make your family happy, and sing along together. You could even sing in funny voices – a high-pitched voice, the deepest of basses, or a whisper – adding some dance moves for greater delight.
My Uncle Simha
A confused game for a confused uncle
Take turns asking a question while the other players try to come up with a “confused” response. For example: What’s your favorite drink? Tea with a touch of mustard! What do you do when it rains? Wear sunscreen! What sound do birds make? Where should we go on our next trip?
My Uncle Simha
A discussion on searching and finding
Following this book, you may want to embark on searches together with your parents, grandparents, or other relatives: What have you found? Were you surprised? Do you enjoy searching and finding?
I Like to Look For…
A game of Search Cootie Catcher
A game for both seekers and finders.
Scan the QR code
Print out, cut out and fold according to the instructions.
Have you searched? Have you found? Would you like to play again?
I Like to Look For…
Illustrations
This book contains both colorful and black and white illustrations. Can you figure out when the illustrations are in black and white, and when they are multicolored?
I Like to Look For…
A game of “what’s missing?”
A game of “what’s missing?”
Place several items in a row and look closely.
Take turns hiding one of the items while the rest of your family members have their eyes closed. Once it has been removed and hidden, the other players can open their eyes and start searching – Which item is now missing? Where was it hidden?
I Like to Look For…
Pleased to meet you, I’m Hyla!
I’m similar to a frog but smaller. I can be found in Israel, mostly on trees, eating insects and laying eggs in the water. I’m a protected species and therefore cannot be kept in a jar, only in nature.
I Like to Look For…
I Like to Look For…
פינטרסט
Find more inspiration and creative activity in our Pinterest page.
I Like to Look For…
Reading Together
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?
Grandpa’s Pockets – For Families
Guessing Game
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.
Grandpa’s Pockets – For Families
Doing Things Together in the Family
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?
Grandpa’s Pockets – For Families
What Goes with What?
“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:
Grandpa’s Pockets – For Families
Pinterest – Crafts, songs and other activities on the “Grandpa’s Pockets” book page in Sifriyat Pijama on Pinterest
Grandpa’s Pockets – For Families
We can help too!
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.
Who wants to taste?
Who is in the family?
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.
Who wants to taste?
Let’s make some refreshments together!
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.
Who wants to taste?
Game: Grandma had cookies…
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?
Who wants to taste?
Who wants to taste?
Discussion
Which perfect gift would you like to get for your birthday? How would you feel if you did not get it? Have you ever wanted something very badly but did not receive it? This book prompts us to discuss our expectations – why this specific gift? Do we really need it or are we simply jealous because we saw someone else has it? You may also want to discuss disappointments, and the things that help us cope with them.
The Perfect Gift
Perfect gifts
How well do you know members of your own family, and what do you think would be the perfect gift for them – would it be something you buy or an experiential gift, such as time spent together, or perhaps a trip somewhere? How about playing a game and finding out? In each round, all participants try to guess what one participant would really like to get as a gift. Those whose guesses are the closest win… the perfect family hug.
The Perfect Gift
A human car game
Whoever said only cars drive round and round with a cord attached? People could too! Two of you could hold the two ends of a long cord, leading one another left, right, backwards and forwards. If you get tired, make a pit stop, and start again.
The Perfect Gift
Time together
“A car with Dad is the perfect gift”. And what would you consider to be the perfect gift? What would you like to do with your father or other family members? You could fix broken items, build or assemble something, or perhaps draw, bake, plant, or dance together. In fact, you can do whatever you want, as long as you get to spend time together.
The Perfect Gift
The Perfect Gift
Just before bedtime...
How do you get ready for bed? What helps you fall asleep? You can talk about it together and think about creating a set ritual that will engender calm, and let you share the day’s experiences and thoughts that come to mind.
One Last Thing before Bed
My notebook of thoughts
Isn’t it lucky that there’s a way we can remember our thoughts and stop them from getting away? How do we do that? Keep a notebook and pencil by your bed, and just before falling asleep, before your thoughts scatter away, draw them. You can color in your drawing in the morning, because now… is time for bed.
One Last Thing before Bed
It's lucky that... It's good that...
“It’s lucky that a pot has two handles, and not five… if it did, how would we hold it?”, “It’s good that the windshield is made out of glass, not cardboard”. What do you imagine? Which things make you happy just as they are? Each member of the family can bring a certain object and talk about it: “It’s lucky that…”, “It’s good that…”.
One Last Thing before Bed
Melodies, sounds and colors
The world is filled with melodies and sounds. Which melody do you like? Try singing a favorite melody together wile clapping your hands, moving parts of your bodies, singing, or playing instruments.
The world is also filled with diverse colors and shapes. You can draw as you listen to the music. Which shapes and colors will you choose for your drawing?
One Last Thing before Bed
One Last Thing before Bed
Discussion
The family in this book is rushing to make the train and celebrate Grandpa Dov’s birthday, and yet its members remember to be considerate toward others, and care for animals and the environment. Perhaps you would like to try and discuss what being considerate means – how would you like others to be considerate of you? Who could you offer to help in your immediate surroundings or family? Which actions can you take to make the older members of your family happy?
