Paint Fight!

Today, the Sayarim left for their hiking trip (tiyul) and they will return tomorrow afternoon. For everyone else, we are back to a normal day schedule. After Shabbat, and two special days in a row, everyone was excited to return to a normal day. 

During Chotrim’s age group activity (peula shickvah) today, they all designed their own super heros. They were given a piece of paper to start with and drew what they would look like if they were a super hero. They each gave themselves a name, a super power, their nemesis which was what they were going to fight and their own super hero attire. After they designed their name they were given an object that was going to be their tool to use their super hero. One of the campers (chanichim) in Chotrim decided his super power was going to be fulfilling peoples’ needs. He chose this so he could fix world hunger because if anyone was hungry and needed food he would be able to give it to them. 

The Bogrim had a separate schedule today. They had a seminar together about themselves, their friendships, their summer and what Bogrim meannt to them. They started the peula with lots of paint. They each painted pictures on themselves about insecurities. After they painted on their own bodies they painted on their friends with symbols representing what they like about the other person. They then painting on each other with symbols of how they feel about their friendships. They ended the painting part of the seminar by all of them laying on a huge canvas and painting other symbols and pictures of what Bogrim means to them.

During the second age group activity (peula shickvah bet) the Amelim learned about Israel in a fun way! They went to the dining hall (chadar ochel) to made a cake in the shape of Israel. They used blue icing for the bodies of water, green icing for anywhere that has vegetation and other toppings which represented deserts and cities. They loved making the cake, and they really loved eating it after! 

During workshops (sadnaot) today, the Amelim and the Chotrim went to the arts and crafts center (beit omanut). They made volcanoes out of plaster, newspaper and clay! They also left a hole at the top so when the volcanoes dry they can made the volcano erupt with baking soda and vinegar. The campers (chanichim) really enjoyed this project and are really excited to “erupt” their volcano.  

Check back tomorrow! 

Kupa Trip!

Today was Kupa Trip! Every session we go on one kupa trip which of course is a surprise to all of the campers (chanichim). This morning began as any normal day at Galil, however, after work groups (avodah) all of the chanichim were asked to go back to their cabins (tzrifim) and get a bathing suit, towel, sneakers, and water bottle and head to the parking lot. We all boarded the busses and were off to a fun filled day at Dutch Springs! Dutch Springs is a water quarry with many fun blow up obstacles! As soon as we got there all of the chanichim excitedly headed towards the water! All of the obstacles are challenging, but one stood out from the rest...the iceberg. The iceberg was a large and tall blow up mountain which seemed impossible. Only a handful of the chanichim succeeded in making it to the top, however, everyone else had a lot of fun trying. 

Dutch Springs also has a new obstacle which they call the Wibit. This was a blow up obstacle course with many elements that eventually ended with a huge slide into the water. The point of the Wibit was to try and make it through each obstacle without falling into the water, which was very challenging, but also made for a great laugh.

For the chanichim who needed a break from the water, we had an arts and crafts table set up in the pavilion that we rented for the day. They made fun projects such as bracelets and drawings. We also brought sports equipment for chanichim that wanted to have a catch. 

For lunch we set up a buffet for the chanichim to make sandwiches. Although we had many tables in the pavilion, many chanichim formed circles in the grass next to it to eat lunch together picnic style.    

Throughout the day we sent kids by age group (shkavot) to the sky challenge. The sky challenge is a rock climbing wall with high ropes course elements all in one. The chanichim went in rotations and anyone who didn’t want to go had the option of staying in the water. The chanichim that did go on the Sky Trail said it was so much fun!

Tonight the chanichim will have an evening activity (tochnit erev) with their age group (shickvah). We had a lot of fun today and had a great kupa trip!

Tisha B'av

Today’s schedule was different than a normal day because it is Tisha B’av. Tisha B’av is a Jewish holiday when we commemorate the destruction of the second temple. In order to commemorate this holiday, we fast, however we still work today. At Galil, the option is offered to the older age groups (shkavot) to fast if they are above Bar-Mitzvah age.

The day began with a small sleep-in followed by flag raising (hitkansuit boker). For hitkansuit boker today, we sang different songs than we typically do to recognize that today is a holiday. The chanichim that were fasting went to the Moadon while everyone else went to breakfast. If a camper (chanich) decided to fast, during the meals they hung out in the Moadon and had discussions with the counselors (madrichim) about why they decided to fast and what this holiday means to them. Because Tisha B’av is a working fast day we still had work groups (avodah) after breakfast today. 

