Prospective Families
In omanut (art), Nevatimers talked about the Negev desert in Israel and made art with sand. In Shiur (Jewish exploration), they had help from some Tzeirim campers to learn the words for colors in Hebrew, and then they practiced those words all week long. Even with a couple days of rain keeping us indoors this week, we stretched our bodies in yoga and acted out different positional words and learned to follow fellow camper’s cues in drama. And as soon as the sun came back out, so did our swimsuits so we could take full advantage of our time in the pool!
In addition to preparing for Zimriyah, we spent our days keeping dry in the rain and cool in the heat with activities in our Beit Kochavim and throughout camp. We held relay races and danced our way through the rainy days. And in the sun, we played sports on the migrash, swam in the pool, balanced along the low ropes course, and explored the creek in teva (nature). In drama, we talked about positional words and read stories before using our bodies to act out those words. For those of us in ceramics right now, we continued work on shanah tovah apple bowls. Campers traced the shape into the clay, shaped and decorated the bowl, and will soon glaze them. By the time they go home, they will be food-safe and ready for use!
In omanut (art) and shiur (Jewish exploration), we connected with the land of Israel. Omanut took us on an adventure through the Negev desert, and then we made our own art of the desert with sand. And shiur took us to the Galil where we made our own grape juice.
We carried Zimriyah with us all week by singing and dancing to our songs during lunch! But, while Zimriyah was a highlight, we did plenty of other exciting things this week like play pickleball and gaga! Some of us went to bishul bachutz (outdoor cooking) for vegetables prepared over the fire while some of us tested our balance on the low ropes course. Some of us continued working on “shalom” plaques in ceramics. We all grew self confidence and self control in yoga and drama where we used our bodies to create ‘frozen pictures’ and identified feelings and ideas from how fellow campers held their bodies and expressions.
As always, Israel was on our mind and in our hearts, even more so as we had extra mishlachat (Israeli staff) with us for most of the week. In omanut (art), we talked about the Negev and had an opportunity to create our own depictions of the desert and make art pieces using sand. And for a special activity about Israel, we got to walk around to different stations, each focusing on a different place in Israel, including Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, and others. This turned out to be helpful background for our time in shiur (Jewish exploration) when we had a scavenger hunt to find different gates around the walls of Jerusalem!
While Zimriyah was definitely the highlight of the week, Nitzanim still found plenty of time for all kinds of fun activities! Some of our bunks challenged us to pickleball, and it was a gift to see alifut in action as everyone cheered for their fellow campers and got better at the game. In Drama, we explored feelings – what we show on our faces, seeing if we could guess what others are feeling, following cues and signals of fellow campers. Those in ceramics worked on their leaf bowls where they roll real leaves into the clay, while those in etz (woodworking) practiced working safely with vices and sandpaper. During pre-Zimriyah edah time, we made the most of the outdoors, playing on the playground structures and having a blast in a few fun games of gaga and frisbee with our madrichim (counselors).
We also connected with Israel in meaningful ways this week. In Shiur (Jewish exploration), Nitzanim had a very special opportunity to hear from one of our counselors about his service in the IDF and, particularly, how he practiced his Judaism while in the army. This led to some wonderful discussions in our edah. And in omanut (art), we talked about the Negev and made art using sand to represent the desert.
Solelimers especially enjoyed learning their special hand motions for their Zimriyah songs. In between Zimriyah preparations, our campers stayed busy with plenty of other fun and engaging activities!
We kept active playing a variety of sports, especially soccer. In omanut (art), we continued our discussion of places in Israel and how those places are represented in art. This week, our focus was on the Negev desert, and we were able to make our own sand art in bottles. For the Solelimers that had ceramics, they continued their work on hamentaschen groggers – shaping the clay and preparing to glaze their creations. And in shiur (Jewish exploration), we talked about Jewish heroes and also made “fishing rods” to fish in the Red Sea!
In addition to preparing for Zimriyah, we still packed our days with fun, creativity, and adventure from archery to cooking! In omanut (art), we continued our discussion of places in Israel and how those places are represented in art. This week, our focus was on the Negev desert, and we were able to make our own sand art in bottles. Some of our bunks have been working in ceramics on a sufganiyot plate. Campers shape and decorate the plate before it gets fired, and then they will glaze it (with food safe glaze) – so in the dark of winter as you light the Hanukkah candles, you can remember the sunny days of our kayitz (summer) together!
Shiur (Jewish exploration) electives have been a hit for all Tzeirimers. Some campers talked about what makes a hero and Jewish heroes, and some were helpers with the Nevatim campers to help them learn their colors in Hebrew. We ended the week on a high note by watching the talented Ramah Performs put on a fantastic show!
Our small but mighty edah finds joy all around camp! The campers turned Zimriyah practice into a total dance party in the ramot gym. On the sunnier days this week, everyone was in the pool. Some of our campers then went to bishul bachutz (outdoor cooking) and cooked up vegetables like zucchini on the fire. We also found our way around the gaga pits and playground. When it rained, we didn’t let that stop the fun and moved our way through basketball and (more) dancing. In omanut (art) this week, we talked about the Negev in Israel and made our own depictions of the desert with sand art in bottles. Shiur (Jewish exploration) brought continued opportunities to talk about Israel, this time by making fishing rods to use in the Red Sea and also talking about Jews from around the world
This week was a fun mix of hot days and rainy days and, throughout it all, Bogrim campers were busy, creative, and full of energy! Indoors, we stretched our brains for rounds of trivia and tested our hand-eye coordination playing pin ball. The Bogrimers tried very hard to beat their counselors in pin bal…with some success! The friendly competitions continued on the basketball court as they challenged Ally (who played basketball all through college) to many rounds of 1 v. 1. It’s been great watching the group support each other and strive to improve – all very much in the spirit of alifut!
There was sand art in bottles in omanut (art) reminiscent of the Negev, and for the bunks in ceramics now, they worked on their mizrach plaques – shaping the clay, stamping in images, and preparing to glaze them. In shiur (Jewish exploration), we continue to have meaningful conversations about everything from Jewish day school communities to current events.
Sha’ar
Sha’ar had an alifut week! We were so proud of all of our chanichim (campers) and madrichim (counselors) who sang their hearts out at Zimriyah. It was wonderful to see so many families here at camp on Wednesday night!
This week in addition to practicing their songs for Zimriyah, chanichim had so much fun in their peulot (activities) all around camp. They loved learning camp’s migrash dances in rikkud (dance), going on a mini trek (hike) in the zerem (stream) in teva, and making a special project in etz (woodworking). They also enjoyed eating their shipuday yerakot (vegetable skewers) in bishul bachutz (outdoor cooking), and doing fun nisayyim mada’im (science experiments) in Park Mada!
Chanichim also enjoyed using their mealtime milim (words) this week, asking their madrichim to pass them more marak (soup), toast eem g’veena (grilled cheese), ohf (chicken), and plenty of peirot (fruits).