Hurry Up!
Playing "fast or slow?"
You may enjoy playing a game called “fast or slow”: take turns to choose a certain action and tell the other players to perform it quickly or slowly. For instance, clap your hands… quickly, and now… slowly; sing a song extra slowly, and then super-fast! After you’ve played, you may want to discuss and discover what you enjoyed doing quickly, and what was more fun to do slowly.
Hurry Up!
Hidden illustrations
The illustrations in this book are extremely detailed. How about choosing your favorite page, and looking for the tiny details in it? Perhaps you could take turns to ask each other whether you can spot a particular detail in the drawing: Where’s Grandpa Dov’s gift? Where’s the football? Who can find the teddy bear?
Hurry Up!
Types of…
This book specifies types of plants, toys, cats, and musical instruments. Perhaps it can inspire you to take turns choosing a subject, and having the other players list as many items associated with it as they can. You could choose topics such as clothing, friends’ names, types of toys or musical instruments.
Hurry Up!
Discussion
“A good family is powerful … You will always find a reason to be happy” – you may want to discuss and discover what we like about our families, and what we enjoy doing together.
If Only
Getting [into] the picture
Would you like to go into one of the illustrations in the book? You could choose to be a guest at the home of one of the families described in this story, and imagine how it would feel to be next to the whale, or in the kangaroo’s pouch. What would you want to happen when you meet some of the characters depicted in the illustrations?
If Only
Complimenting your family
You may enjoy relaxing together, and starting a round of compliments in which you each say something kind to the other.
If Only
Guessing the animals
One family member can make the sound of an animal, or draw a picture of it, imitate it, or give some other kind of clue about it – and the rest can try to guess which animal they were hinting at!
Sound – imitate the sound made by this animal
Pantomime – act the animal out, walk like it or try to look like it
Picture – show or draw a small part of the animal: a tail, wing or foot.
Clue – describe some detail about the animal: where it lives, what it looks like, or the sound it makes.
Couldn’t guess? Help each other by providing additional clues.
If Only
Discussing – Why? How? What?
How did Guy feel when he destroyed Omer’s circus? And how did Omer feel when he discovered what had happened? Were you ever in a situation where you or someone you cared about ruined something for the other? How did you feel, and what did you do? Were you able to fix it? Perhaps you could discuss the feelings that emerge when something is ruined, and when you discover it can be fixed.
Who Destroyed the Circus?
Toy Improvement – Time to fix some toys
Is one of your games broken? Has the paint peeled off? Perhaps a nail has come loose? Then it’s time to fix it! Make a list of all the things that need to be repaired around the house, then pick an item at a time, and fix it. You could even make new things out of old ones. An old sock can become a puppet! An old box can be painted and decorated with colorful paper and stickers…
Who Destroyed the Circus?
A home circus
Circuses make children’s and adults’ imaginations run wild, and can be the setting for many fascinating occurrences. You may enjoy building your own circus at home, and acting the story out using the appropriate outfits and accessories. You could even be inspired enough to write a brand-new script about what goes on in a colorful circus.
Who Destroyed the Circus?
Fixing yourself some arts & crafts
Torn pieces of paper can be turned into a piece of art! Color some pages in various colors, then tear them up into small pieces. You could also use newspaper cuttings or scrap paper. Next, make a painting together on a blank piece of paper by sticking the colorful, torn pieces onto it, and creating a mosaic!
Who Destroyed the Circus?
suggestions for game cards and arts & crafts can be found on the PJLibrary Pinterest page.
Who Destroyed the Circus?
יש לכם קופסה? יש לכם משחק!
יש לכם קופסה? יש לכם משחק! צפו בסרטון וגלו איך להכין משחק קופסה מתוק מדברים שיש בכל בית, בעקבות הספר “המתנה” מאת אַנְיֵיס לָרוֹשׁ!
The Gift
Reading & discussing
Once you have finished reading the book, you could discuss what Michael (originally: Nicodème) did: Why did he want to give his mother a present? What do family members give one another? And what would you like to get from yours? Would you like to receive material gifts, such as toys, or are there “gifts” of conduct, intimacy, and friendship that you would like to give and receive?
The Gift
Looking at the illustrations
Some of the special illustrations in the book are black and white, while others are colorful. You may enjoy looking at them with your child and discovering: which illustrations did the illustrator choose to color? Why did he choose to color those items instead of others? Would you have chosen to color a different item?
The Gift
Creative fun – What's in the box?
We readers do not know which gift is contained in the box that Michael (originally: Nicodème) gives his mother. Perhaps the book is trying to tell us that it’s the act of giving that matters most. However… wouldn’t you love to know what was in there? Well, how about making a giftbox by taking a box, decorating it, and covering it with giftwrap. You could use the box to play a game called “What’s rattling in the box?”: Collect some “rattling” items, and place one in the box at a time. Then let each of the participants shake the box, listen to the item rattle inside, and try to guess what it is.
