My Big Helpers

As opposed to my "little helpers", B"H my bigger boys are really starting to help more.  The past few weeks, they've spent Thursday evening helping me prepare the Shabbos food- sifting flour, peeling potatoes, mixing up kugels, seasoning the fish, and pouring the cake ingredients into the mixing bowl.  They really enjoyed themselves, and while the kitchen was a bit messier than usual after we finished, I did manage to get a lot more done than I would have on my own!

Cute Quote: Too much food!

One Shabbos a couple of weeks ago, Yisrael didn't finish off all of his cholent (KA"H he is a great eater and this usually doesn't happen.)

Mommy:  Yisrael, please finish your cholent so I can give you dessert!
Yisrael: But my stomach is going to burst if I eat any more!*
Mommy: Then why did you take so much?
Yisrael: Because my new glasses make things look smaller than they really are, so it didn't look like so much when I took it!

Since then we've made sure to warn him that he shouldn't take too much just because of his glasses' distortion!

* Theoretical question- did you ever wonder how kids whose stomachs are so full that they are about to burst, somehow manage off to polish off their dessert without any difficulty whatsoever?

A True Lamdan

On ליל שבת the kids were playing with Kapla, and Yehuda Leib kept messing it up.  So one of them decided to move him out of the way....by putting him in one of the bedrooms and closing the door.  I was in the kitchen, when I heard YL's desperate cries...and discovered him in the dark room, banging on the door, with a petrified look on his face.  I promptly gave the kids a mussar shmooze about how you can't do that to a baby, especially in a dark room- it was so scary for him to be closed up in a room by himself, without being able to see anything.

Well the next morning, the kids were busy playing again, and YL once again started bothering them.  Before locking YL up again, our little culprit went through the following thought process:

(gemara niggun) Mommy said its not nice to lock a baby inside a dark room because he's scared of the dark (raising fist with thumb sticking upwards) But, if you turn on the light in the room, lich'ora that should be okay!

Needless to say, I had to expound on the previous night's mussar shmooze, explaining that it is never okay to lock a baby in a room, whether or not its dark, and its certaintly not okay to turn on a light on Shabbos!

Creative Chess Set

The kids wanted to play chess one night, but our chess set was missing too many pieces (it has since been replaced). So what did my innovative children do? Make their own, of course! I think they had more fun making it than they did playing!  As long as they enjoyed themselves, that's all that matters!

 

Our Big (but still little) Boy

Yisrael is very excited about his new set of משניות he got as a gift at his סיום חמישה חומשי תורה a few nights ago (I will post more about that soon, IY"H!) and on Erev Shabbos, he and Bentzi sat down to learn together.  I got a kick out of this picture- sitting like a big boy, learning משניות, yet still wearing his bib from lunch!

May he always have an appetite for learning!

A MAJOR Nachas evening coming up...

And you're officially invited!

B"H Yisrael's class is making a Siyum on חמישה חומשי תורה in a week and a half- this is the culmination of three year's hard work, learning and constantly doing חזרה until the boys really know the material "inside out".  Its amazing to see how well he really knows it, and the glow of satisfaction that radiates on his face when we test him and he knows the answers.

The Cheder makes a grand celebration in honor of the Siyum, in a fancy hall (with lots of speeches I'm sure!) and while we know that most of you can't come, we'll sure you'll be there in spirit!  Stay posted for Nachas updates after the Siyum!

(Note to the Yerushalayim Aunts:  Yisrael brought home extra invitations to mail to you....can you consider yourselves invited and I'll save the money for the postage?  I don't think he really expects you to come, although I'm sure he'd be tickled pink if you actually did!)

Gigantic Grapes

Yisrael is learning ספר במדבר and just finished learning about the מעשה המרגלים.  Yisrael came home all excited, telling me that his Rebbe wants to make a play with them, and that the boys can prepare mammoth sized "fruit" for the מרגלים.

We decided to prepare a bunch grapes- we took balloons, covered them with layers of paper mache (this project kept us busy for 3 afternoons!) and then, once they were covered well and dry, we painted them purple, tied them together, and made a really nice looking bunch of grapes!

All the kids had fun helping - there was more than enough work for everyone - and they are busy dreaming up ideas of other things we can make next time they have vacation...any nice ideas?

Cute Quote: Who gets to learn תורה?

