One Israeli Child...Check!

Today was a watershed moment for me in terms of my eldest child and her assimilation into the Hebrew-speaking world.

I picked the girls up from their pre-schools, and since it was about 35 degrees this afternoon in Jerusalem, I took them home. They often engage in imaginary play at home, with Silvie always taking the lead. Today, once again, Silvie said, "Mim, let's go..." and that was the last I understood. For a FULL HOUR OR LONGER Silvie pattered away to Miriam IN HEBREW. No joke. She chatted like a real Sabra and I had no clue whatsoever what she was chatting away about.

Silvie has chosen her language of choice for play, and I feel very mixed about it. We have always had an "English only" rule in the house, considering that the kids have plenty of opportunities to speak Hebrew outside of the house. But for playing with her sibling, I'm not sure I can or should regulate her choice of play language. Time will tell what will happen.

Coincidentally, I also had a Hebrew lesson today with my tutor. I struggled with six new verbs and an unique noun conjunction called "smichoot." I couldn't remember those six new verbs even when we practiced them over and over. They just sounded like a lot of guttural syllables to me. Now, hearing Silvie, and realizing that she has far surpassed my knowledge of the Hebrew language, I have to re-double my efforts to learn it.

Today, after she and Mim came back into the living room to play, Silvie said to me, "Mommy, you need to learn Hebrew."

Don't I know it!