Prospective Families
At Park Mada this week, we spent time in the marble room and continued our discussions about different sounds. In omanut (art), we learned about the Israeli town of Caesarea and the mosaics there from the Roman and Byzantine eras. Then we got to create our own mosaics.
Got pickles? Campers had fun experimenting with pickling cucumbers at the bishul (cooking) tent. From slicing cucumbers to choosing the perfect mix of salt, vinegar, and spices, Nevatim got to watch the magic happen as cucumbers turned into pickles! This week in sport, Nevatim had a great time practicing soccer, softball, gymnastics, and yoga.
To wrap up the session in Shiur (Jewish exploration), we played a game of Bingo that was made just for us to remind us of all of the new things we learned over the past few weeks.
Yom Adom (our t-shirt color) was the highlight of our week!! On Friday, camp was covered in red. Ramah Nyack was transformed into a red wonderland! We made red flags, beaded with red beads, and even the snack was adom: graham crackers decorated with frosting and red sprinkles, of course! We ended the day with an incredible parade. We danced from Beit Kochavim to the Migrash, just in time for “Shishi al haMigrash,” showing off our edah cheers and ruach (spirit). The whole camp was cheering for us!
We had a full week that included drama – where we practiced tongue twisters, rikkud (dance), ceramics, sports, and shiur (Jewish exploration) where we “floated” in the Dead Sea, and left notes with our wishes at the “Western Wall.” In omanut (art), we learned about the Israeli town of Caesarea and the Roman and Byzantine era mosaics there. We then got to create our own mosaics. And in teva (nature), we made pinecone creatures! Got pickles? Campers had fun experimenting with pickling cucumbers at the bishul (cooking) tent. From slicing cucumbers to choosing the perfect mix of salt, vinegar, and spices, Kochavim had a lot of tasty fun!
Campers got to show their creativity and artistic eye in omanut (art) and shiur (Jewish exploration). In omanut, they talked about Caesarea in Israel and the mosaics from the Roman and Byzantine eras there, and then made their own mosaics. While in shiur, they learned about stained glass windows in synagogues and made their own “stained glass” to hang up at home.
At Park Mada, we talked about sound and made string telephones to try to communicate with each other that way. And there was something for everyone with other activities like low ropes, t-ball,, teva (nature), pickle ball, yoga, tennis, ma’ayan (beading), and gaga.
At Park Mada, we have been talking about sound over the past few weeks, including making instruments like pan flutes or ‘guitars’ out of rubber bands and cardboard. This week, campers made string telephones and called each other to test them out. And they got to try a variety of sports including softball, ping pong, soccer, gaga, and gymnastics, along with swim and yoga.
In omanut (art), we talked about Caesarea in Israel and the Roman and Byzantine mosaics that can still be seen there. And then we made our own mosaics. And in shiur (Jewish exploration), we learned about modern Israel and participated in a pretend Eurovision contest and an election – JonnyPops was voted as favorite glida (ice cream) of the week.
Got pickles? Campers had fun experimenting with pickling cucumbers at the bishul (cooking) tent. From slicing cucumbers to choosing the perfect mix of salt, vinegar, and spices, Nitzanim had a lot of tasty fun!
The highlight of our week was Yom Chof (Beach Day) on Wednesday. Everyone wore their leis, and we found a way to make camp our own beachfront property! After a fun themed tefillah, we did a water relay race and had a great time playing tag while running through the sprinklers.
At Park Mada, campers explored the basics of coding using a Sphero robot to play shuffleboard. They programmed the robot’s speed and distance, then tested their code to try to land it in the scoring zone. It was a fun, hands-on introduction to robotics and programming through play! We also got to enjoy bishul bachutz (outdoor cooking) with “apple s’mores.” In ma’ayan (beading), we slowed down for a few minutes to focus on the small beads while in omanut (art), we made mosaics like the Roman and Byzantine mosaics that can still be seen in Caesarea, Israel. Exploration of Israel continued in shiur (Jewish exploration) through water painting. Others in shiur wrote Talmud story inspired scripts or learned to tie tzitzit. And between all of that, we still had time to try our hand at archery or tennis or soccer or basketball or the midgal climbing wall or yoga and, of course, swim!
Creativity and precision were key for the chanichim in etz (woodworking) this session, and this week they completed their Shabbat boxes. In omanut (art), they learned about the Roman and Byzantine era mosaics that can still be seen in Caesarea, Israel, and then made their own mosaic coasters. In shiur (Jewish exploration), they talked about stories from the Tanach with the use of different types of drawing mediums.
This week also marked the end of the first session of bechirot (electives), and campers put the finishing touches on their amazing projects in ceramics, robotics, etz, and omanut. On the field, we practiced our soccer skills and played an exciting game that had everyone cheering! At Park Mada, campers explored the basics of coding using a Sphero robot to play shuffleboard. They programmed the robot’s speed and distance, then tested their code to try to land it in the scoring zone. It was a fun, hands-on introduction to robotics and programming through play!
Throughout the week, we kept busy with sports like archery, swim, and basketball. And in Park Mada, we used the Tinkercad program to design 3d hamsas and learn some basic coding. We also love to learn about Israel. In shiur (Jewish exploration) we talked about Israeli music and learned the meaning behind some songs. And in omanut (art), we learned about the Israeli town of Caesarea and the Roman and Byzantine era mosaics that can be seen there, before making our own mosaic coasters.
We had an amazing trip to Pennsylvania this week! From bowling to science experiments at the Franklin Institute to chocolate everywhere at Hersheypark to time together to laugh and learn on the bus and at our host shul, the trip was magical. We rode the rides, splashed in the pools, and had a great time together!
And for as much fun as the trip was, there were smiles all around as we returned to a regular camp day today full of sports and art and swim.
Sha’ar
On Tuesday, we celebrated our annual Sha’aria, a Yom Meyuchad (Special Day) filled with exciting and fun activities for all campers in Sha’ar. This year the theme of the day was mamlechet mamtakim (kingdom of sweets), and we have a lot to show you from the day!
Each bunk was assigned a different song that refers to sweets and practiced and performed a routine to that song. Our migrash was covered on Tuesday morning with campers representing tootim (strawberries), Bamba, sucariot (lolipops), goomies (chewy candies), and chocolad (chocolate)!
In bishul (cooking) and bishul bachutz (outdoor cooking), our chanichim enjoyed chocolate fondue with different fruits and marshmallows. And in omanut (art), they made brightly colored birthday cakes from whatever medium they could find – paint, gemstones, markers. It was an amazing day for all filled with keif (fun) and creativity!
For the rest of the week, we got to enjoy all of the fun that camp offers – the briecha (pool), ceramica (ceramics), rikkud (dance), etz (woodworking), and so many sports. When it wasn’t Sha’aria, some of our chanichim in bishul made their own chamutzim (pickles)! From slicing the melafefonim (cucumbers) to adding melach (salt), chometz (vinegar) and the different tavlinim (spices), this was mamash keif (very fun)!