In the morning, the Amelim, Chotrim, Sayarim and Tzophim went to the barn (refet) to see an exhibit on Yitzchak Rabin. In the refet there were exhibit posters set up with information about Rabin’s life. Our Shaliach, Oded, and our educational director, Nora, briefly explained to the chanichim what each poster meant. The older chanichim at this time had a mock mikvah next to the creek. They each wrote down different types of hatred on pieces of paper and then tossed rocks into the creek which represented that hatred. 

Before lunch today, the older chanichim and the younger chanichim separated for a movie. The younger chanichim watched Iron Giant which is a movie about befriending and finding commonalities within people from different backgrounds. The older chanichim watched Pay It Forward, which is about engaging in acts of kindness and expanding that kindness to others. 

Tonight there will be a special evening activity (tochnit erev) to close the day. Each age group (shickvah) will be given a poem or song to perform in front of the rest of camp (machaneh). The songs and poems that they will be given have to do with spreading hope and kindness and each shickvah will be able to perform it however they wish. The night will end with a conscience play performed by the staff (tzevet) for the older chanichim.

We've had a moving day and have learned a lot! Check back tomorrow! 

Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat is here! Today the chanichim woke up to Friday morning muffins and a slightly different morning flag raising (hitkansuit boker). Not only is today the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics, but it is the 40th anniversary of the Munich Olympics. To commemorate the Munich Olympics we read a brief description of what happened on that day for the campers (chanichim) that didn’t know. We then had a moment of silence before we raised the flags. Typically, we raise both the American and Israeli flag to the top of the flag pole, but today we only raised the flags half way. We also have different songs for each flag that we raise everyday, but today we sang the Hatikvah for the Israeli flag. 

During the CIT activity (Madatz peula) the Amelim had a peula about their kupa. Kupa for the campers (chanichim) is their communal box of candy they all share. Whenever any of the chanichim recieve any type of candy or food in the mail or on the first day, they give it all to their counselors (madrichim). The chanichim share all of their candy together and today the Amelim made a decision of how they want their kupa of candy to work for the session. During the peula different chanichim recived different amounts of candy which of course did not seem fair to those who recieved less than the others. In the end they all decided it would be best if they shared all of their snacks and they came up with a system of how they would receive it.

This week Shabbat is going to end slightly different than it normally does. Tomorrow night starts the Jewish holiday, Tisha B’av. During this holiday we commemorate the destruction of the second temple by fasting. At Galil we use this holiday as an opportunity to have serious discussions about oppression as well as talking about the destruction. Tomorrow night instead of having our campfire (medurah) as the last activity, we are going to move it earlier in the night so we can start the holiday when the sun sets. We have special activities planned for Tisha B’av on Sunday. 

Shabbat Shalom and check back on Sunday to read about Tisha B’av. 

Seminar on Aliyah Bet

We’ve had a crazy weather day! What started as a cloudy and rainy day has turned into a very warm and sunny day. Everyone headed to the pool in the afternoon to cool off from the sudden temperature change. During instructional swim today, the campers (chanichim) split into teams and had relay races that helped them to practice their different strokes they have learned. 

Today, the Bonim had a special seminar. During the seminar they learned all about Aliyah Bet which was an illegal immigration to Palestine by Jews after the World War II. Every summer the Bonim plan a simulated Aliyah Bet for the entire Machaneh so their counselors (madrichim) wanted to teach them about the actual event before they planned it for the machaneh. 

Before their seminar began the Bonim were instructed to put on “shtetel” clothing which included long skirts, scarves, slacks, buttoned shirts, rags and head coverings. When the Bonim got to the barn (refet), it was transformed into a “shtetel” located in Western Europe in the 1930’s. The refet was set up as a carnival with different stations that simulated what a “shtetel” would be like in the 1930’s. The stations included a cow milking station, a school that taught yiddish, a bakery and a shul (synoguage). 

After the stations, they were split into groups and each group had a different idea of where they were going to migrate to next. One group wanted to go to America, the other group wanted to join the communist revolution, one group wanted to assimilate, and last group wanted to make the journey to Palestine and join the Zionist movement. They all had a debate voicing their opinions of why their idea was better than the others. In the end they all decided to make the journey to Palestine, aliyah bet, because they wanted to hold on to their Jewish identity and traditions together.

