First Friday of the Summer!

Hey everybody!

Today was not just any normal day, it was the first Friday here at machaneh (camp)! This meant that breakfast today was muffins! Special thanks to tzevet mitbach (kitchen staff) for preparing this wonderful classic! After breakfast our chanichimot (campers) had to get machaneh ready for shabbot. This meant extended avodah (work) time and extended nikayon tzrif (bunk cleaning).

Amelimot love their Madatz!

After that, the Madatz (CITs) ran peulot (activities) for the different schavot (age groups) that they were assigned to be Madatz for.  The Amelimot did a super fun activity where they got to make their favorite things out of candy. The other schcavot also played get-to-know-your-Madatz games. The Bonimot,  for example, played jeoporady, facts about their madatz edition!The Bogrimot do not have Madatz so insteaf their madrichimot (councelors) planned Bogrimot Idol where the chanichimot got into groups and choreographed some incredibly cool routines and performed them for their friends. After that was lunch which was, as per usual on Fridays, pizza! After lunch the chanichimot had Hyde Park. This is the time of the week where they strut to a tire and if they have the best strut they get called up to a rock and can state their ideas to make camp better in front of everyone. It's a great way to get new fresh opinions out there as well as a huge opportunity for the kids to take even more ownership over macahneh. This is especially so for the Bogrimot who run Hyde park. After that was kibud (snacks) which was the usual Friday ice cream. Then was schiya chofshit (free swim) and miscack hashavua (sport of the week). The miscack hashavua was Frisbee! Then everybody had a chance to get ready for shabbot. We also had optional tifilot (prayers) in the gan (garden) with special guest Jeff Eisentauth!  He led us in song and discussion of Jewish history and torah. It was truly an incredible experience.

Who doesn't love free swim?

The chanichimot then were broken up into mishpachot (families). This traditional Shabbot activity puts groups of chanichimot of all different ages and backgrounds are put together in a small once a week family to discuss their week and hopes for the coming one. Real life families are kept together of course.

After mishpachot, chanichimot joined a procession that went around camp welcoming Shabbot. Following that, all the chanichimot met back at the toren and hugged in excitement for the new week. We then had the the Parsha players show, where we all learned about this week's Torah reading. After that the different kvustot (age groups) were blessed by their madrichimot and then watched this week's kabalat shabbot (musical acts for shabbot). The Bonimot led kabalat shabbot this week. Afterwords we as a machaneh welcomed shabbot through more songs. Then we went to eat a wonderful shabbos dinner.

After that we had shabbot shira (shabbot songs) where we sing special fun hebrew songs. After that the Madatz performed the oneg (fun skit about machaneh). Then everybody went to rikud (Israeli dancing).

Then came the moment everybody had been waiting for. The moment that the kids had worked a whole hour for during the morning: the golden broom. The golden broom goes to the cleanest tzrif at machaneh based on a check during Friday morning and a scoring guide. It's a very fun competition that encourages cleanliness. The winners this week were the tzophimot!

After Golden Broom were the Madatz calls, where each year of Madatz starting from the current one and going all the way back to the oldest still working at machaneh, do some sorts of songs and chants as their "call."

After that rikud continued for those who still had dancing feet to spare and other chanichimot went to bed. Tonight their Madatz put them to bed.

Before I sign off there's something important to say about shabbot here at machaneh: although we don't keep religiously to rules of shabbot, we try to lay back on technology, make shabbot truly a different day not just in schedule but also in feel. This is why you'll notice fewer pictures today and even fewer tomorrow. I hope you all understand!

See you all on Monday!
-Miriam

Bonimot on ropes!

Hello everybody!

Low ropes are great for team work!

Like every day, today started with hitkansut boker (flag raising ceremony) and ivrit shimushit. Today's word was dag which means fish! Breakfast was yummy hash browns and waffles! Thanks tzevet mitbach (kitchen staff).

After that was avodah (work). After that, my day and the Bonimot's day took a slight change of course. While our amazing gan (garden) specialist took some cool photos of all the other kids going through a normal day, I got to hang with the awesome Bonimot as they went on both high and low elements of our cool ropes course. From right after avodah to lunch we were in the woods doing the different ropes elements! We got to eat our hash browns and sloppy joes before anybody else so that right after lunch we could be right back at it, this time focusing more on The Giant's Ladder and our zipline! We did that right up until kibud (snack time), so just in time in our chanichimot's (campers') eyes! Then it was right back to normal schedule with chugim (clubs) hitkansut erev (flag lowering ceremony) and then dinner!

Sayarimot did a great Pish today where they did a puela on youth empowerment in which each person created their own superhero with a special ability to make the world a better place! During Chugim (free choice electives), we had Art & Nature Walks, Do It Yourself, Frisbee and 'Chill Time, Good Vibes' and so many more!!!

Tonight's tochnit erev (evening activity) involved the machaneh saving the merpeople from polluted oceans! We had a slip and slide, ice cap games, a maze in Hyde Park, and finished it all off with a Victory Party in the Pool!

