5 Ways to Celebrate Israel’s Independence Day with Young Children

This week Jews around the world will celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel Independence Day. Here are five ways you can celebrate the holiday with young children.

1. Read picture books about Israel to learn about Israeli culture, famous places, what to expect when visiting. Ella’s Trip to Israel, Good Night Israel, and It’s Israel’s Birthday are among many books available.

2. Play with toys that are blue and white. For example, ask kids to pick out all the blue and white blocks or Legos from a set and use those to build a tower or a wall. Bounce, kick, roll, and play with blue and white beach balls.

3. Craft Israeli paper flags and pinwheels. Find family activities for other holidays on ReformJudaism.org.

4. Bake a pizza, a chocolate cake or some techina cookies and throw a party to celebrate Israel’s birthday. Find other great recipes for Israeli cuisine on ReformJudaism.org.

5. Watch Shalom Sesame videos to learn about Israel’s past and present.

Yom huledet sameach, Israel – happy birthday!

This blog post was inspired by ideas suggested by Emily Teck, a.k.a. Miss Emily, who helps families with young children engage joyfully with Judaism.