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THE   CANADIAN   JEWISH   REVIEW
MAY 9, 1952
Hurray!  I'm   Reading!
�Y  ANITA  INGLE,  IN THE NEW   STATESMAN  AND  NATION
Jonathan, who ia six-and-a-half, Itarted school only this September. Before that, on account of the age limit, he was doomed to his third year at kindergarten; six months in England, and two and a half years in Israel. The kindergarten in Haifa was run by the Organization of Working Mothers, the women's branch of the Histadruth. The children
stayed there until 4 p-m., getting their meals and their afternoon rest. This may be common in other countries, but it is exceptional in Israel.
They learned an astonishing variety of things at this kindergarten. The stones and dances and songs were so extensive in variety that I "can only imagine that they were taken in by absorption rather
than by a direct process of memory. Every religious and national holiday was celebrated by i t s attendant festivities. We didn't have to teach Jonathan the Four Questions at Passover. He learned them at kindergarten. He also became very meticulous about the proper welcoming of the Sabbath, although this kindergarten belongs to the "Workers' stream," which is usually considered to be non-religious.
The children lived a sort of jungle life of their own, with a sorely learned code of behaviour,
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such as monkeys might have. I could onJy learn from casual clues dropped by Jonathan during his special times for being confidential�in the evenings, when I was getting him ready for bed, or' when I had a late Saturday morning and he snuggled in beside me.
Once he seemed worried. "Shmu-lik said that God will demolish me," he told me. "You know better than that/' I told him. "You know that God loves little boys. When anyone tells you that God will demolish you, you just laugh at him."
"Shmulik said you haven't got a nice face," Jonathan confided further, determined to get it all off his chest. That one couldn't be laughed off. "If anyone says amything rude about your family," I told him firmly, "ypu knock him down!"
(I shall probably have the Teachers' Union on my head, But that is the advice I always give to Jonathan. Not that I expect him to make use of it, but because I suspect that he won't)
"Do you know what the boys say at kindergarten? They say that the way a baby gets into 'his Mummy's tummy is like this: the Mummy draws a picture of a baby on a piece of paper,4, then she swallows the paper."
"And what do you answer when silly boys say things like that?"
"I tell them 'You're crazy!' Mummies would get worms if they did that"
Jonathan used to tell me about the other children. The name of "Leah" began to crop up.
"Who is Leah?" I asked.
"Leah is a friend of mine. When the boys lock me in the lavatory, she brings teacher."
"Do you help her too?"
"Oh yes. When she bites their hands, I kick their feet."
My heart warmed to Leah, and I was glad that my son had such an able ally.
Then Leah left for school, and Jonathan acquired another girl friend. Her name was Dror, and she was only three years old.
Jonathan used to call her "That li'l Honey Dror." And she was a honey. I don't know how long this had been going on, but I first learned about her when we were walking along the street one day, and a plump, pink little girl with black curly hair and shiny black eyes approached us with her Mother. She ran up to Jonathan and threw her arms around him, both of them exclaiming with delight &t this wonderful meeting, though they had already been together most of the day.
Not long afterwards Jonathan began to go through a period of tantrums and naughtiness. We-feared that the rather aged and severe kindergarten teacher was having a bad effect on him. Then we found that it had nothing to do with the teacher. The fact was that Mosheh, a blond, self-assured fellow inmate of the jungle, had won the affection of little Honey Dror and, what is more, had declared war on* Jonathan. We made a very nice plastic necklace for Dror, and things returned to normal. But not for long, because Jonathan went to school and is dedicated to higher learning now.
Some weeks before school. start- � ed we received a list of Jonathan's requirements. He and I went out and bought them with a little girl from the third grade, who knew the ropes. From that moment Jonathan developed a most serious and responsible demeanour. Often, instead of coming for a walk with me, he would retire to his room with a look of patient martyrdom, to do arithmetic. That meant cbpyinig out numbers from a book. Instead of being away from home until 4 in the afternoon, he would come home at 11.30 in the morning.
"Jonathan," I said to him, "now that you will be home in the afternoon, I hope you are not going to disturb us."
"What!" he exclaimed; "A boy who goes to school wouldn't disturb anyone!"
I told him that he was a clever little boy and wouldn't have any
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When tools are stored indoors for winter, the gardener and the craftsman are reminded that a stitch in time still saves nine, and that a little care will prolong the life of equipment. Tools should be thoroughly cleaned, the metal rubbed down with steel wool and then given a rub with an oily rag to prevent rust. Then the handles might be given a coat of fresh paint � and they're all ready when spring appears.
m wrimi
I always feel a doorway should convey the. impression of welcome. This can easily be brought about by placing evergreens in

AROUND
HOAY1
tubs and locating them on either side of the entrance. But why not carry the idea a step farther and plant small spruce or cedars in the window box. Even sprays of cedar firmly embedded in the soil will serve the purpose on the window sill.
AM AID TO CAKViNG
A few nights ago a friend was telling me of hi* difficulty in learning to carve, when up spoke another friend and told him how to make an aid to carving from old forka and the drawer-pull from a dresser. This unique idea is worth pasting on to our readers. The young war veteran decided then and there he would carry out the idea.
LAWK SWING
Last summer when in the Sher-brooke district I came across an attractive piece of lawn furniture, made of iron pipes and some canvass found in the boat-house. To brighten up the canvass the chap had painted in the pattern with, red and green paint left over after he had painted his boats. The joints were all welded for strength, and it was noticed the kiddies could take a running jump into the swing without danger.
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I
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trouble with his lessons, but the only thing* that might get him into trouble with the teacher waa 'his habit of interrupting when grownups were speaking.
"I won't," he told me. "When the teacher is speaking, I'll just talk to the other boys."
By the time September 3 arrived, we were almost beside ourselves with excitement. I aome-how saw Jonathan as a little worm standing before a big, juicy apple. At most he could gnaw only a little path through it, but there it was, intact, waiting for his first nibble. The nibble wa* more like the onslaught of a vwann of locusts, Fortunately the educational system for beginners here i* geared for just such appetites. They don't waste time learning letters of the alphabet. They get straight on to words and sentences. The first day Jonathan came home with a little envelope containing cards. On each card was written a word that he had learned that day. There were seven words. In one order they speUed the words "Who la Clean?" The card with "Who" on it could be changed for a card with "Dog" on, it or "Dan" or "Mother" (a very short word in Hebrew). That evening he played word games, and the next day had more word cards, and so on. These words were also written on big cards and hung around the school room, together with objects illustrating them, until a child could probably recognise them standing on his head.
At the end of a month, Jonathan came home with his first read. ing book. And what was in this important publication? All the words and sentences and pictures that the children had become so familiar with during the month. Like old friends Jonathan greeted eachy* sentence and each picture, and never tired of going- through the little book just once more. On the back cover of the book is written in big letters: "Hurray! I'm reading!" When Jonathan comes to that bit, 'he raises his voice in a shout and capers round the room.
I don't know whether Christopher Coluathbuft'ft irvritbci.
when her son discovered America. But if she was, then I know exactly how she must have felt.
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