Jacob and Michela each had to create a power point presentation for a challenge assignment they were given over the weekend for language arts. (not everyone in the class did the assignment, only the kids who are in the group that gets the extra challenging work.) They had each done one once before at school with a group, but Jacob needed some help remembering how to set it all up. I have actually never done one, but with a little help from marlon and a lot of help over the phone from my sister Patti (who does them regularly), we figured it out and Jacob put together an awesome one with graphics, images from the internet, cool slide transititions, the works. Michela did hers later in the evening and did the whole thing almost without help. And she was able to figure out what we adults (including Patti!) couldn't figure out -- how to change the background for each individual slide (as opposed to changing the whole). Harrison was very motivated by the fun we were having creating these power point presentations (which have already been emailed to their teachers so they can be pulled up on the computers in the classroom and shown to the class on the large screen) so he decided to do one himself for extra credit - he created one on the various Greek Gods which they are studying in social studies. (He has been getting so much extra credit in that class that he has something like a 136% - lotta plusses next to that A! (too bad the grade report can only show one.)
So most of our day and evening were spent on the computer doing power points. It was fun in a strange way. :) We also slept in (!) - I got out of bed at 10:30 - and went to the Disneyland hotel from 4 to 7 p.m. for a dance competition for Jacob (they got platinum.) Oh, and we watched the Spurs beat the Lakers which is always a joy for us.
More on the rest of our weekend later.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Video clips of baseball and softball playoffs
Ok, sorry it took me so long! Below are some video clips of the end of the baseball and softball season. There are descriptions below them so you know what you're looking at. Harrison's season ended Saturday with them playing in the championship game. They didn't win the game, but they played well and Harrison had a great game personally. It wasn't too upsetting to the boys because they had had such an incredible comeback and win two days before and the whole league was talking about it! They still got a huge trophy for being second in the playoffs, they had an even huger trophy for being first in the regular season standings and they had a fun bbq party that afternoon. It was a great season for Harrison and he really improved his baseball skills. His coach was a great coach, but was very, very intense and demanding and it was good for Harrison to have that experience and learn to "take it like a man" when your coach is being hard on you. We're taking a little break from baseball and softball now. Harrison *could* jump right back onto the club (travel) ball team he was on, but he needs a break and he's going to be gone so much this summer (a three week family vacation and then two weeks of Jewish sleepaway camp) that it makes more sense to wait until August. We've see what the options are at that point. In the meantime, he'll maybe do some privates to keep his skills up, but mostly enjoy some much needed free time and spend some time with his friends. (Plus he's busy with the two musical theater productions the next couple of weeks.) He wants to try water polo, so we'll see about possibly doing that as well.
This is some video of Michela as catcher at one of her playoff games the weekend before last.
This is some video of Harrison as catcher in the final Championship game. He was starting catcher that game and played catcher the first three innings. The 4th inning he was on the bench (everyone sits out one inning, sometimes two), and the last two innings he was in left field. Sometimes he plays 3rd base. Catcher is his favorite position, but there were three good catchers on this team, so sometimes he only played one or two innings as catcher.
This was one of Harrison's great hits that I talked about in the last post, when they were behind 13 to 6 and they pulled ahead during the last inning to win 14 to 13. This hit, which was a good strong double to second base, brought in 2 RBI's. There were two outs when he came up to bat. The team kept the rally going and ended up winning! The person annoucing Harrison as batter is Michela. I'm the team's regular announcer (you'll hear me annoucing the next batter at the end of the video) but I had Michela announce Harrison so I could get up to video him batting. Marlon was there, but he was doing the electronic scoreboard thing.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Amazing, Exciting Playoff Game
It's 9:30 p.m., the kitchen is a mess from the day, I haven't really had a proper dinner yet and I have a million things to do to get ready for a full day of all of us being gone tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.(!), but I just HAD to take a second to post about Harrison's baseball game.
Tonight was a playoff game for his team. The playoffs are double elimination, meaning you're out if you lose twice. They won the first game but lost monday night, so if they lost tonight, their season was over. Same thing for the team they played.
The game was Intense, capital I! Remember, his team is one of 4 teams in the "National" league, as opposed to the "American" league, meaning the top 44 kids in the league are on these 4 teams and it's a higher level of play.