Tomorrow's Friday which means we have a slightly different schedule as we prepare for Shabbat. Stay tuned to find out more!

Taking a stand!

Hello again!

Today started off with fantastic hitkansut (flag raising) along with a funny as every ivrit shimushit (useful hebrew) skit. Today's breakfast was yummy like always and was a filling meal of pancakes and vegetarian sausages! Then came the usual avodah (work) period where kids continue taking ownership over our beautiful machaneh (camp). After

Sayarot having fun in the pool!

that was nikayon tzrif (bunk cleaning) where chanichimot (campers) continued taking ownership of machaneh, but this time within their tzrifim (bunks).

Ownership was also the theme today the Tzophimot’s pish aleph (first age group activity). They made pretend promo videos for Galil and then discussed the different areas of camp and how they take ownership in those different places.

The Bonimot also covered new ground in their peula, discussing youth empowerment by drawing super heroes and discussing certain song lyrics.

Protesting unfair leadership!

Some kvustot (age groups) discussed topics that other kvustot discussed yesterday during this time. The Amelimot, for example, discussed treating each other with respect. They started off with a fun game where everybody had 3 rocks in their own chalk circles and then told to get as many rocks as possible. No other commands. The kids assumed that meant taking rocks from each other’s circles. Then, afterwards, they got together again and played statistics, a game where a madrichol (counselor) asks a variety of questions, counts the hands raised signifying a “yes” answer, and then tells the kids the number of hands raised after each question. Questions asked included “I do not like people sitting on my bed” and “I don’t mind people reading over my shoulders.” I sat with them as they discussed the numbers afterwards and what those numbers meant in how they would interact with one another and they realized just how important respect is!  Sayarimot and Chotrimot had instructional swimming as well.

After that was sports and rachasta (clean up time) and then a lunch of chicken nuggets, meatballs, and fries!

Then it was time for pish bet (second age group activity). Sayarimot continued their peula from yesterday while Bonimot took a step back to talk about respect. The Amelimot had instructional swim at this point and the Chotrimot talked about youth empowerment through a really fun method. The madrichimot (counselors) told the chanichimot that mazkirut (the leadership team) took away chofesh (free time) because the as a kvustah had been supposedly lacking in effort during avodah, causing the Amelimot to start a miniature protest against mazkirut. After the protest the chanichimot were sat down to discuss what just happened and the concept of youth rebellion generally and in their lives.

Then was zman meyuchad (specialist time) with the madamotim (specialists). Afterwards was schiya chofshit (free swim) and kibud (snack time). Then it was time for what was always my favorite part of the day as a chanicha (camper): chugim (clubs)!

Learning the ways of the models!

Then came a yummy dinner of green beans and pasta before the first big tochnit erev (evening activity) of the summer: beauty pageant! And here at Galil we don't do normal beauty pageants, we do pageants that show kids that societal views of beauty are silly and objective.  Stations like "talent agency" and "personal stylist" had madrichimot saying ridiculous thing about fashion to have kids question what beauty actually means. It all ended off with a fun pageant show where the models the kids had been following the entire night revolting against the evil man in charge of the entire shebang. Then everybody partied!

Well, see you all tomorrow!

-Miriam

                      

Terrific Tuesday at Machaneh!

Like yesterday, today followed the basic schedule of hitkansut boker (flag raising ceremony), ivrit shimushit (useful Hebrew) skit, then breakfast, then avodah (work), nikayon tzrif (bunk cleaning time), pish aleph (first age group activity), sports, rachatza (cleanup time), and then lunch! And that’s only half the day!

Sayarimot love instructional swim!

Before the rest of camp woke up - the Bogrimot got up early and departed for their amazing Tiyul (trip) and camp out.

So what happened specifically during the day’s first half? What did the chanichimot (campers) learn about during their pishes today?

Today’s peula schikva aleph (first age group activity) centered mainly on building a more equal society and societal norms. Several older shcavot (age groups) started off with a  game about approaching various situations in their daily lives. The younger shcavot who did this peula (activity) started it by playing charades to start and then drew pictures to start understanding societal norms. Amelimot did a peula with discussing how to treat their kvutza (age group) with respect. 

After pish aleph, chanichimot had sports and rachatzah before heading off to have a yummy lunch of chili, mozzarella sticks, fries, and onion rings.

Then of course comes the next half of the day which consits of menucha (rest time) to digest our delicious meals, then pish bet (2nd age group acitivty), zman meyuchad (time with the specialists), then schiya chofshit (free swim), kibud (snack time), chugim (clubs).

