Families
Efrat & Gush Etzion with kids
Efrat is a family town: the council runs 27 public gans and the Matnas runs afternoon programmes in each gan complex. Around it are spring pools, animal farms and adventure parks that work for a day out with children.
Families
Start here
6 steps, in the order most people take them.
- 1
Register for gan and school on time
Online registration ran 19 January to 8 February 2026 for the 2026-27 year, by age and registered address. Children born from 1 January 2024 could not yet register.
Go - 2
Arrange afternoons
The Efrat Matnas runs tzaharonim for gans and schools; working mothers can apply for a Ministry of Labour subsidy.
Go - 3
Plan the school holidays
The council runs the Ministry of Education Holiday School over Chanukah and Pesach (gan to grade 3) and a Summer School on 1-20 July (grades 1-3).
Go - 4
Rainy or very hot day
GOLDZ Ninja in the Zayit mall and the Koala climbing wall at Kfar Etzion are indoors.
Go - 5
Animals and farms
Shlomo's Animals at Sde Bar, Deer Land next to Kfar Etzion and Merkaz Havayot in Elazar all have petting areas.
Go - 6
Guides
Read next
- Schools and gans in Efrat and the GushHow gan and school registration works in Efrat, the schools and their streams, afternoon programmes, holiday and summer programmes, and help for olim children.
- Efrat's seven givot and the Gush yishuvim, comparedEfrat's seven neighbourhoods (Rimon, Te'ena, Gefen, Dekel, Zayit, Tamar, Dagan) and the main Gush Etzion yishuvim side by side: size, age, schools and who lives there.
Good to know
- Gan is free for ages 3-4 under the Trachtenberg law; the council charges for accident insurance and an optional culture basket (existing schools guide).
Community groups
Where people talk
- Efrat Local Council on FacebookFacebook · Efrat Local Council
- Efrat council Telegram channelTelegram · Efrat Local Council
- Efrat council updates: Dagan neighbourhood (WhatsApp)WhatsApp · Efrat Local Council
- Efrat council updates: Dekel neighbourhood (WhatsApp)WhatsApp · Efrat Local Council
- Efrat council updates: Gefen neighbourhood (WhatsApp)WhatsApp · Efrat Local Council
- Efrat council updates: Rimon neighbourhood (WhatsApp)WhatsApp · Efrat Local Council
Day plans
Ready-made days
Source
- Efrat council: education registration (opens in a new tab)
- Efrat council: gan list 5787 (opens in a new tab)
- Efrat council: tzaharon registration (opens in a new tab)
- Efrat council: Holiday School (opens in a new tab)
- Efrat council: Summer School (opens in a new tab)
- Gush tourism: GOLDZ Ninja (opens in a new tab)
- Gush tourism: Koala climbing (opens in a new tab)
- Gush tourism: Shlomo's Animals (opens in a new tab)
- Efrat council: how to get information from the council (opens in a new tab)
This page was written for Efrat & Gush Etzion from the sources above.
