The Olim Survival Guide to Kita Aleph School Supplies

Staring at a Hebrew school supply list for first grade when Hebrew is your second (or third) language is a very specific kind of parenting panic.

You open the PDF from the school, and suddenly you are faced with 25 distinct items that look nothing like the supply lists you grew up with. What on earth is a "smart notebook"? Why are there three different types of lined paper? And why does every Israeli parent talk about Panda pastels like they are liquid gold?

When you do not have local family on speed dial or 30 years of Israeli school culture in your back pocket, walking into a packed stationery store or Max Stock in August can feel overwhelming.

To take the guesswork out of the aisles, we teamed up with a mom from the Raising Sabras community: Eliana Shkedy, MS, RDN (pediatric, young adult, and family dietitian), who tackled her very first Kita Aleph shopping run this month. We took the standard school list, decoded the terminology, and broke down exactly what you need and what it actually looks like on the shelf.

The essential glossary: Decoding the list

Before you step foot in the store, here is the translation cheat sheet for the most common (and confusing) items:

1. Notebooks (Machbarot - מחברות) Israeli elementary schools use specific line spacings for early writing practice.

• 10-Line Notebook (מחברת 10 שורות / Machberet Eser Shurot): The standard first-grade notebook. The wide lines give early writers enough room for Hebrew print letters.

• Smart Notebook (מחברת חכמה / Machberet Chachama): A specialized notebook designed to teach consistent letter heights and baseline positioning.

• Blank Notebook (מחברת חלקה / Machberet Chalaka): Plain unlined notebook, typically used for drawing, art, or geometry basics.

• Math / Grid Notebook (מחברת חשבון / Machberet Cheshbon): Standard grid-square notebook for numbers and math exercises.

2. Writing & Drawing Tools

• Sharpened pencils (עפרונות מחודדים, efronot mechudadim)

• Eraser (מחק, machak)

• Sharpener with a container for the shavings (מחדד עם קופסה, machded im kufsa)

• Scissors (מספריים, misparayim)

• Glue stick (דבק סטיק, devek stick)

• Twistable wax crayons (צבעים, tzva'im)

• Dry-erase markers in blue and red (טוש מחיק, tush machik)

• Simple markers (לורדים, lordim)

• Highlighters (מרקר, marker)

• Clear plastic ruler, 15cm (סרגל פלסטיק שקוף, sargel plastik shakuf)

3. Art supplies

• Colored Pencils (עפרונות צבעוניים / Efronot Tzivoniim): A standard pack of colored pencils.

• Washable Markers (טושים / Tushim)

• Oil Pastels (צבעי פנדה / Tziv'ei Panda): Traditional thick oil pastels used in early grade art classes.

• Drawing Pad (בלוק ציור / Block Tziyur): Heavyweight A4 sketch pad for creative projects.

4. Folders & Organization

• Plastic folder with an elastic closure (תיקיית פלסטיק עם גומי, tikiyat plastik im gumi).

• Semi-transparent folders in different colors (תיקיות חצי שקופות, tikiyot chetzi shkufot).

• Clear notebook covers (עטיפות שקופות למחברות, atifot shkufot lemachberot)

• Thick sheet protectors (ניילוניות עבות, niloniyot avot). Get the thick ones, the thin ones tear the first week.

• A small dry-erase board (luach machik), A4 size with a wooden frame, plus its own markers and a little sponge.

• A clear ring binder (kalser shakuf) for the Life Skills subject (kishurei chaim).

Practical tips before you go shopping

A few things that save real time and money, straight from parents who just did it:

• Go first thing in the morning, alone, without your kids. The stores are calm, the shelves are full, and you can think.

• Start at Max Stock. Most moms say to grab whatever you can there first (it's cheap), then finish the leftovers at a second store.

• Hand your list to an employee. At stores like חנן (Hanan) and Kravitz, you can literally give a worker your list and they'll walk the store pulling items for you.

• In Beit Shemesh, there's a shop called Smiley where you can call ahead with your list (or just your school's name), and they'll prepare the whole order for pickup.

• Print or handwrite your list before you go, with the translations and a photo of each item next to it. Walking in prepared is the difference between twenty minutes and two hours.

• For the stuff that vanishes (pencils, glue, markers), some parents order in bulk online ahead of time. It's cheaper per unit, it just needs a few weeks of lead time.
  

If it helps to see the small items before you go, Kravitz keeps a clickable first-grade shortcut list with photos of the pencil-case and art supplies. Handy for matching a Hebrew name to a picture, even if you buy elsewhere.

Navigating the Israeli school system as an Olim family comes with a learning curve, but you do not have to do it alone. Save this guide, share it with fellow Kita Aleph parents, and check out the visual aisle breakdown on our Instagram @raising.sabras.

And if you'd like to feel even more prepared for raising your kids through the Israeli school system, we'd love to see you in one of our programs! Browse our upcoming in-person events or explore our online workshops designed specifically for parents in Israel ✌️