Matan and the Great Sand Mountain

ABOUT THE BOOK
FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Matan and the Great Sand Mountain

Written by: Uri Nussbaum/ Illustrated by: Shay Charka / Publisher: Yedioth Books

Children play in sand from a young age. It enables them to be in direct contact with a natural material while enjoying and exploring its texture, digging, “cooking” and building. Sometimes they imagine and plan structures, and other times they experimentand create.

Suddenly –a castle stands erect, or a small sand mound turns into a striking mountain! The sand allows their creativity and imagination to be expressed. The same happens to Matan when he empties the sand in his shoes; he imagines, initiates, and takes action in the world, thus discovering that persistence can move mountains, or as our Rabbis had wisely said –

If you’ve worked hard and found success, believe

(According to the Talmud Bavli, Megillah 6b)

Reading together, experiencing together

Family Activities

Matan piles the sand up and makes his pile more sophisticated all on his own. having read this book, you may want to discuss actions with your child that they take without needing any help, and compare them with actions they had taken in the past. We recommend that you, parents, share your own ...

Classroom Activities

Video

Children play in sand from a young age. It enables them to be in direct contact with a natural material while enjoying and exploring its texture, digging, "cooking" and building. Sometimes they imagine and plan structures, and other times they experimentand create.

If you've worked hard and found success, believe

(According to the Talmud Bavli, Megillah 6b)

Reading together, experiencing together

פעילות בחיק המשפחה

Discussion Matan piles the sand up and makes his pile more sophisticated all on his own. having read this book, you may want to discuss actions with your child that they take without needing any help, and compare them with actions they had taken in the past. We recommend that you, parents, share your own similar experiences with them, from your own childhood: What is it that you wanted to accomplish, and indeed did? What does your child want to build and do? Do they need materials or help? You may want to decide on a family initiative to build, make or fix something together. Good luck!
The sands of time- What can we do with sand? We could make an imprint of our feet in it, and observe our family members' different footprints. How about using twigs to draw in the sand, or piling it up, or going outside to look at different prints left in it there?
Perspective- The illustrations in this book were made from various perspectives: from above or below, from high up or far away. Looking at the world from different perspectives – high or low – allow us to discover surprising things: try looking at your room from an ant's height; through binoculars made from toilet paper rolls; using a magnifying glass, or when standing on a chair: What can you see from that perspective that you couldn't see from your regular angle?
Imagining and building- Matan and his sandcastle could inspire you to imagine, plan, and create too: close your eyes and imagine, then share your idea with your family, look for suitable materials, and start to build together. It could be a machine made out of boxes, a car made out of sand, a flying castle made of pillows, or perhaps something else entirely.