Reflections regarding Wednesday November 13, 2024 through Tuesday January 21, 2025 in Caesarea, Israel
We were thrilled to be back in Israel after our two-week sojourn in Tanzania. As I mentioned in a previous post, Caesarea is one of our children’s favorite places on earth. I was eager to return because I had a contract commitment I needed to fulfill before December 31st and consistent internet was essential to getting my work done. Knowing that we would have a solid, uninterrupted two-months in the same location, Chaim and I focused on creating a routine for the kids that would accommodate both our work schedules, support the boys’ learning, provide the boys social opportunities with other kids, visit with family and friends, and give us opportunities to explore parts of Israel the kids had yet to see.
From November 13th through January 21st, the boys learned almost every morning – except for Mondays which became delayed start days after intense weekend-long excursions, volunteered weekly at a Meir Panim branch where they organized, cleaned, or prepared food for soldiers or people experiencing food insecurity, visited museums, and spent lots of time swimming, playing soccer, biking to the park, making iMovie trailers, dancing and singing, and playing around. We were even able to schedule sleepovers and a birthday party, as well as a much-needed playdate for the twins with a beloved school mate who moved back to Israel over the summer.
Chaim generally woke the boys between 8:00AM and 8:30AM for breakfast followed by a thirty-minute exercise “class” with him, which was adorable to watch. He would then get them started on davening/praying, while I finished getting myself ready for the day or finished preparing a more traditional lesson for them. Then, Chaim would go to his “office” to work, and I would take over schooling and the rest of the day. “Recess” was a mix of playing soccer in the backyard and swimming. The boys soaked up every moment they could be in the pool, eventually mastering backflips and playing chicken with each “older” boy carrying one of the twins on his shoulders. In addition to math, English, Hebrew lessons, and social studies, Amichai had the privilege of learning Judaics Studies one-on-one with my Uncle Levi and life sciences with my mother, both of whom are well-regarded teachers in their respective fields.
Toward the end of November, I began working evenings to get a start on my own work. This is one of the many reasons I didn’t post much to our website while in Israel. I didn’t have the energy to balance parenting, educating, working, and writing simultaneously. I found it hard to admit at the time, but I was in dire need of rest and rejuvenation; Harder, I didn’t know what form of rest and rejuvenation I needed, making it difficult to help myself get out of whatever rut I was in. Another reason for not writing, included grappling with our family's personal experience which was very positive amidst the turmoil of the ongoing war that was affecting everyone around us in much more immediate ways. More depressingly, was the constant worry over the hostages' plight and for whom we are still praying will be returned home quickly and safely.
Most of the time, all of the boys did a wonderful job taking their schoolwork seriously. Just like any other classroom situation, they had their off days and when the tech failed it was hard for them to adjust. The great days were invigorating. The challenging days were disheartening, more because I was frustrated with myself for not being able to prepare robustly and in advance, and for not being as patient as I expected myself to be.
There were plenty of times when I worried that I wasn’t doing enough to promote good learning. Mostly, I worried about their writing abilities, especially handwriting. Handwriting is incredibly important for learning and memory. The less children write by hand, the harder and more tiring it gets. Then, we would go on a weekend long excursion and I would marvel at how many great questions they asked, the information they retained (except for when they’d pretend that they couldn’t remember anything), and the connections they made.
One theme that I did not plan but should have expected, especially since we were staying Caesarea, was how much time we would spend learning about King Herod and the impact he had on major locations in Israel and its history. Thanks to my cousin Shelley, who is a fantastic educator and tour guide, and our visits to Caesarea Port, Herodian, Jerusalem, Masada, and Mitzpeh Ramon, the boys became experts in King Herod’s legacy, Hasmonean history, and the Roman expulsion of the Jews from Judea during the 2nd century C.E. Through these experiences I could tell they were beginning to establish nascent connections between the wealth of Venice, the spices we saw in Tanzania, land trade routes, and the importance of the Mediterranean Sea.
It is hard to shake off the constraints of a traditional education, even for someone like me who is an experiential educator at heart. It took a long time, and a lot of reassurance from Chaim, for me to accept that we were not failing our children and that they were, in fact, learning a tremendous amount.