Anyway, they were losing 13 to 5 in the bottom of the 6th inning. They had been kind of neck and neck in the beginning, but the other team had an amazing 4th inning, scoring 6 runs to pull ahead and then got a couple more runs in the next inning. Our boys made some errors in the field (dropped the ball, etc.)
So they scored a couple of runs, making it 13 to 7, then they had two outs. They rallied and a couple of kids got on base. One at 1st, one at 3rd. Harrison came up to bat. Two outs, bases almost loaded and he had a solid hit way out in right field, getting to second and bringing in two RBI's. When the next batter came up to bat, he stole third on a "ball" and almost got out at 3rd but dove headfirst into the base. The ball was an overthrow, so he got up and ran like the dickens to home and made it safely. So then the score was 13 to 10. They continued to rally, got 4 more runs and won the game. It was so amazing. We didn't think they'd pull ahead, but they did it and Harrison was quite instrumental.
He is flying high tonight. He's been playing great the last several games, but before that he had been in a slump and was striking out every time he came up to bat. He had been in such a slump that his coach had moved him from 5th or 6th in the lineup to the bottom of the line-up. He has slowly been moving him back up. I'm eager to see where he'll be on saturday.
We've been getting him some private hitting instruction from a place called Proball to get him out of his slump, so it appears to be working. Expensive, but clearly worth it.
The championship game is on saturday morning - I'll let you know how it turns out!
Tonight was a playoff game for his team. The playoffs are double elimination, meaning you're out if you lose twice. They won the first game but lost monday night, so if they lost tonight, their season was over. Same thing for the team they played.
The game was Intense, capital I! Remember, his team is one of 4 teams in the "National" league, as opposed to the "American" league, meaning the top 44 kids in the league are on these 4 teams and it's a higher level of play.
Anyway, they were losing 13 to 5 in the bottom of the 6th inning. They had been kind of neck and neck in the beginning, but the other team had an amazing 4th inning, scoring 6 runs to pull ahead and then got a couple more runs in the next inning. Our boys made some errors in the field (dropped the ball, etc.)
So they scored a couple of runs, making it 13 to 7, then they had two outs. They rallied and a couple of kids got on base. One at 1st, one at 3rd. Harrison came up to bat. Two outs, bases almost loaded and he had a solid hit way out in right field, getting to second and bringing in two RBI's. When the next batter came up to bat, he stole third on a "ball" and almost got out at 3rd but dove headfirst into the base. The ball was an overthrow, so he got up and ran like the dickens to home and made it safely. So then the score was 13 to 10. They continued to rally, got 4 more runs and won the game. It was so amazing. We didn't think they'd pull ahead, but they did it and Harrison was quite instrumental.
He is flying high tonight. He's been playing great the last several games, but before that he had been in a slump and was striking out every time he came up to bat. He had been in such a slump that his coach had moved him from 5th or 6th in the lineup to the bottom of the line-up. He has slowly been moving him back up. I'm eager to see where he'll be on saturday.
We've been getting him some private hitting instruction from a place called Proball to get him out of his slump, so it appears to be working. Expensive, but clearly worth it.
The championship game is on saturday morning - I'll let you know how it turns out!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day!!
Happy Mother's Day to all of my family and friends who celebrate Mother's Day. I know that all of you feel like I do -- that our wonderful children are the greatest gift of all! I feel so blessed that I have my three beautiful, healthy, funny, lovable, sweet (etc etc) children that I don't need any presents or special treats on this day. :)
Still, my day started with a lot of special treats. The kids and Marlon "surprised" me with breakfast in bed. Here's how it transpired. Jacob came in bright and early. Well, any of you who know Jacob, know that "bright and early" is not in his vocabulary. He has to be dragged out of bed every morning by the ears! Usually if he comes in, he comes to my side of the bed. This time he came to Marlon's and then Marlon, who also enjoys sleeping in on weekends, said "okay, I'm getting up." That was my first clue.