I held my breathe this morning as I got Yisrael ready for Cheder - with the rest of the family on vacation (except for Nissim), I was worried that he would get upset and not want to go to Cheder.  I packed him up some nice snacks, and was very gentle with him, not wanting to upset him.  As the clock got closer and closer to 7:30, I was wondering (and silently davening!)-  how I was going to convince Yisrael to go to the bus stop alone- he usually goes with Bentzi since they both catch a bus at the same time.  B"H Hashem answered my תפילות in the best possible way:

Yisrael:  Oy, its almost 7:30 already!  Where is Tatty?  We are going to be late for our buses! 
Mommy: (cautiously) Yisrael sweetie, Tatty isn't going on the bus today...he has vacation today.
Yisrael: YESH!  I'm the only one who's going learn תורה today!  I am the luckiest person in our whole family!  Quick, Mommy- give me my תיק - I have to hurry so I won't be late!

And he cheerfully ran out the door, on his way to go learn תורה!  (Not quite the standard scene depicted in  חז"ל of תינוק הבורח מבית הספר!)  Imagine my relief- and happiness- at such a sweet reaction!  May he always have such a חשק to learn תורה!  (I sure hope this scenario repeats itself for the next few days, and that I don't חס ושלום get an עין הרע for posting this!)
 
(I didn't bother mentioning that the reason Tatty didn't come back from Davening yet was because he WAS busy learning תורה at that very moment!)

100%

In case you didn, know, B"H Yisrael is a bright young fellow (takes after his mother, of course!)  He does very well in school, always bringing home 100's on his tests and worksheets.  His Rebbe is very good about writing comments on his work - and as soon as Yisrael comes home, he rips out his paper to show me what his Rebbe wrote.

Yisrael was sick at home for the last two days.  This morning, as he was getting dressed, I joked around with him that he missed two whole days of learning (at the pace they learn at in their Cheder, that's at least a perek or two in Chumash and Navi) and that maybe he won't do so well on the next test.

Well when he came home, he was smiling ear to ear- and handed me his test.  Sure enough, he got 100%.

And read the comment his Rebbe wrote:

It says "!תגיד לי איזה מלאך הגיע אליך ללמדך תורה, שגם יבוא אלי- בסדר"

May we be zoche to see Yisrael use his potential!

As a side note, Yisrael's Rebbe this year is a gem- he's a great-grandson of R' Aryeh Levine, and he definitely inherited his Elter Zeide's warmth and love.  He is loving and encouraging, and can really understand the mentality of a 7-year-old.   Yisrael loves him to pieces!

Cute Quote: Don't mess with me!

Yisrael is learning פרשת משפטים in Cheder- and it looks like he's taking his learning seriously!  He came home one day and told me about the following incident- in a totally serious tone of voice!

Troublemaker:  Yisrael, I dare you to go do XXX!
Yisrael:  No, I'm not going to listen to you!
Troublemaker:  If you don't listen to me, then I'm going to tell my big brother to break your arm!
Yisrael:  He wouldn't do that, because he knows that if he breaks my arm he'll have to pay me for שבת, ריפוי, נזק and צער!

Well, the kid had nothing to say to that!

Yisrael's getting big!

Its amazing how fast kids grow- they go from tiny little newborns, to curious infants, to troublesome little toddlers, to eager schoolchildren...until before you know it, they're old enough to have their own set of ד' מינים!

Yisrael is SO proud of his ד' מינים, which he bought together with Tatty.  On the first day of Yom Tov, he got up bright and early, got dressed on his own, and was so excited to take his Lulav to Yeshiva that he didn't even want to eat breakfast before he went!

He also enjoys acting as a big brother, helping his younger siblings shake his Lulav!

May he always be filled with an enthusiasm for Mitzvos!

Unbelievable!

May we continue to share much nachas from Yisrael -
and the rest of the crew!

Cute Quote: Brain Pain

The other day I sat down and taught Yisrael how to play Sudoku.  I showed him a few tactics and then let try and see if he was able to fill in any of the numbers.  He worked at it for a few minutes, managed to fill in a few numbers (what he did was right!) but then he came to me and said, "Mommy, I need to stop now- its making my sechel hurt!"

I'm going to give him some 4x4 and 6x6 Sudokus and let him get used to those, before I give him another 9x9 one...

Another creation by Yisrael

It's been a while since I posted, and even longer since I've posted a Clics creation by Yisrael...but have no fear, he hasn't lost his touch!

Here's his latest- a bunk bed for the dolls!

Cute Quote: If you learn in Yeshiva all day...

...that means that you must be an expert storyteller!