During the afternoon the Bonim watched skits of a mock ship headed towards Palestine. They learned all about the difficult journey the Jews completed. The seminar will continue into the night and will end with a short hike.

During workshops (Sadnaot) today, the Sayarim brought white t-shirts to the arts and crafts building (beit omanut) to spray paint! They each created their own stencil design and chose their own colors! 

We are excited for the first Shabbat of second session! 

Kicking off Second Session

We’ve had an exciting first day of second session! Today all of the campers (chanichim) were split into their work groups (anafim) for the session and were taught by the counselors (madrichim) the different responsibilities they have for their specific anaf. One of the anafim had a special treat today. The chanichim that work in the garden (gan) had the opportunity to also walk the sheep today! At Galil, we have two sheep that we are taking care of for the summer and the gan anaf also takes care of our animals. 

In the morning, the amelim and chotrim had their first instructional swim of the session. Today, they were all tested in the water to see everyone’s swimming abilities and were then given a little bit of free swim. During their free swim all of the chanichim got together and formed a whirl pool in the shallow end! 

The tzophim also had an exciting morning. In the beginning of their activity (peula) the head of camp (rosh) Kali came to tell the tzophim that their bedtime was going to be at the same time as the Amelim. The tzophim were not happy because the amelim are 3 years younger than them, so they decided that they were going to protest against this decision.

They spent the morning making posters, writing chants and songs, and coming up with a strategy of how they were going to get their later bed time back. After everything was ready to go, the tzophim marched to where Kali works singing their songs and holding their posters. After a long conversation with Kali, the tzophim won! 

In the afternoon, the Amelim had a fun peula filled with team building activities. One of their favorite challenges was the human knot! All of the Amelim stood in a circle together and held hands with someone across the circle. Eventually they created a large human knot and had to work together to become untangled. After 10 minutes of talking to each other and forming a strategy, they successfully untangled the knot. 

During workshops (sadnaot) the Bonim went to the arts and crafts building (beit omanut). After they all went on a tour of the beit omanut and were taught all the rules, they made candles with wax today! Some made different shapes, while others created traditional candle sticks.

Check back tomorrow! 

Welcome to Second Session!

Today, we welcomed the second sessioners! As parents and families left, each age group (shikvah) gathered together for ice breakers and other fun games! For the chanichim that were here first session, this was a great time for them to be able to teach the new campers (chanichim) their favorite games! One of the favorite ice breaker games we play at Galil is called “A Strong Wind Blows.” Everyone stands in a circle and one person stands in the middle. The person in the middle then states a fact about themselves, such as, “I have one younger sister.” If the statement applies to anyone else in the circle they run into the middle and try and find a different spot to stand in. The last person in the middle is the next person to state a fact about themselves. 

This game is a great way for the chanichim to get to know each other! 

After icebreakers we returned to a normal day schedule and headed to singing time (Shira). Everyday before dinner the entire camp (machaneh) gathers in front of the flagpole (toren) to learn different songs that we sing here at Galil. On the first day of each session, the song that we sing before each meal is taught. We do this so each camper (chanich) is able to participate in the singing before the meal that day. 

After dinner tonight the chanichim will have an evening activity (tochnit erev). Tonight’s tochnit erev are special interest group (chuggim) skits. Every session different staff members (tzevet) 

create chuggim that the chanichim will go to everyday. On the first night of each session, the tzevet put on short and funny skits about the chug that they are running so the chanichim can decide which chug they would like to join. 

Here is a list of all the age group’s (shkavot) counselors (madrichim):

Amelim

Shira Pik-Nathan

Gabby Malissa

Jon Shahar

Guy

Chotrim

Aliyah (Aro) Zlotkin

Leora Paradise

Reut

Jonah Adams

Dan Weiss

Sayarim

Lia Ben-Ishay

Mor

Shula Smith

Pele Irgang-Laden

Eli Organic-Ayres

Tzophim

Diana Goodman

Jordan Cooper

Max Weisman

Eli Silverman

Dan Barkon

Bonim

Yael Sabag

Pauline Bogad

Eliana Yankalev

Aviel

Ari Feinberg

Bogrim

Jill Lipman

Allie Amado

Dan Magid 

Howie Stanger

Intersession!

We've had a great first session! Sadly, we said goodbye to the first sessioner's today and we miss them so much already! For the campers chanichim staying 7 weeks, it's intersession! Intersession is a relaxing time for the chanichim filled with lots of free time (chofesh), naptime, movies, games, and fun activities planned by the Madatz. Staff (tzevet) is hard at work starting to plan for second session so the Madatz help to run the next two days!