I would normally have gotten up too, but decided I had better stay in bed because I didn't want to ruin anything. A little bit later, Jacob came in to get the bed tray thing that we keep in our room. He said "we're making breakfast for Michela because she's not awake yet, but we don't need help mom, so you should stay in bed for awhile." A little unusual! Another clue that "something" was up! :)
Then there were all these breakfast making sounds coming from the kitchen. My final clue! :)
I stayed in bed, lounging and relaxing until all 5 of them (Marlon, the three kids, and of course Midnight the dog) came in with a beautiful tray of cereal, milk in a pitcher, mini bagels with goat cheese on the them, a glass of juice, a sliced banana, and 3 beautiful roses from our garden.) They were all so excited to "surprise" me! :)
Harrison, in his "tween" style of late said a quick Happy Mother's Day and gave me a little kiss, stole a banana and piece of mini bagel and then left for his video games. Marlon gave me a nice kiss, said Happy Mother's Day and then asked if it would be ok if he left to go read the paper. Jacob, Michela and Midnight climbed into bed to enjoy the breakfast with me. Since we're going out to brunch in a couple of hours (with my mom, sister and brother in law), of course I was happy to share. Midnight settled at my feet, with his nose on the tray, happy to be part of it all.
What a wonderful morning. I'm so lucky to have my wonderful family.
After brunch we're going to enjoy a nice, relaxing day AT HOME. With nothing much to do except maybe watch some tv and the kids have some homework/test studying to do. After yesterday, we need a respite. Yesterday was such a busy day that we needed a typed up SCHEDULE to keep it all straight. Really.
Harrison had rehearsal in the morning for his musical at school, followed by a baseball playoff game, followed by a rehearsal for the other theater performance from 3-8. He was going to leave early to go to a bday party, but unfortunately lost that privilege a short time before he was set to leave because of causally using some inappropriate language. (part of that whole "tween" thing that we're trying to nip in the bud!) His team won the playoff game, so that was exciting.
Michela had TWO softball games, back to back, because they advanced to the next level of playoffs. Unfortunately they lost, so they finished the season 4th, which isn't bad out of 9 teams. She was thrilled with her first season of softball. She was nominated to -- and MADE -- the all star team (she was offered the last spot on the silver (not gold) team) but we had to turn it down b/c it's 6 weekends of tournaments (6 games each weekend) and we have conflicts with three of the weekends (the theater show, the Focus dance show and our trip to Texas). Hopefully next year we'll keep her spring/early summer schedule less busy because we'll know. Then she had rehearsal from 3-8 as well.
Jacob had dance at 1, then rehearsal from 3-8 for theater.
I, of course, had all these games to go to (Marlon and I had to split up to get to them all) and then I stayed at rehearsal b/c I and another mom offered to do the dinner for all the kids at their break.
A long, but fun day!
Hope you have a wonderful day today. Let me know how you spent your Mother's Day.
Still, my day started with a lot of special treats. The kids and Marlon "surprised" me with breakfast in bed. Here's how it transpired. Jacob came in bright and early. Well, any of you who know Jacob, know that "bright and early" is not in his vocabulary. He has to be dragged out of bed every morning by the ears! Usually if he comes in, he comes to my side of the bed. This time he came to Marlon's and then Marlon, who also enjoys sleeping in on weekends, said "okay, I'm getting up." That was my first clue.
I would normally have gotten up too, but decided I had better stay in bed because I didn't want to ruin anything. A little bit later, Jacob came in to get the bed tray thing that we keep in our room. He said "we're making breakfast for Michela because she's not awake yet, but we don't need help mom, so you should stay in bed for awhile." A little unusual! Another clue that "something" was up! :)
Then there were all these breakfast making sounds coming from the kitchen. My final clue! :)
I stayed in bed, lounging and relaxing until all 5 of them (Marlon, the three kids, and of course Midnight the dog) came in with a beautiful tray of cereal, milk in a pitcher, mini bagels with goat cheese on the them, a glass of juice, a sliced banana, and 3 beautiful roses from our garden.) They were all so excited to "surprise" me! :)
Harrison, in his "tween" style of late said a quick Happy Mother's Day and gave me a little kiss, stole a banana and piece of mini bagel and then left for his video games. Marlon gave me a nice kiss, said Happy Mother's Day and then asked if it would be ok if he left to go read the paper. Jacob, Michela and Midnight climbed into bed to enjoy the breakfast with me. Since we're going out to brunch in a couple of hours (with my mom, sister and brother in law), of course I was happy to share. Midnight settled at my feet, with his nose on the tray, happy to be part of it all.