(by bedtime)
Yunger kinder: Tatty, tell us a story!
Tatty: Oy, kinderlach, not tonight!  I can't think of any stories!
Yisrael:  But Tatty, you know so many stories!
Tatty:  I do?!
Yisrael:  Yes, Tatty!  You learn גמרא in Yeshiva and the גמרא has SO many stories, Tatty!  Tell us a story from גמרא שבת! 

I hate to break it to Yisrael learning isn't all fun and games (and stories!) - its actually hard work!

Cute Quote: Mr. Know-it-All

We were discussing our exciting guests for this upcoming Shabbos (Chavi and Chana- we are REALLY looking forward!) and I told the kids that Aryeh isn't coming with them (had to warn them ahead of time so they wouldn't get dissappointed- no rocketship rides and "bum-bum-bum-bum-BUM").  I was about to tell them why he wasn't coming, when Yisrael piped up:

Yisrael:  Because he's going to a Chasuna!
Mommy:  How did you know that?
Yisrael: Because I know!
Mommy:  Who told you?
Yisrael: No one, I just know!
Mommy:  How did you know if no one told you?
Yisrael: Because I have רוח הקודש!

What do you have to say to that?!

Yisrael the biker!

One thing on our to-do list for this Bain Hazmanim was to teach Yisrael how to ride his bike without training wheels. He's been riding with training wheels for a while and we felt it was time to "move on". So Bentzi spent the first few days trying to help Yisrael learn, but he was having a hard time. And then of course we got too busy with Pesach cleaning and didn't have much time to spend helping him ride.

But apparently Yisrael is a very determined little boy, and while we were busy cleaning, he spent HOURS outside, learning how to ride his bike- and he was successful! We didn't even realize that he could ride until Chol Hamoed (as I said, we were busy cleaning!) but when we finally had a chance to go out and watch him, we were shocked to see he could actually ride! (Please don't think I left him out unattended for hours on end- I did keep checking on him, but every time I went out, one of the neighbor's kids was on Yisrael's bike, not him!)

We are very proud of our not-so-little boy- both that he learned how to ride, and that he worked hard at a goal of his and was able to succeed! May he continue to see the fruits of his labor, and may he always show such determination in accomplishing his goals!

(thanks to Dod Yon for the videography!)

Matzos Mehadrin from Kita Mechina

Yisrael's Rebbe doesn't cease to impress me- he's constantly got something up his sleeve, to give the boys a "geshmak" in their learning.

A few days ago (just a day after his siddur party!) Yisrael came home from Cheder telling us all about the special Matzah bakery that his Rebbe set up in Cheder- he was bursting with excitement, telling us about all the details- each boy got an apron and baker's hat, and they got to roll 3 matzos, punch holes in them with a real "reddler" and then his Rebbe baked them in an oven that he built in the schoolyard, with bricks, a sheet of iron and firewood!

Today Yisrael came home with his cute little box of Matzos, and a whole booklet of pictures that his Rebbe took while they were making them. He was so proud!

(when I asked Yisrael if his Matza is kosher l'pesach, he said no- and his reasons?
1) because his Rebbe didn't use מים שלנו and
2) because the oven wasn't so hot maybe there's still parts that weren't baked well
....never mind that I'm SURE the whole process took more than 18 minutes!)

Cute Quote: Who's "Yunger"?

While Bruria and Azriel Shraga were napping, I took advantage of the opportunity to spend some time with Yisrael, since he really doesn't get to have me to himself much. I was holding Naftali on my lap, and I read him a book. After the book was finished, we began to shmooze. Somehow we started talking about how Yisrael is the oldest, and that Naftali is the youngest:

Yisrael: Azriel Shraga is also the youngest, right Mommy?

Mommy: No, only the smallest person in the family is the youngest. But since Azriel Shraga is smaller than you, he's younger than you.

Yisrael: (with a big grin on his face) But Mommy, I'm "Yunger" too! (YES pun intended!)

Yisrael's מסיבת סידור

Today was a very monumental day for Yisrael- he got his first Siddur in Cheder! He just finished learning how to read (and he's pretty good at it!) and today his class celebrated their מסיבת סידור- which they've been looking forward to weeks.

Instead of doing a big party for the parents (they will be having a חומש party in a few months when they start learning חומש, to which the parents will be invited) - the Rebbe tried to make it a really meaningful day for the boys. And what's more meaningful than taking the boys to the Kosel and davening there with their new siddurim for the first time? We were very touched by the idea- as was Yisrael. He came home glowing (mabye also because of all the candy he got?!) and was eager to tell us about his special day.

I wasn't really able to get any good pictures, being that I wasn't there, but here's a picture of him when he came home. (I'm sure the Rebbe will send home pictures with his דף קשר)