Prospective Families
We were in the pool on sunny days, making hummus in bishul (cooking) and playing with bubbles on a Yom Geshem (Rain Day), and showing off kindness and love on Tisha B’Av. When the skies were clear, our Nevatimers played pickle ball, softball, and soccer, explored our creek in teva (nature), or learned in drama about expressing their feelings. In shiur (Jewish exploration), chanichim (campers) talked about building Israel and then built a song by learning one line per day of “Eretz Yisrael Sheli” (My Land of Israel) so that they could perform the song today!
We got to experience a little bit of everything this week – warm and sunny days, a Yom Geshem (Rain Day), and Tisha B’Av – and made the most of each opportunity! Outdoors, we played basketball, soccer, and softball. When it rained, we spent time in our Beit Ko headquarters drawing, beading, and building. And on Tisha B’Av, we talked all about kindness and practiced kind words with each other.
In shiur (Jewish exploration), Kochavimers saw a Torah up close and then wrote in their own scrolls. At omanut (art), they learned about Mt. Harmon in northern Israel and made their own relief prints of snow scenes by drawing into foam, filling the foam with ink, and then pressing it to paper. In Park Mada, they made slime and in ceramics, worked on their apple bowls.
Our fifth week of camp was truly alifut…and a little bit buggy! We’ve been talking about bugs for weeks now, about bees and butterflies and other crawlers. This week, we created an art project where bunks decorated different bug habitats together. The campers’ comments and questions about the tiny creatures around them showed us their curiosity, and the way they carefully approach live bugs in the grass is a testament to their kindness.
When they weren’t bugging out over bugs, Shorashimers were pretending to be the animals on Noah’s Ark in shiur (Jewish exploration). They could also be found making pickles in bishul, kicking the ball around the soccer field, or relief printmaking in omanut (art). There, we talked about Mt. Harmon in northern Israel and then made our own prints by drawing into foam, filling the foam with ink, and then pressing it to paper.
This week, Nitzanimers really showed how alifut camp can be! Our week was focused on ahavat chinam (boundless love), and we worked to bring that into everything we did, to see just how easy it is to integrate into our everyday lives. Campers wrote a letter to our kitchen staff, to show them how much we appreciate what they do for us. We also had a day of gratitude and learned the song Olam Chesed Yibaneh. On Tisha B’Av, we each wrote a letter to put in our own “Kotel.”
In omanut (art), we did relief printmaking and learned about Mt. Harmon in northern Israel. And on our rain day, we got to spend time in the art room making clay figures. The building didn’t stop there – we built “fairy houses” with the swim staff on Tisha B’Av and, in shiur (Jewish exploration), we built baby Moshe’s basket then tried to get it to float.
Nitzanim covered the camp this week – climbing to the top in migdal, hitting the targets in archery, stretching our bodies and minds in yoga and drama and gymnastics, playing ping pong or soccer or softball or tennis. It was a great week, and we are all looking forward to more fun at camp next week!
We started an alifut second session this week by welcoming new campers to Solelim and jumped right into the fun! Our bunks were all over camp on sunny days – tennis courts, the softball field, archery targets, ping pong tables, migdal. When they needed to be indoors, our chanichim (campers) were learning to program robots in Park Mada or making their own watercolor paintings of mountain silhouettes in omanut (art) after talking about Mt. Harmon in northern Israel. In etz (woodworking), some of our campers started their work on a bentcher holder that will include sanding, glueing pieces together, sanding again, and decorating.
On the Yom Geshem (Rain Day), we had fun designing our own summer camps (including maps, menus, and schedules!) and playing an edah-wide game of Capture the Flag. On Tisha B’Av, we each created a square for our community-wide art project about the kindness we can each bring to the world.
It’s been another alifut week at camp! After learning about the many exciting elective options from all over camp – sports to cooking to woodworking and more – our campers picked their new electives for the session. This is fun for all of us because, in addition to learning more about each camper’s interests, the chanichim (campers) can feel good about being part of the planning of their days.
This week we saw sun, rain, and a day of mourning in Tisha B’Av. Yesterday, in observance of the holiday, we talked about ahavat chinam (boundless love) and then wrote thank you letters to staff around camp. We talked about the importance of showing appreciation and building community. Under beautiful sunny skies, we played tennis, softball, gaga, ping pong, and soccer. And then took a snack break and recharged at bishul bachutz (outdoor cooking) by making banana pancakes on the fire.
Creativity was also on the schedule this week. In omanut (art), we talked about Mt. Hermon in northern Israel and then made our own mountain silhouette watercolor paintings. From beading peace sign necklaces in ma’ayan (beading) to starting work in etz (woodworking) on a Shabbat candle holder, we got to see each camper’s personality shine!
Through the sun and rain and a holiday of mourning, Nevonim chanichim (campers) made this an alifut week!
A highlight was showing off our edah pride with today’s Yom Hooah! In honor of our edah t-shirts’ distinctly “non descript blue” color, our counselors and staff covered the camp in non descript blue! We got to enjoy the sight of our special hue as we made our way through camp today on the softball field, basketball court, in the pools, at omanut (art), archery, and robotics.
Chanichim got to choose new electives in shiur (Jewish learning) and for the bechira (elective) period of the days. It’s great to see the campers selecting opportunities to spend more time doing the things they love most here at camp.
On Tisha B’Av, we talked about the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash (The Temple in Jerusalem). Each bunk built a tower out of blocks, and then it was knocked down. We took the opportunity to talk about what the blocks could represent and what each of us can do, individually and as a community, when something we’ve built is destroyed or we face any kind of setback.
Campers had the opportunity to play sports – basketball, soccer, tennis, gymnastics, gaga, tennis, even ping pong with an Israeli pro ping pong player. They had the opportunity to cook, make art, and do woodworking. They played trivia indoors when it rained. But of all of that, the highlight of the week for many was that we finally joined them in the pool for free swim, and the campers got to splash us as much as they wanted!
This week has also been about choice for the chanichim (campers). Everyone chose their new elective for the second session – deciding if they’d like an additional period of sports or cooking or art. And they chose their electives in shiur (Jewish exploration) – anything from ART (Artistic Representations of Torah) to Chill, Create, Connect. And for those in etz (woodworking) this session, they can choose which project they want to redo from years past, like a bentcher holder or dreidel with base plate or shabbat candle box.
Sha’ar
Our chanichim (campers) showed their true alifut spirit this week. They found ways to get the best from camp in the shemesh (sun), geshem (rain), and on Tisha B’Av. Some of our youngest chanichim came together on Tisha B’Av to read a sefer (book) about ahavat chinam (boundless love). They then wrote p’takay ha’aracha (notes of appreciation) to each other, using words like chesed (kindness), todah (thanks), and ma’arich (I appreciate). We had the joy of watching them then live these lessons in simple acts like offering to share krem hagana (sunscreen) with each other.
On our Yom Geshem (Rain Day), some of our chanichim colored in stickers of different ba’alay chaim (animals) before turning themselves into the ba’alay chaim like chee-poo-she-oht (ladybugs), koh-feem (monkeys), and klavim (dogs).
In keramika (ceramics), some of our chanichim worked on plakatim (plaques) that read “Shalom!” Chanichim will cut out the shape, choose the letters, and decorate the plakatim before they are fired in the kiln. And every day in camp, we continue to hear the chants of “Mi rotzeh glida? Ani rotzeh glida!” (Who wants ice cream? I want ice cream!).