What a wonderful morning. I'm so lucky to have my wonderful family.
After brunch we're going to enjoy a nice, relaxing day AT HOME. With nothing much to do except maybe watch some tv and the kids have some homework/test studying to do. After yesterday, we need a respite. Yesterday was such a busy day that we needed a typed up SCHEDULE to keep it all straight. Really.
Harrison had rehearsal in the morning for his musical at school, followed by a baseball playoff game, followed by a rehearsal for the other theater performance from 3-8. He was going to leave early to go to a bday party, but unfortunately lost that privilege a short time before he was set to leave because of causally using some inappropriate language. (part of that whole "tween" thing that we're trying to nip in the bud!) His team won the playoff game, so that was exciting.
Michela had TWO softball games, back to back, because they advanced to the next level of playoffs. Unfortunately they lost, so they finished the season 4th, which isn't bad out of 9 teams. She was thrilled with her first season of softball. She was nominated to -- and MADE -- the all star team (she was offered the last spot on the silver (not gold) team) but we had to turn it down b/c it's 6 weekends of tournaments (6 games each weekend) and we have conflicts with three of the weekends (the theater show, the Focus dance show and our trip to Texas). Hopefully next year we'll keep her spring/early summer schedule less busy because we'll know. Then she had rehearsal from 3-8 as well.
Jacob had dance at 1, then rehearsal from 3-8 for theater.
I, of course, had all these games to go to (Marlon and I had to split up to get to them all) and then I stayed at rehearsal b/c I and another mom offered to do the dinner for all the kids at their break.
A long, but fun day!
Hope you have a wonderful day today. Let me know how you spent your Mother's Day.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Harrison's Youth Band Concert
One of Harrison's interests is playing the trombone, which he started at the beginning of 5th grade last year. He was thrilled to be selected to be one of only 3 or 4 sixth graders in his middle school's symphonic band this year and even more thrilled to have made it into the Irvine School District Honor Band, which had a concert last week and also got to play at (and then enjoy) Disneyland. He also plays in our synagogue's youth band, which plays during family services the first friday of every month and rehearses for an hour every sunday after sunday school. They play a variety of prayer-type songs but have also been having fun with some secular pieces as well. Their youth band director organized a concert for them last weekend, which was really fun and lively. These are some video excerpts from it.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Funny hair washing story
Michela is going through a stage where she resists washing her hair. (She has beautiful long, blong hair.) She's fine with showering, it's the wet hair she has a problem with. She doesn't like to wash it at night b/c she doesn't like to go to bed with it wet. But she doesn't like to wash it in the morning b/c she doesn't like to put her clothes for school on over wet hair. But she doesn't want to wash it in the afternoon b/c she's too busy with activities, homework, free time or whatever.So the result is that I have to nag her every couple of days to wash her hair.So she washed it monday morning and it went in her bun for ballet. Tues we left the bun in because I do such incredible awesome buns that they can last for two days. Wednesday the bun came out, but it was fine in a pony tail that day, I just brushed it out. (she still *showered* these days, just didn't wash her hair.)Thursday I told her she needed to wash her hair. She said she'd do it thurs night after baseball so I said ok. But then, thurs night they had lots of HW and it got late and she didn't want to go to bed with wet hair so she talked me into letting her wait until friday morning.Ok, friday morning we were all up early b/c I made pancakes for Harrison before zero period PE, so Jacob and Michela ate bfast before geetting ready, which is unusual around here. She was reading and lollygagging around and I kept reminding her to go up and shower b/c time was passing. Finally she went up and I heard her brushing teeth and getting ready, but I didn't hear the shower water. I called up to her and said "get in the shower" and she said ok and then finally I heard the water.so she comes down fully dressed a few minutes later saying that she was all showered and could I brush her hair. When I started, I noticed that her hair was only damp, not totally wet and only on the top, not on the underneath hair. The underneath hair was dry as it could be and very tangled from the day before.When I questioned her she initially said she showered and must not have "rinsed well," but then, fortunately she's a bad liar, she came clean and said she didn't shower, she only WET HER HAIR WITH A WASHCLOTH thinking I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.What? Was I born yesterday?By this time we were on the verge of running late, but I was livid -- partly about the not washing her hair, but mostly b/c she lied about it. I refused to leave for school until she showered and washed her hair properly, which made us 15 minutes late. Then I made her go in and apologize to Harrison and Jacob's teahcers for making them late.She also lost tv and video game privileges for that afternoon and evening for the lying part, which was a big deal b/c it was friday night!