Today the chanichim had a long period of chofesh. Most of the chanichim chose to nap, play cards and hang out with their friends. Later in the afternoon they had a movie and interest groups (chuggim) run by the Madatz.

The chanichim love intersession! Look out for some pictures of intersession tomorrow!

Rainy Day Activities

Today’s rainy weather was the perfect atmosphere for Madatz peula. Many of the campers (chanichim) spent today making warm and fuzzy’s for themselves. Warm and fuzzy’s are books that the chanichim make and then pass to their friends to write nice messages. The Madatz set up mattresses, soft music and supplies to make the books in our indoor spaces at machaneh and the chanichim spent the morning writing nice messages to each other. Some chanichim like to wait until after they cross the bridge on the last day of camp to open their warm and fuzzy books to see what their friends wrote. The books are a nice reminder of the fun summer the chanichim had as well as a reminder of all of the friendships they created at machaneh. 

The rainy weather did not stop Friday pizza lunch! The buffet was still set up outside, but on the porch of the dining hall (chadar ochel). Inside the chadar ochel the benches were set up just like Hyde Park and we still had our normal Friday afternoon. Instead of the chanichim standing on the rock when they had something to say, they stood on a bench. Many of the chanichim that are leaving on Sunday, thanked Galil for giving them a great summer!

The tzophim also spent today practicing for their kabalat shabbat. Every Friday night a different age group (shikvah) performs an English song, a Hebrew song and an Israeli dance. The tzophim have been practicing all week and are excited to show the machaneh tonight how hard they’ve been working! 

Since this is the last weekend of first session, tomorrow night is final mesibah! Final mesibah is a party that we have on the last night of camp which of course like everything else here has a theme! The theme will be revealed tomorrow night and the mesibah will be filled with fun stations, lots of candy, music and of course dancing! 

We will miss everyone who is leaving on Sunday! 

Shabbat Shalom! 

See Your Friends at Ken Events!

After a great special day all of the chanichim were ready for the last normal day of first session. It’s hard to believe that first session is almost over but we still have some great activities planned for the last few days. 

Today, the tzophim had a great peula on the ken. The ken is our year-round program which includes 1 or 2 activities a month. The events that the ken organize are typically in areas that is easy for many chanichim to get to. However, for the chanichim that do live further away we have started kenim in those areas, such as New York. The tzophim had some great ideas for activities they would like to do this year in the ken and their counselors (madrichim) wrote everything down! 

In the afternoon, the Bogrim headed down to the high ropes course to tackle the Giants’ Ladder and the Zip Line. With lots of encouraging friends cheering from the bottom everyone successfully completed the zip line! The Giants’ Ladder was more challenging for some, but was also completed with the help of a partner! The Bogrim had a great bonding experience and worked together to accomplish challenging obstacles! 

During Sadnaot the Bonim were in the arts and crafts building (Beit Omanut). Their activity today was to use paint to express how they felt about their friends! Of course, most of the Bonim painted on each others’ faces, but all of the paintings came out beautifully! 

Tonight is very exciting for the Bogrim...it’s Bozman! Bozman happens once a summer and is an evening activity planned by the Bogrim. This is the Bogrim’s first opportunity to plan something for the entire machaneh this summer! They have been working hard all week to make sure that tonight is perfect for the chanichim. Bozman has a special theme that will be revealed to the machaneh tonight and all of the activities planned for Bozman are associated with that theme. The chanichim  have no idea that tonight is Bozman so when they find out after dinner they will all be so excited! Be sure to check out the pictures tomorrow from Bozman!

Special Day: Exodus!

Today was Special Day: Exodus! Every session there is a special day that has a theme that tries to tie in education with fun activities. This summer we have been incorporating bible stories into a lot of our activities, so special day Exodus was only fitting! When the chanichim woke up today they thought it was still a normal day because special day was not broken until after breakfast. Special Day was broken with a skit showing Moses and an Egyptian fighting. The chanichim were then instructed to go to the barn (refet) to see a movie that the staff (tzevet) made! 

Building pyramids in Egypt!

After the movie the plot of the day was revealed. The entire day was devoted to Moses’ journey from his time in Egypt, to leading the Hebrews out of slavery. In the morning there was a carnival set up in the parking lot. The carnival’s purpose was to get to know the land of Egypt before Moses freed the Hebrews. Some of the stations at the carnival were basket weaving, building pyramids, riding around on Pharaoh’s caravan, playing in the creek and of course a slip n’ slide.

