Mini Golf Extreme

At the end of a very tough day for the CK at school (see more below), we went miniature golfing. Excuse me, we went "extreme" miniature golfing, though I am not sure what was so extreme about it. The Mini Golf place was at the Lev Talpiyot Mall. Or, to be more precise, it was on the Lev Talpiyot Mall - right there on the roof top! We walked from school to the #13 bus stop, and the bus dropped us off right next to the mall. After the day he had, I was surprised by how positive and confident the CK was acting; it seemed like every other hole, he was exclaiming, "Oh, this is the easiest shot," "I know I can get a hole in one," or "The ball is exactly where I want it to be." For some of the holes, the CK requested "Can I have a do-over?" when he wasn't doing well and on more than a few of them, I gave the CK 5 or 6 do-overs. I wanted mini golf to be fun, not competitive or stressful, for him. The CK was thrilled (and so was I) when he got a hole in one at the 14th hole! Originally, I had wanted the WK to go with us, but I'm glad that he stayed to play soccer with friends at school. It was very nice to do something fun with just the CK.

I was planning to go with the boys to the Museum of Islamic Art this afternoon, but it closes at 3 pm on Sunday and Monday. The boys don't get out of school until 2:20, so that wasn't going to work. I looked on an awesome website "funinjerusalem.com" and saw that mini golf was an option.  I think we are going to go to the Museum on Tuesday. It is a short walk from the school. And I definitely bookmarked the site as a favorite!

So, it was a tough school day for all of us. The CK starting the "I am not going to school" mantra almost immediately after waking up. Somehow, Pentheus corralled the CK into getting dressed and putting on his shoes, while I made breakfast and packed snacks for the boys. We left together and walked to school. The CK and I talked most of the way about things other than school, but it was clear he was not happy. Both Pentheus and I walked the CK to his building, but I said goodbye and left Pentheus to take him to his classroom. As I walked away, I could hear the screaming and crying. Almost 30 minutes later, Pentheus returned home. He said that it had been very difficult and he had finally just left the CK crying in the arms of his teacher, Hadaas.

When I went to pick the boys up from school, I was approached by Yaffa, the WK's Math teacher. Yaffa told me in Hebrew that she had spoken to the WK today about paying attention in class and participating as much as possible. Yaffa told the WK that if he had a question or didn't understand something, he could ask Uri or Rafael, or ask her. She told him she knows he is intelligent and that he can do this. He is not allowed to read books in English or put his head down. Yaffa wasn't upset or angry, and the WK accepted what she said. I told her Pentheus and I supported her 100% and thanked her for pushing him. Not surprisingly, the WK had Math homework today.

Then Hadaas came to talk to me. She told me that the CK had had a very hard day. She hoped that the CK had such a bad day because it was Sunday (i.e., the first day of the week and a long day of school). A few times, the CK had left the classroom because he was crying. At one point, Hadaas had to go look for him. She told the CK that he can't leave like that - she was worried about him, she had to stop teaching, etc. Hadaas was very understanding about it, but I know this must take a toll on her as well.

Hadaas told me that she and Judith (the English teacher) had been talking about the CK's situation, and they had a suggestion, if it were OK with Pentheus and me. They suggest that we move the CK down to the 1st grade (instead of 2nd), and it might make sense for a bunch of reasons. First of all, there are 2-3 English-speaking kids in the 1st grade, and the CK has met and talked with them. Second of all, and I think this is a biggie, in 1st grade, when kids learn Hebrew, the written and read words have vowels, but in 2nd grade, the vowels are taken away. It's kind of hard to explain, but it's much easier (for me, too!) to have the vowels there! Hadaas ended our conversation by saying that it was up to Pentheus and me (and, to some extent, the CK) what we do.

I actually think it's a pretty good idea to move the CK to 1st grade for the reasons above. I also think that even though the Math and other lessons may be at a lower level than necessary, that the overall experience would be better for him. We will have his Math curriculum from the Cambridgeport School, and the CK can work on that while he is at school. Hopefully, the CK will be able to get more out of school, both because he can understand more by being with some English speakers, and because he will have more confidence. Pentheus and I were concerned that the CK would feel like a baby or be unhappy to be "left back," but the CK thinks it's a good idea for him to go to 1st grade. In fact, when we had a "family meeting" with Pentheus, the CK, and me, I asked him if he "wanted to go to 1st grade," the CK answered, "not just go to 1st grade, but stay in 1st grade." We talked to him about our expectations (thanks for the suggestion, MAT!): We told him we didn't expect that he would understand that much that happens in class and that we didn't expect him to be fluent in Hebrew, but that we did expect him to try his best, to be respectful to teachers and other students, and to have a good attitude. We told him that when he switches classes tomorrow, he needs to be sure to tell Hadaas and the 2nd grade class thank you for how they have helped him and tried to make things easier for him. We also told him that he needs to treat us with respect, too, and that he can't throw a fit, behave in the way that he has been, or yell at us as he has been doing. The CK agreed to try, and we'll see how tomorrow goes.

After the CK and I played mini golf, we walked over to Rami Levi, the big grocery store. Because the prices at Rami Levi are so much lower than other stores, we stocked up on things we eat and use all of the time. We had too many bags of groceries to take on the bus, so the CK and I took a cab back to the dira. I chatted with the cab driver, and he was asking what we're doing here and how long we will be in Israel. I told him the same spiel we tell everyone, and he asked how it was going. I told him things were going fairly well but that, understandably, the kids, especially the younger one, were having a hard time at school. I told him how the CK had told me I was the worst mother in the world this morning. The cab driver laughed and said it would all be OK. The cab driver thinks that we'll go back to the States and that the CK will want to return to live in Israel. He thinks that the day the CK starts his mandatory army service in Israel, he will thank me for pushing him when he was younger and that I am the best mother ever. We'll see how that turns out!

On a different note, I took this picture about a block from the kids' school:

Yonatan (Yoni for short) Netanyahu was the older brother of (now Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu. In July 1976, an Air France flight was hijacked and diverted to land at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. An Israeli commando unit, led by Yonatan Netanyahu, raided Entebbe to free the hostages (only Jews and Israelis at this point, as other hostages had been let go). One hundred of the hostages (out of 103 held) were freed, and the only commando killed was Yoni. This sign confers the area "Yoni Square" in memory of his death. As you may remember, Prime Minister Netanyahu attended the Szold School, as the family lived in the area. For more info on the Entebbe Raid :(http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars1900s/p/entebbe.htm)

As an aside, the top line in Hebrew is with vowels and reads "Keekar Yoni." The second line in smaller letters has no vowels. The third line is in Arabic, and the final line is in English. Both Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages of Israel, with English being the "unofficial" third language.