So, as we're driving to school, I say to her, "I can't believe this from you, Michela, you're the *easy* one (which she is!)" and she said "not anymore. I guess those days are gone forever. "
AAAHHH!
So, as we're driving to school, I say to her, "I can't believe this from you, Michela, you're the *easy* one (which she is!)" and she said "not anymore. I guess those days are gone forever. "
AAAHHH!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
May Kids Konnection - Celebrating Israel's Birthday
Inserted below, in its entirety, is my column from the May '08 issue of Orange County Jewish Life Magazine. I was hoping this blog would be a forum for people to share their own viewpoints, their own stories. Even though many (most!) of the posts are about the day to day life and activities of our family, I'm hoping it will be a way for friends and family to stay connected.
Consider leaving a comment about YOUR thoughts on the milestone of Israel's 60th birthday and how to commemorate such a special occasion!
Orange County Jewish Life - Printer Friendly Page
KIDS' KONNECTION
By Barbara Boarnet
find a way to celebrate israel
This year is Israel’s 60th birthday, and all across the nation Jews are celebrating. Orange County is no exception, and we’ve been hearing about plans being made by synagogues, the JCC, the Federation, and other organizations for festivals and celebrations. But how can we, as families, commemorate the occasion? In many ways!
1. Attend the Israel Expo 2008 on Sunday, June 1, at the Samueli Jewish Campus. It’s sure to be one of the biggest and best Israel Expos ever!
2. Make an effort to buy products from Israel, whether Israeli art or other décor, clothing, food, wine, or other products. Buying from Israeli vendors directly benefits the Israeli economy, and what could be a better birthday present? Consider shopping at your synagogue giftshop, at one of the local Judaica stores, or on-line at www.shopinisrael.com or www.israeliproducts.com.
3. Seriously consider a trip to Israel. Many of us want to go and take our families, but we worry about safety, expense, and other factors. So we wait. But maybe we should stop waiting. This year of Israel’s 60th could be the perfect time to go and experience the stunning natural beauty of Israel, the historic landmarks, and the important holy sites.
4. If it’s not feasible for the whole family to go at this time, consider sending your young adult children on a ten-day, all-expenses-paid trip sponsored by Taglit-Birthright Israel this summer. It would be a perfect way and a perfect time in their lives to discover and strengthen their Jewish identity and to bond with Israel.
5. Immerse yourself in Israeli culture. If you missed the Jewish Film Festival this year, rent an Israeli film from Netflix or Blockbuster.com. Or find a different way to experience Israeli culture. Read a book with an Israeli theme. Listen to an Israeli band. Try a Kosher grocery store or a Kosher or Israeli restaurant. Take a folk dancing class.
6. Be an advocate for Zionism. There are so many local Zionist organizations that need financial support as well as new members and active membership support. I have been involved in Irvine Kadima Hadassah, a young women’s Hadassah group in Irvine, since I got married and moved to Irvine fourteen years ago. Hadassah supports so many wonderful programs in Israel, such as the Hadassah Medical Organization, a world-renowned hospital and medical facility, Hadassah College of Technology, the Young Judea program, and so many more. You can learn more about Hadassah by visiting www.hadassah.org or e-mailing me at bboarnet@cox.net.
7. Expand your Judaic knowledge. Take a Hebrew class. Visit the Skirball Museum. Attend a lecture at Hebrew Union College or visit an exhibit of Israeli art or photography.