The Gift
The gift of waiting
Michael (originally: Nicodème) waited patiently for this day to come, but many children find the wait a difficult challenge. You may want to share some waiting experiences together at home: making pastries with yeast, baking cookies, etc. or playing waiting games like the staring game. How patient are you?
The Gift
suggestions for game cards and arts & crafts can be found on the PJLibrary Pinterest page
The Gift
Discussing – Names and stories
Who likes their name? What is the story behind your family members’ names? Are there other family members who have the same name? or strange names? Are you named after anyone? You may want to do some research among your extended family. Who knows the stories you will uncover…
Arie Ben Naim XXIV
Observing – Where is Arie?
Shahar Kober’s illustrations invite us to follow Arie, and join him as he enters his family story. Can you find Arie in the different pages of the “Book of Aries”?
You may enjoy looking at old family photos of events that happened “once upon a time”: look through the pages of a photo album together, listen to the stories behind the events depicted in them, and choose one photograph you wish you could enter.
Arie Ben Naim XXIV
Doing some arts & crafts – A family book
How about creating your own family book, an album that will tell your story and that of your children, just like the Book of Aries in this story. Take a blank notebook, and collect stories from your grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Write down their memories from the time you were babies, funny words you said, or some special behavior. We recommend collecting such stories about both parents and children in your family. You should put in old photos and mementos from kindergarten, daycare, and the time when you were tiny babies.
Arie Ben Naim XXIV
פינטרסט
suggestions for game cards and arts & crafts can be found on the PJLibrary Pinterest page
Arie Ben Naim XXIV
Look Together
You may want to look at the illustrations together, and compare Gal’s home and kindergarten to the area in which Grandpa Raphael lived so many years ago. Together you may enjoy imagining what your life would have been like had you lived in another place, at another time. If you happen to have old pictures documenting the roots of your own family, you could show them to your child, and try to identify your family members together, as well as the places in which they lived back then, and now.
Sweet Aleph-Bet
The Meaning of My Name
Does your child know why they were so named? Having read this book together, you may want to share the meaning of their name with them, and the story leading up to choosing it for them. You could also tell them what made your parents so name you.
Sweet Aleph-Bet
Our Village Todgha
Do you know the tune to the song Our Village Todgha by Yehoshua Sobol performed by music group Habreira Hativ’it (The Natural Selection)? Perhaps you would like to sing it together with your child
Sweet Aleph-Bet
Remember Together
Just like Gal, many children enjoy listening to stories about the past. Do you remember any festive occasion from your days in kindergarten and school? Perhaps you could share your learning-related childhood memories and family traditions with your child.
Sweet Aleph-Bet
Fun with letters
Young children learn from enjoyable activities, such as licking honey-dripping letters. There are many ways of teaching the alphabet: you could put names and words together from various materials, cut out letters from newspapers, identify familiar letters that appear on signs and packages, play word games, and so on. The most important thing is to have fun while you learn!
Sweet Aleph-Bet
Have a Great Summer!
Sweet Aleph-Bet is the last book on the PJ Library books list for this year. We hope you have enjoyed the books, and wish you an enjoyable summer, and a smooth beginning in your new kindergarten or school!
Sweet Aleph-Bet
A recipe for sweet Aleph-Bet letters
Ingredients:
2/3 cup of soft butter
2/3 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
Method:
- Whisk the butter and sugar until you get a somewhat fluffy batter. Fold in the egg and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Combine the two mixtures and knead until dough is crumbly. Knead crumbs into a ball, cover it with saran wrap, and keep refrigerated for an hour.
- Pre-heat oven to medium heat (180°C).
- Flour your worktop and use a rolling pin to flatten your doughball. Use letter-shaped cookie cutters to cut cookies out of the dough.
- Place the cookies on a baking pan, and bake in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges turn golden.
Sweet Aleph-Bet
Family Activities:
- Perhaps you would enjoy looking at the illustrations and finding clues for the holidays mentioned in the story: Sukkot, Hanukkah and Purim. You could discuss the holidays in your family together: what do you especially like about each holiday? With whom do you spend them? Does your child have a favorite holiday?
- When you read the story for the first time, did you guess where Grandpa was taking little Hannah? Does your child also share a special relationship with an older member of the family? You may want to ask the elderly members of your family how they used to celebrate Passover. Which special customs or dishes did they have at home? Did they also sing Ma Nishtana as children on Seder Night?
- How do you celebrate Passover in your family? Does your child also have a special role to play on Seder Night? You may want to create a holiday scrapbook together, and suggest that your child draw the family celebrating together on Seder night and throughout the holiday.
- Does your child know any Passover songs, traditional or new? Can they sing Ma Nishtana? You may enjoy singing Passover songs together.
- On Seder Night, Hannah realizes that being the littlest Levine is the best. You may also want to discuss issues of big and small in your family. Ask your child what they would have liked to do on their own, and think of tasks in preparation for Passover that your child can do themselves. Children are happy and love to help – it would be wonderful if you could give them the opportunity to feel all grown-up!
The Littlest Levine