After we got to know the land of Egypt a little better, the next skit was Moses discovering the burning bush! Of course it wasn’t a real burning bush, but one of our staff members (tzevet) performed poi with fire and put a show on for the machaneh. During this skit the burning bush instructed Moses to go back to the Pharaoh and to ask him to let the Hebrews go. 

The next activity of the day was recreating the 10 plagues. The chanichim were split into teams and they each were given a plague that they were going to be able to dumb on a tzevet member. For example, one of the plagues that was dumped on a tzevet member’s head were wild beasts. The wild beasts we used were feathers and syrup. The chanichim had a blast dumping various things on their counselors’ (madrichim) heads.

Finally Pharaoh let us go and we all went to lunch! Lunch was a special BBQ outside in Hyde Park with homemade french fries! The next step to leaving Egypt was of course crossing the Red Sea! This was a pool party and the chanichim and madrichim had a great time cooling off in the pool. 

The afternoon was focused on escaping from the desert with various challenges such as a maze, dodgeball and training to fight Egyptians. The chanichim’s favorite station was the snack (kibud) station. We had a Matzo bar with all different spreads to put on the Matzo! 

Dinner tonight will be a passover seder at Zydie and Bubbie’s house! Dinner will be set up as a Dinner Theater and there will be an elevated table with madrichim pretending to be a family at a seder. 

After dinner we will travel back in time again to when Moses receives the 10 commandments. This will take place on the ropes course and Moses will act out the scene on the zip line! When he receives the 10 commandments he will jump off the zip line and everyone will go to the Golden Calf Bash! The Golden Calf Bash will be the party (messibah) at the end of the day and there will be 8 golden calf pinatas spread across the party that the chanichim can smash. 

We’ve had a busy day but all of the chanichim are having so much fun! Make sure to check out all of pictures from today! 

Camp Galil's 3rd Annual Alumni Day!

To all of Galil's alumni from 1946 to 2012: You are invited to the 3rd Annual Alumni Day at Camp Galil!

Please join us on Sunday, August 5th from 1pm to 4pm at Camp Galil.

12:45pm: Check-In Begins

1:00pm: Lunch

2:00pm: Opening Ceremony

3:00pm: Chugim

This is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with Galil, see old friends, and meet new Galilniks.

Galil will also be organizing photo and video archive opportunities so please come with a picture of yourself at camp, an old Galil shirt you would like to donate to a quilt that will hang in our new Moadon, and stories to share with future generations of Galil campers!

Please RSVP here.  For the safety and security of our campers, all guests must RSVP before arrival.  Thank you for your understanding.  You can read more about Alumni Day on our website, our Facebook page, or the official Facebook event.

If you have any questions or would like to be involved, please contact the Alumni Committee (Hank Albert, Arielle Wernick, and Ilana Goldfus) at alumni@campgalil.org.

We hope to see you on August 5th!

ZAP, Go Back!

The Bonim are back and had a great time on their hiking/camping trip (tiyul)! They went to Ricketts Glen, a state park in Pennsylvania. They spent the day by the lake which was great because it was so hot today! 

Today at Machaneh to keep cool the Bogrim had a water fight during workshops (sadnaot). They played water games and had a sponge fight on the basketball court before sitting down and learning about the garden (gan). Also, throughout the day we had sprinklers, misters and fans set up near the indoor spaces around Machaneh to keep it cooler. The pool has been the place to go lately during these hot temperatures. Today during free swim record numbers of chanichim made their way to the pool. And of course all of the chanichim were really excited for instructional swim today!

Although today has been really fun, tonight is the night that every chanich has been waiting for...ZAP! Zap is a game we play for evening activity (tochnit erev) once a summer and it’s one of the most anticipated nights. Zap is played at night because the object of the game is to not be seen. The chanichim are told to dress in all black after dinner and some chanichim go as far as painting their faces and arms black! Everyone starts at the refet and the object of the game is to get to the other side of machaneh. The trick is that there are machrichim and madatzim scattered around machaneh in various places with flash lights. If they see any chanichim trying to get past them they quickly shine their flashlight on the chanichim and say “Zap, go back.” The chanichim then need to go back to the last check point that they made it to.  