8. Plan your own birthday party for Israel. A few years ago, I was the co-coordinator for Irvine Kadima Hadassah’s Training Wheels program, a weekly parent/child class for children ages two to five, where we learned about Judaism through singing, playing, art projects, and other similar hands-on activities. One year on Yom Ha Atzmaut, we had the best activity ever. We had a birthday party for Israel with all the bells and whistles. It was the most incredible and fun learning experience, one that the kids have never forgotten. It would be easy for you to re-create this experience in your home for your child and a group of Jewish friends. First, the children used paper, crayons and stickers to create their own passports and airline tickets. Then, they packed their pretend suitcases and talked about the things they would want to take on their trip to Israel. Because part of the exercise is to encourage creativity, we didn’t mind that some of the kids wanted to take their dogs and their beds! Then, it was time to board the flight. We had set up chairs in rows like an airplane and the children turned in their tickets and boarded the flights. The older children were the pilot, co-pilot, and flight attendant. After announcements had been made, the flight took off, with people flapping their “wings” (arms) to give the plane extra lifting power. Once airborne, the flight attendant came by with cups of juice and crackers. The “long” flight felt short because of the short movie about Israel that was shown. We also had a lively discussion about what people were going to do in Israel and why they wanted to go.Upon arrival, after everyone freshened up with a warm, damp washcloth, the passengers exited the aircraft and presented their passports to be stamped at the customs station. We were then in Israel and proceeded to have our birthday party for Israel with blue and white cupcakes, the singing of “Yom Huledit Sameach,” and then dancing and partying.Everyone left the party with a goody bag filled with wonderful little items – Jewish pencils, erasers shaped like Stars of David, a flag of Isarel, and very happy memories of our “trip” to Israel and birthday party!
9. If you have older children, a birthday party could still be fun; it would just be structured differently. Serve Israeli foods and chip in together to hire a DJ or entertainer. Decorate to make it festive. Invite not just your children’s Jewish friends, but even the non-Jewish friends. Everyone enjoys a party and what a better way for your kids to share and be proud of their Jewish heritage than at a party in honor of Israel.
10. Don’t forget that the adults can party too! Have a grownup birthday party for Israel. We may not want to celebrate so much when WE turn sixty, but Israel turning 60 is grounds for a huge celebration. Rent your community clubhouse, bring out the champagne and Israeli style appetizers, decorate in blue and white, and hire a klezmer band. As an icebreaker/party-starter game, put the names of famous and important Israelis on index cards and tape them to people’s backs. Then, they have to guess the name on their back by asking yes and no questions of the other guests.
What you do to celebrate isn’t important. What is important is that everyone make a concerted effort to commemorate this momentous occasion and celebrate Israel’s 60th birthday, wishing Israel another 60 years of peace and prosperity!
• Barbara Boarnet is an attorney specializing in legal/human resource consulting, the mother of three children ages 12 and 9_-year-old twins, a member of Congregation Shir Ha Ma’a lot, a life member of Irvine-Kadima Hadassah, and a member of the PTA Board at Vista Verde.For feedback, contact editor@ocjewishlife.com.
Printed from: http://www.ocjewishlife.com/stories/xarchive.php?id=506© Orange County Jewish Life, All Rights Reserved
Consider leaving a comment about YOUR thoughts on the milestone of Israel's 60th birthday and how to commemorate such a special occasion!
Orange County Jewish Life - Printer Friendly Page
KIDS' KONNECTION
By Barbara Boarnet
find a way to celebrate israel
This year is Israel’s 60th birthday, and all across the nation Jews are celebrating. Orange County is no exception, and we’ve been hearing about plans being made by synagogues, the JCC, the Federation, and other organizations for festivals and celebrations. But how can we, as families, commemorate the occasion? In many ways!
1. Attend the Israel Expo 2008 on Sunday, June 1, at the Samueli Jewish Campus. It’s sure to be one of the biggest and best Israel Expos ever!
2. Make an effort to buy products from Israel, whether Israeli art or other décor, clothing, food, wine, or other products. Buying from Israeli vendors directly benefits the Israeli economy, and what could be a better birthday present? Consider shopping at your synagogue giftshop, at one of the local Judaica stores, or on-line at www.shopinisrael.com or www.israeliproducts.com.
3. Seriously consider a trip to Israel. Many of us want to go and take our families, but we worry about safety, expense, and other factors. So we wait. But maybe we should stop waiting. This year of Israel’s 60th could be the perfect time to go and experience the stunning natural beauty of Israel, the historic landmarks, and the important holy sites.
4. If it’s not feasible for the whole family to go at this time, consider sending your young adult children on a ten-day, all-expenses-paid trip sponsored by Taglit-Birthright Israel this summer. It would be a perfect way and a perfect time in their lives to discover and strengthen their Jewish identity and to bond with Israel.
