Make ZVUVI’s ISRAEL Part of Your Classroom Curriculum

As an Israeli-American who made Aliyah in 1977, I believe that connecting American Jewish children with Israel should start at a young age, and not wait for youth movement groups to kick in. That’s why I wrote my new book ZVUVI’s ISRAEL featuring my fictitious, fun-loving fly, Zvuvi. Its beautiful, rich illustrations created by Ksenia Topaz (an Israeli-Russian immigrant) invite kids to tour the country and have fun.

I would like to extend that fun to your classroom. Here are some ideas on how to integrate Zvuvi into your curriculum:
• Start off by turning Zvuvi into a fun-filled game – something like “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”, only this time the game is “Pin Zvuvi on to Israel.” Here’s what you have to do: Cut out a picture of Zvuvi. Put a large map of Israel on your board at the head of the class. For a blindfold, take a scarf that’s blue and white (and explain why you are using these colors). Taking turns, each blindfolded student will “pin” Zvuvi on to the map. Find a matching “story” (double page spread) in the book that matches (as close as possible) Zvuvi’s landing spot and read it to your students. Since Zvuvi is playing
“Hide ‘n Seek” on most of these double spreads, you want to have as many books as possible for the kids to look at, so that at the end of the “story” they can find Zvuvi. Give the first one to find Zvuvi some sort of a prize – maybe an extra star on one of your class charts.

• Create your own “Mini Israel” using ZVUVI's ISRAEL as a guideline. If you can, involve an Arts & Crafts teacher and turn this into a long-term project that ends by making it the focal point of your Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebrations. Here’s what I suggest: Once a week, month, every two weeks (you determine the frequency), you read a Zvuvi double spread story. After each story, use the arts & crafts time allotted to the class around creating your own “Mini Israel.” For instance, you’ll start this project off with A “Wail” of a Time in Jerusalem. You read the story and talk about it (“what are the different activities we see in this story?” “which shapes can you find?”, etc.). Through the guidance of a crafts teacher, you start building Jerusalem. Once you’ve finished you go on to the next story – The ZigZag Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway - and repeat the process. Do this until you have finished the entire book.

• Hold a “Zvuvi Israeli Food Day” and make it a family affair. You’ll find food mentioned in four different stories that you’ll read along with the students and their families: Felafel in A Wail” of a Time in Jerusalem; Humus in The Zigzag Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway; Biblical Breakfast found in the second double spread of this same story; and grilled St. Peter’s fish in Round and Round the Kinneret. You can contact me for Biblical Breakfast ideas and/or you can visit the Neot Kedumim Biblical Landscape Reserve website.

• Finally, keep Zvuvi going beyond the book. To help kids learn more about life in Israel I’ve started a Zvuvi blog. I put out a new post every two weeks and try to make it as interesting for pre-school and elementary school kids as possible. You can check it out on your own, or if you like, contact me at tami@tlwkidsbooks.com and I’ll be happy to add you to my listserv.

Le’Hitraot…Tami Lehman-Wilzig