Quick answer: start with the gan and the school, not the boxes. In Israel the kindergarten or school a child can attend usually depends on where the family officially lives, and the forms are in Hebrew, so the first call after you choose a home is to the education department of the new municipality. Set the moving date around the school calendar, keep each child's essentials with you rather than on the truck, and give the children a real job on the day. The rest of this guide walks through it in order.
Start with the gan and the school
Most parents plan a move around the apartment. In Israel it pays to plan around the education system first, because that is the part you cannot easily change afterwards. This is how it generally works in plain terms. Details differ from one municipality to another and change from time to time, so treat what follows as the questions to ask, not as the final rules.
- The calendar. The school year normally begins on 1 September. Registration for the next school year usually takes place in the months before it, often in winter, and the municipality announces the dates. A move in July or August is late as far as registration is concerned, which is worth knowing before you sign a lease.
- The neighbourhood. Places in public gans and schools are often tied to where you live. That is why many parents ask about a school before they commit to an apartment, not after.
- The stream. Israeli public education has several streams, including state and state-religious schools, and there are private and international frameworks as well. Choose for the child, not only for the nearest building.
- Moving mid-term. It is usually possible, but a place at your preferred school is not guaranteed. Ask the education department of the new municipality what is open before you commit.
- Afternoons. Many working parents rely on an afternoon programme (a tzaharon) after gan hours. Places can fill up, so ask early.
The Hebrew paperwork parents run into
Registration and the move itself involve a fairly small set of documents. What each municipality asks for varies, so use this as a list of things to gather rather than a promise of what you will be asked.
- ID documents for both parents and every child, including the ID appendix (sefach) that lists the children.
- Proof of where you live, such as a signed lease, a purchase contract or a municipal tax (arnona) bill in your name.
- Your health fund (kupat holim) details and each child's vaccination records.
- Records from the previous gan or school. For children arriving from another country, ask whether school records need to be translated.
- For new immigrants, the documents you received on arrival. Ask the school what Hebrew support is available for new-immigrant pupils.
A short glossary helps when you are standing at a counter with a form in Hebrew.
| Term | Hebrew | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Gan | גן | Kindergarten or nursery |
| Ganenet | גננת | The kindergarten teacher |
| Tzaharon | צהרון | Afternoon programme after gan hours |
| Misrad HaChinuch | משרד החינוך | Ministry of Education |
| Tofes rishum | טופס רישום | Registration form |
| Sefach | ספח | ID appendix that lists the children |
| Kupat holim | קופת חולים | Health fund |
| Vaad bayit | ועד בית | Building committee |
An eight-week plan
Eight weeks is enough for most family moves. If you have less, keep the order and compress the gaps.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 8 weeks before | Ask the new municipality's education department about gan and school places. Tell the current gan or school that you may be leaving. Start sorting toys and clothes the children have outgrown. |
| 6 weeks before | Fix the moving date, avoiding Shabbat, Jewish holidays and, if you can, the first days of the school year. Confirm any lift booking with the new building. Decide who will look after the children on the day. |
| 4 weeks before | Start packing rooms you rarely use. Ask the current school for records. Update the health fund. Visit the new neighbourhood with the children, including the walk or drive to the gan or school. |
| 2 weeks before | Pack most toys and books but leave a small selection out. Label boxes by room, with a colour or sticker for each child. Prepare a first-night box for each child. |
| 1 week before | Confirm the date and the arrival time with the movers. Plan meals for moving day. Agree who stays with the youngest children. |
| Moving day | Children's essentials travel in your car. The children's beds are set up first at the new home. Documents and medicines stay with you. |
| First week | Visit the gan or school together. Test the morning route. Meet the neighbours. Keep bedtime routines as close to normal as you can. |
Preparing the children, by age
Toddlers and preschoolers
Young children cope best with routine and with something familiar in their hands. Show them photos of the new home before the move, let them say goodbye to their old room, and keep one comfort object out of every box. Mealtimes and naps should hold as steady as possible in the last week, because a child who is tired and hungry will not be able to take in a change of home. Arrange for someone they know to look after them on the day itself.
Primary school children
This is the age group that benefits most from a job. Let each child pack and label one box of their own, choose the position of a shelf or the colour of a lamp in the new room, and take a photo of their friends before leaving. Exchange parents' phone numbers so friendships can survive the distance, and ask the new school whether a classmate can show your child around in the first days.
Teenagers
Teenagers often feel the move most strongly, because their friendships are the centre of their week. Involve them early in the decisions that really are open, such as the layout of their room, the route to school and how they will keep in touch with friends. Give them privacy to pack their own things, and do not schedule the move over an exam period if you can help it.
Packing with children in the house
Pack the children's rooms last and unpack them first. A child who can find a bed, a favourite book and a clean pair of pyjamas on the first evening will cope with the rest far better. Put together a first-night box for each child: a change of clothes, toothbrush, a night light if they use one, one or two toys, a book and a water bottle. Keep these boxes in your car.
Some items should never go on the truck. Keep the vaccination records, health fund cards, medicines, school documents, chargers, a few days of diapers or school clothes, and any car seats with you. Cots and bunk beds are best taken apart by the movers and rebuilt first at the new home, so the children can sleep in their own beds on the first night.
Label every box with the room and a colour for each child. When a toddler asks for the green teddy, a green label makes the right box easy to find. Take a quick photo of the room before you dismantle it; it helps you rebuild the same layout and gives the child a picture to look back on.
Moving day with children
- Arrange care for the youngest. A moving day means open doors, heavy furniture and strangers carrying things. Babies and toddlers are safer and happier at a relative's or friend's home.
- Give older children a safe zone. Choose a room that is emptied last and set a rule that nobody plays near the front door, the lift or the vehicle.
- Keep water and snacks within reach. A move can run longer than planned. In summer, start early to avoid the heat of the afternoon.
- Mind the weekly calendar. Moving companies generally do not work on Shabbat or Jewish holidays, and in winter Friday ends early. Check whether your child's school or gan runs on the day after the move.
- Beds first. Set up the children's beds before anything else at the new home. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.
- Walk through together. When the last box is in, walk around the new home with the children and let them say where things should go.
The first week in the new home
Unpack the kitchen and the bedrooms before the living room, and put the children's rooms in order within the first two days. Visit the gan or school with your child before the first full day, walk or drive the morning route once, and note where parents wait at pick-up. Find the local playground and the community centre (matnas), and introduce yourselves to the neighbours and to the building committee contact. It is common for children to be unsettled for a few weeks, so keep bedtimes and meals steady, and give them time.
If something in the Hebrew paperwork is unclear, ask the gan teacher, the school secretary or the municipality's education department to write down what you need. Most are used to families who have just arrived.
The day before
- Charge phones and tablets, and download a film or two for the car.
- Pack each child's first-night box and put it by the door.
- Take photos of the electrical and furniture arrangement in each room.
- Confirm the arrival time with the movers and the lift booking with the building.
- Check who is looking after the youngest children, and where they will sleep.
- Put documents, medicines and chargers in one bag that stays with you.
Where MovingIL fits
MovingIL coordinates moves inside Israel in English. You have one contact, you get a closed price agreed on WhatsApp before the move, and an independent moving company carries out the work. For families the parts that take the most strain out of the day are usually packing, so you are not wrapping glasses while a toddler climbs the boxes; furniture disassembly and assembly, for cots, bunk beds and wardrobes; and unpacking, which gets the beds made and the kitchen working on the first day. You can also book the full-service move, which brings all of these into one booking. Tell us when the school term starts for each child and we will plan the date around it.