5. Immerse yourself in Israeli culture. If you missed the Jewish Film Festival this year, rent an Israeli film from Netflix or Blockbuster.com. Or find a different way to experience Israeli culture. Read a book with an Israeli theme. Listen to an Israeli band. Try a Kosher grocery store or a Kosher or Israeli restaurant. Take a folk dancing class.
6. Be an advocate for Zionism. There are so many local Zionist organizations that need financial support as well as new members and active membership support. I have been involved in Irvine Kadima Hadassah, a young women’s Hadassah group in Irvine, since I got married and moved to Irvine fourteen years ago. Hadassah supports so many wonderful programs in Israel, such as the Hadassah Medical Organization, a world-renowned hospital and medical facility, Hadassah College of Technology, the Young Judea program, and so many more. You can learn more about Hadassah by visiting www.hadassah.org or e-mailing me at bboarnet@cox.net.
7. Expand your Judaic knowledge. Take a Hebrew class. Visit the Skirball Museum. Attend a lecture at Hebrew Union College or visit an exhibit of Israeli art or photography.
8. Plan your own birthday party for Israel. A few years ago, I was the co-coordinator for Irvine Kadima Hadassah’s Training Wheels program, a weekly parent/child class for children ages two to five, where we learned about Judaism through singing, playing, art projects, and other similar hands-on activities. One year on Yom Ha Atzmaut, we had the best activity ever. We had a birthday party for Israel with all the bells and whistles. It was the most incredible and fun learning experience, one that the kids have never forgotten. It would be easy for you to re-create this experience in your home for your child and a group of Jewish friends. First, the children used paper, crayons and stickers to create their own passports and airline tickets. Then, they packed their pretend suitcases and talked about the things they would want to take on their trip to Israel. Because part of the exercise is to encourage creativity, we didn’t mind that some of the kids wanted to take their dogs and their beds! Then, it was time to board the flight. We had set up chairs in rows like an airplane and the children turned in their tickets and boarded the flights. The older children were the pilot, co-pilot, and flight attendant. After announcements had been made, the flight took off, with people flapping their “wings” (arms) to give the plane extra lifting power. Once airborne, the flight attendant came by with cups of juice and crackers. The “long” flight felt short because of the short movie about Israel that was shown. We also had a lively discussion about what people were going to do in Israel and why they wanted to go.Upon arrival, after everyone freshened up with a warm, damp washcloth, the passengers exited the aircraft and presented their passports to be stamped at the customs station. We were then in Israel and proceeded to have our birthday party for Israel with blue and white cupcakes, the singing of “Yom Huledit Sameach,” and then dancing and partying.Everyone left the party with a goody bag filled with wonderful little items – Jewish pencils, erasers shaped like Stars of David, a flag of Isarel, and very happy memories of our “trip” to Israel and birthday party!
9. If you have older children, a birthday party could still be fun; it would just be structured differently. Serve Israeli foods and chip in together to hire a DJ or entertainer. Decorate to make it festive. Invite not just your children’s Jewish friends, but even the non-Jewish friends. Everyone enjoys a party and what a better way for your kids to share and be proud of their Jewish heritage than at a party in honor of Israel.
10. Don’t forget that the adults can party too! Have a grownup birthday party for Israel. We may not want to celebrate so much when WE turn sixty, but Israel turning 60 is grounds for a huge celebration. Rent your community clubhouse, bring out the champagne and Israeli style appetizers, decorate in blue and white, and hire a klezmer band. As an icebreaker/party-starter game, put the names of famous and important Israelis on index cards and tape them to people’s backs. Then, they have to guess the name on their back by asking yes and no questions of the other guests.
What you do to celebrate isn’t important. What is important is that everyone make a concerted effort to commemorate this momentous occasion and celebrate Israel’s 60th birthday, wishing Israel another 60 years of peace and prosperity!
• Barbara Boarnet is an attorney specializing in legal/human resource consulting, the mother of three children ages 12 and 9_-year-old twins, a member of Congregation Shir Ha Ma’a lot, a life member of Irvine-Kadima Hadassah, and a member of the PTA Board at Vista Verde.For feedback, contact editor@ocjewishlife.com.
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