How can six-year-olds can keep track of all this stuff? (Of course I know the answer.) For first-grade in Israel you need the discipline of a first-year recruit.
School supply list:
I’ve seen women wearing short sleeves over 3/4, and I wondered how they managed in the heat. Now I know. Sleevies.
Treppenwitz posts about the common Hebrew expression used by parents when kids have minor scrapes:”Lo kara kloom,” or “It’s nothing.” Since his blog decided to eat up my comments, I’m responding here.
“Lo kara kloom” is a way of comforting a child and sending him the messsage that everything is okay. But it is often used to minimize or ignore genuine emotions.
Many parents overreact when when their kids get hurt. Yet underreacting can be just as
harmful. Have you ever been upset about a situation, only to be told that it’s nothing? Years ago I was in a car accident; my ribs were badly bruised and painful. For many reasons, the accident was traumatic and it took me a month to recover. I resented the friends who, instead of acknowledging my feelings, implied that I should get over it and be glad that the accident wasn’t more serious. I knew that; I was grateful, but I still suffered. (Actually, the only one who really understood was my own mother a”h.)
I once saw a little boy in the park bump his head on a piece of equipment. Hard. The mother didn’t comfort him, pick him up, nor acknowledge his very real pain in any way. While he screamed hysterically, the mother kept repeating a variation of “lo kara kloom:” “It doesn’t hurt, you’re fine, you don’t need to cry.” Is this a way of toughening up boys?
Our job as parents is to recognize when our children are going to pick themselves up after a fall and skip off, and when they need cuddling and sympathy. It starts when they are babies: Do we recognize that they are crying for a reason, or do we assume that they are manipulating us?
By reflecting children’s feelings, and giving them a proper dose of sympathy or comfort, we help them learn when they can manage on their own and when they need our help. But we need to keep in mind that what looks to us like “kloom” (nothing) may actually be “mashehu” (something).
I hadn’t realized how civilized modern camping can be, with the sophisticated tents, showers, and even a kiosk. No hole in the ground for a bathroom like I remember from “machane chutz” at Camp Stone in the 70s. Some American campgrounds even offer wireless internet access.
We walked on a 45-minute trail around the park leading to an ancient flour mill, but somehow missed the mill. We collected wood and grilled hotdogs over a bonfire. The food worked out–I packed the cooler with ice-filled 1.5 liter yogurt containers and some loose cubes, and the food stayed cold for over 24 hours. (You see, I’m already experienced enough to give tips myself.) The kids slept, but we didn’t because a) our air mattress had a small hole and by the middle of the night we were directly on the ground and b) it was hot. Those tents are synthetic and you really feel protected (neighboring campers said they saw a scorpion last year) but they don’t let in much air. Apparently the mosquitoes were also hot because they stayed away from Park Hayarden. We did see a stray, hungry-looking dog though, who went away after a while. I called to complain about it but I don’t know if they did anything.
In the morning my husband began asking other campers about a minyan (prayer quorum). He was invited to daven with a group, but as they seemed to be in no hurry he decided to pray on his own. We found out that sepharadim blow the shofar during selichot (daily penitentiary prayers before the High Holidays) and not just after davening like the Ashkenazim. It was cool to hear the shofar in the camp. My husband’s minhag (custom) also doesn’t involve selichot for another week and we were glad he didn’t wait around for that minyan, which took two hours.
When we called the office to ask about the advisability leaving our tent up during the day, they recommended taking it with us. Once we packed up it was hard to contemplate doing the whole thing over again, even if we had found a new, slightly cooler, locale. (We thought Hurshat Tal was overpriced at NIS 40/person compared to a flat parking fee at Park Hayarden. Also, we weren’t sure we wanted to take a chance on something new.) And we were Just. So. Tired. So after we visited Tel Dan, we began to make our way back home.
The kids had fun and want to camp again during Chanukah.
After deciding that the only reasonably priced way to go on vacation with a big family is to go camping, I bought a tent at Target and shlepped it home. Yesterday we practiced setting it up, and picked up a borrowed air mattress and cooler from friends. We leave tomorrow. Any tips are appreciated.
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