10 Israel-Related Activities for the Whole Family

By Eliana Rosenberg, Hasbara Fellowships High School Intern

Let’s face it.  We’re all feeling tired of this seemingly never-ending lockdown.  When we can’t get together with family and friends, it’s important to find fun activities for the whole family.  On the bright side, this is a great opportunity to strengthen your family’s connection to Israel, even though you can’t physically be there. Here are my top 10 Israel-related family activity ideas:.  

To find an activity that works for you, keep the following criteria in mind:

*Note: some activities fall under more than one category

1. Create an Israeli flag

This one is especially great for young kids, but who doesn’t love the opportunity to get creative?  Why not take out some blue and white paint or markers and start drawing the Israeli flag.  Can you figure out how to draw the Magen David without drawing a right-side-up triangle and an upside-down triangle?  How about drawing it with a single pencil stroke?

Alternatively, you could print off a picture of the Israeli flag and have fun filling it in with as many blue and white objects you can find around your house.  Blocks, pipe-cleaners, yarn, and buttons are all fair game!  In fact, you can even practice sorting the colours at the same time.  Now that’s what I call fun math!

But wait! I hear you say.  What if your children are already far too familiar with the Israeli flag?  Instead, you can use the Semel YisraeI (photo from this website)!

2. Practice the Aleph Bet and improve your Hebrew

Time to make lockdown even more educational by learning a new language!  If you know the Aleph Bet, why not teach your child to read Hebrew too?  If you don’t know how to read Hebrew, well, now’s a perfect time to learn!

There are so many amazing resources online to help you learn Hebrew (see this website for beginners, and this youtube channel for more advanced Hebrew).  If you already know it and want to improve, why not participate in a virtual exchange program by asking an Israeli friend to meet up with you over Zoom?  That’s a great way to learn  or improve upon a language.

3. Play an Israel-themed game

The Internet has so many wonderful resources.  You can use this magnificent library to lead an Israel-themed game for the whole family.  There are many pre-existing games on websites like Kahoot!.  All you need to do is create a free account and choose a pre-existing game.  You could also use a website like PlayFactile to create a Jeopardy game…or should I say Jewpardy?  (You can try out this easier game or this harder game that I created, too).  Another great option is an Israel-themed escape room, such as this one.

Plus, once the games are over, you can easily turn them into quick math lessons for the youngsters when counting up the points!

4. Create your own Israel-themed game

This can be done online or on paper.  You can make your own Israel-themed game.

Out of ideas?  Your kids will probably have some cool ideas of games that they would love to play.  Some examples could be: Israeli bingo, Guess Who? with Biblical figures, or even a play put on by your kids re-enacting an important Biblical or modern-day Israel scene.

5. Learn about an important Israeli historical site

Everyone knows that Israel has a very cool background.  Archeologists are constantly finding new ruins or objects that date way back to the Temple period.  You could do your own research about a historical site and see what remains of it today.  Some examples could be the Kotel, Me’arat HaMachpelah, Masada, or Kever Rachel.  Each person in your family could become a mini-expert of one site, and you could all share your knowledge at the end of the week.  Then, you’ll be even better-prepared for a future trip to Israel.

6 . Take a virtual tour

Speaking of future trips to Israel, you don’t actually have to hold off on Israeli tours during Covid.  Many websites offer virtual tours.  Do you like art?  The Tel Aviv Museum of Art hosts online exhibitions.  Are you looking for important artifacts?  Check out the YouTube channel Virtually Israel for 2D and 3D options along with the ability to look around in all directions, thanks to the 360° feature.  JNF also offers virtual tours or various holy sights.

7. Mark a map of Israel

Print out a map of Israel and either mark the places you’ve been, or the places you would like to visit.  This activity could go hand-in-hand with activities 5 and 6 if you choose to mark down places you have learned about or have toured virtually.  Alternatively, you could cover your eyes and put a dot on the map.  Then, you could follow activity 5 or 6 with that region, however big or small the randomly-chosen city may be.  This activity could also turn into a fun geography lesson if you focus on climate or elevation variations amongst each region.

8. Cook Israeli food

You can’t help but love falafel, hummus, Israeli salad, shawarma, and shakshuka.  Why not make them yourself?  There are many great recipes online for all sorts of Israeli food.  This is also an exceptional way to get your child to have fun in the kitchen too.  You can top off an Israeli-themed meal with a delicious babka, as well!

9. Sing Israeli music

Israel has great music.  From modern pop music to older more middle-eastern melodies, there is bound to be a song for everyone.  You could commit to learning a couple Israeli songs, learn them, and sing them as a family.  If you play an instrument, you could even accompany the rest of the family in song.  Not only can music bring joy, it can also help you improve your Hebrew (activity 2) and your Hebrew accent!  Alternatively, have fun with karaoke to your favourite Israeli songs.

10. Israeli dancing

Last, but certainly not least, during Covid, you could learn to do Israeli dancing.  This is sure to be fun, incorporating music, movement, expression, and exercise all in one activity.  You can find classes on YouTube.  Or, if you already know the basics of Israeli dancing, you could teach the rest of your family!

I hope that among this list, you are able to find an activity that works for your family.  This may be quite a challenging time, but hopefully these activities can bring joy to the whole family, as well as strengthen your connection to Israel.