Before the game begins the chanichim are taught different types of strategies in order to make it across machaneh successfully. Some skills they are taught are how to crawl quickly and how to drop to the ground if they spot a flashlight ahead of them. Additionally, maps are provided in the beginning of the game to help the chanichim figure out where madrichim are placed and how to get around them.

The chanichim have no idea that tonight is Zap, but when they find out after dinner they will all be ecstatic! Hopefully this year many chanichim make it to the end!  

Check back tomorrow!

We Love Repairing the World!

Today was a busy day! The Bonim left today for a 2 day hiking trip (tiyul) and will return tomorrow afternoon! They were all very excited to be able to spend the next 2 days with their age group (shikvah) while camping! 

They weren’t the only campers (chanichim) to leave machaneh today. The Amelim, Chotrim, and Sayarim went on Tikkun Olam today. Tikkun Olam means repairing the world. Every summer the chanichim do a tikkun olam project usually outside of machaneh. Today, the chanichim went to Urban Tree Connection in Philadelphia. Urban Tree Connection creates community gardens in urban areas as well as distributes produce in low income areas. The particular garden the chanichim went to today was in West Philadelphia.

Today they weeded the garden and picked up any trash where plants were growing. We pulled up invasive weeds, composted those weeds, and even played with bugs! The neighborhood kids came out to the garden while we were there to help us out and to play with the chanichim! Everyone had a lot of fun together! After all of the weeding was done we ate a picnic lunch and drank lots of water! All of the chanichim had a really meaningful day and really grasped the idea of repairing the world. Look out for pictures from tikkun olam tomorrow! 

As you can imagine machaneh felt a lot smaller today because only the Tzophim, Bogrim, and Madatz were here. However, the Tzophim also had a special day. Today was Yom Tzophim. Yom Tzophim (Tzophim Day) is a day planned by the chanichim themselves and they spend the entire day together. In the morning they had a small sleep-in which everyone was excited about after a tiring visiting day! The tzophim then had breakfast in their cabins (tzrif)! In the morning they played different games together that they planned for each other. As the day went on, it also got warmer outside so the next activities involved water games! One of their favorite activites today was the slip n’ slide that they built for themselves! They built the slip n' slide on the hill near the parking lot with tarps, soap and hoses. They all had so much fun sliding down the hill! In the afternoon they went on a short hike in the creek together from the parking lot to the other end of the creek. 

The tzophim had so much fun together today and the best part about the day was that they planned it for themselves! 

Tonight we are having a fun evening activity (tochnit erev) in the dining hall (chadar ochel ). The theme is Vegas and during dinner there is going to be different shows put on by the staff (tzevet) and different card games going on. Pictures to come tomorrow! 

Visiting Day!

We had a great Shabbat this weekend! The Chotrim had a very funny Oneg Shabbat on Friday night. Oneg Shabbat happens every Friday night after dinner and before Israeli dancing (rikud). Each week a different age group (shickvah) puts on a short play written by themselves or their counselors (madrichim). 

The play always has a theme and is always funny filled with inside jokes from the summer. This week the Chotrim performed their oneg shabbat in front of the camp (machaneh) and everyone enjoyed it. Although Shabbat was lovely, all of the campers (chanichim) were anticipating today....visiting day!

We had a great visiting day today! All of the chanichim, madrichim and parents had a wonderful time! The food everyone brought looked delicious and all of the chanichim were very happy about the amount of candy their parents brought for their kupa! 

The day began with all of the chanichim anxiously waiting at the top of the hill in the parking lot for their parent's car to pull into machaneh. As soon as the car is spotted the campers (chanichim) ran down the hill to greet their parents with a big hug! Each family scoped out the best picnic area and enjoyed a picnic lunch together. Our "adopted campers" today were well fed and had a lot of fun hanging out with their friend's families!

After lunch everyone gathered in front of the Moadon for the traditional Visiting Day song and a welcome speech by the director of camp (rosh machaneh), Kali Silverman. The chanichim sang Splendor Bridge by Sam Flesher, a Habonim Dror alum. Everyone then split up by age groups (shkavot) to play fun games with the parents, chanichim, and madrichim. Despite the rain everyone still had a great time and we were able to utilize all of our indoor space at Galil! 

After all of the chanichim said goodbye to their parents and families we went back to a normal schedule. Everyone went to their interest groups 

(chuggim) and were gladly sharing all of the food with each other that they received today! Everyone is stuffed but had a great day and we are all looking forward to movie night tonight!