Word of the Week
Editors: Daniel Marom, Dafna Yizrael, Rachel Ben Ami Levanon
In the early stages of language acquisition, exposing young children to words that are rich in content and meaning helps them develop their inner world. Teaching abstract concepts contributes to the development of children’s imagination and character, and reduces their need for the external stimuli that are so prevalent in the digital age. In this process, the quality of the words that are taught carries greater weight than their quantity, as does the way they are learned.
Around a century ago, the poet Haim Nahman Bialik formulated an educational-linguistic philosophy in a similar vein. Word of the Week: Ancient Hebrew Culture for Today’s Toddlers and Preschoolers in the Spirit of the Educational Vision of Haim Nahman Bialik offers a contemporary Israeli version of Bialik's approach, in the form of a carefully curated selection of words from the literature of ancient Jewish tradition. Designed for both parents and educators, it includes ideas for introducing the words to children. The book's educational approach fosters a connection to Hebrew culture and its creation among children, and has proven to be very successful in the preschools and elementary schools in which it has been used.
