A short, but probably growing, list of smart questions people ask us, as prospective olim, for which we have ZERO answers at the present time. Starting with the most common question, the one everybody asks:
- Where will you live? Somewhere cool. Is there such a thing? My project for this summer is tracking average temperatures in various parts of Israel. Cool and not humid.
- What about your mother? I think of this as the Kohen’s Mother Dilemma, and addressed this, a bit, at my other blog. (accidentally typed “my mother blog” – ha ha ha) Aliyah will definitely cut not one but many umbilici. And I’m surprised Windows Live Writer didn’t tag that word as a typo…
- Are you bringing a lift? Actually, I have an answer: yes. I want my stuff. Well, not ALL my stuff. Some of my stuff. More than we can bring in suitcases and boxes, I think. A lift is expensive, new stuff is expensive. See what I mean about not having any answers? A friend mentioned half a lift the other day. So maybe this question DOES have an answer.
And then there’s one question I thought I had the answer to, but it turns out maybe I don’t:
- Will you continue to homeschool? I thought my answer was simple: NO. For two reasons, socialization and language, I thought it would be better to put the kids in Israeli schools almost immediately. In fact, THREE reasons: us parents are going to need jobs and/or full-time ulpan almost immediately. There is a fourth reason (are you surprised?): my promise to Naomi, almost from the beginning, that she would be able to go to school when we made aliyah. So why fight it? Why not give up homeschooling? One BIG reason: it’s really good for my kids. In the back of my mind, I have the idea that the kids can go to school and then, due to Israel’s notoriously short school days, I can homeschool them in their spare hours. But I don’t know if it’s really possible, and quite honestly, that makes me very sad…
Hi there!
ReplyDeleteI found your blog from the Well Trained Mind forum. I just wanted to say we homeschool and live in Israel. There are other ways to teach your kids Hebrew and get them with other kids (in fact, I might even say finding ways to get your kids with others is easier in Israel.)
Of course, in the end, homeschooling is not for everyone, in Israel or otherwise. But I just had to let you know it's POSSIBLE to make aliyah, homeschool, and have your kids speaking Hebrew and spending time with kids, Israelis, Anglos, and English AND Hebrew speakers.
Feel free to contact me, if you like. :)
~ Rachel
PS. You probably need a way to contact me, huh? :) rachel.gurevich@gmail.com
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