Adventures in Learning English

My name is Ellie Schlanger. I grew up in New Jersey, and I moved to Israel in 2014. I live with my husband, Daniel, and four children, Tikva (age 7), Yakir (age 5), Lev (age 3) and Eden (8 months). We also have a dog, Maggie, who came with us from the United States.

Hello, my name is Debbie Miller. I have been a teacher for 29 years. I mostly worked with very young children but I have also taught art to children up to age 14. I even taught one year of first grade Hebrew and now I am excited to teach you English. I like to teach with games and fun activities. I hope you will like that too!

My name is Tamara.

I want to introduce my dog Nana to you.

She is very much a part of my family.

If she feels anxious she opens our front door by herself and goes outside.

She is our emotional metre at home.

The first day of school typically involves a lot of confusion.

Children don’t know where to go, or what to expect.

Kids and teachers alike feel nervous apprehension about how the year will be, along with some excitement for their new experiences.

In a perfect world, the children will feel comfortable, prepared beforehand about where to go and what supplies they need. The teachers will introduce themselves with fun, ice breaking activities which will help everyone to get to know one another. The children will have so much fun, they won’t even realize how much they’re learning.

Clear rules should be established from the first day, and there should be atmosphere of mutual respect in the classroom.