Pish bet today covered similar topics as pish aleph. The Amelimot, however, strayed from the pack due to instructional swim so instead had their kupa asepha (meeting about kupa) today. If you remember yesterday's post, you'll understand that kupa requires a lot of trust. Thus the Amelimot played a game where everybody sat with their eyes closed. If one person raised their hand, they-and only them- would get 3 pieces of candy. If more than one person raised their hands, than no one would get any candy. But if nobody raised their hands then everybody would get 1 piece of candy. At first several people would raised their hands over and over in order to get 3 whole pieces of candy for themselves and themselves only. After a few rounds and a short talk about having the best situation for everyone and discussing the essence of what having kupa means, everybody kept their hands down and everybody was so happy! The kvutza, because it gave up the desire for more candy, was better off as a whole using the concept of kupa!

Movie night!

After running through the rest of the schedule, chanichimot enjoyed a delicious dinner of stir fry, spring rolls, and asparagus!

Then it was chofesh (free time) for a little bit before our tochnit erev (night time activity). Tonight's activity was a fun movie! The movie, specifically, was Tangled! For chanichimot who did not wish to watch the movie, there were also available activities in the beit omanut (arts and crafts buildings) and more active activities on the basketball and volleyball courts and soccer field.

The only kvutza that did not experiance this fantastic "regular" day was the Bogrimot as they are currently on tiyul (camping trip). 

All-in-all it was a great day!

See you all tomorrow!

-Miriam

First full day!

Hello again!

Today machaneh (camp) Galil experienced its first "regular" day. By this we mean that the day follows a particular set schedule. We also have a "special day" day every session that follows a particular theme and involves a pretty crazy fun schedule. However, just because today was a "regular" day, that doesn't mean that regular days aren't special. On the contrary, every day is always an extremely different day with new things for our chanichimot (campers) to experience! So let's get started!

Ivrit shimushit is so fun!

Today our chanichimot woke up fresh faced and bushy tailed for their first real day at machaneh at 8:00 this morning. Then we had hitkansut boker (flag raising ceremony) and ivrit shimushit (useful hebrew). Ivrit shimushit is always a machaneh favorite as it involves a funny skit that is designed to teach kids one word of Hebrew everyday. Today, the madrichimot (counselors) in charge of it pretended that there was a fork in one of their legs to teach the word mazleg which means fork.

After that we had a delicious breakfast of eggs made by our awesome tzevet mitbach (kitchen staff). Then, if that wasn't enough excitement already, the kids went to go do avodah (work) in groups that they decided on last night with their shickvot (age groups).  These avodot include things like taking out the trash, cleaning the bathrooms, and working on medurah (our Saturday night bonfire). Work doesn't end at the end of avodah though, so after they were done with today's avodah, our chanichimot went to nikayon tzrif (bunk cleaning time). We do avodah as a way of demonstrating our shared commitment to our collective community. Music was played while beds were made and floors were swept.

Sayarimot love the pool!

Kvustot (age groups) had peulot (acitivites) and asephot (meetings) about kupa (literally translates in to cash register). You may be thinking at this point "why is my child/friend/etc. having a discussion on cash registers?". This is because kupa at machaneh is about sharing something as a collective. Most commonly for younger chanichimot this is in terms of sharing candy and how they wish to approach that. For older chanichimot, however, this can extend to things like shower supplies and instruments. Again, each kvustah decides themselves what they wish for their kupa to look like. (As a reminder, though, we are asking parents to reduce the level of candy sent to machaneh this summer.) For tzevet (staff) kupa extends to us sharing part of our salaries together. The motto is "give what you can, take what you need." Pishs were also run for kvustah building! Also today, Amelimot and Sayarimot had instructional swim time!

Then it was zman sports (sports time). Last night the chanichimot ranked their choices for sports and today they learned what sports they were placed into. They had a ton of fun doing that and then, after some rachasta (clean up time) they went to lunch and enjoyed some yummy fries with stuffed shells. Then came chofesh (free time) and pish bet (2nd age group activity). Then the chanichimot had zman meyuhad (special time) which is run by the madamotim (specialists) like me! After that was schiya chofshit (free swim) and then kibud (snack time).  Then we got to do shira (song-learning) and hitkansut erev (flag lowering).

After that we had a delicious dinner of chicken (tofu for vegetarians) and latkes! Then, after some chofesh, the chanichimot have tochnit erev (evning activity) by individual age group.


Well, that's all for today! See you all tomorrow!

-Miriam 

Opening Day!!

Hello everybody again!

As many of you probably know, today was opening day for machaneh (camp) Galil! For kids, the day started at 9:30 when the first group of kids (the Bonimot and Bogrimot) arrived. Then came the Amelimot and Chotrimot at 10:45, and lastly (but certainly not least) the Sayarimot and Tzophimot. 

So happy to be moved in!

For us on tzevet (staff), however, the day started much earlier to prepare this beautiful camp for your amazing kids! The Madatz (counselors in training), who arrived on Friday, also helped us out, gaining some useful experience for when they will be on tzevet next year!

After getting the chance to move in and reconnect with old friends, the chanichimot(campers) ate some lunch at 1:30.

Enjoying being reunited with (man's) best friends!

After lunch the chanichimot  had menucha (free time. After that the chanichimot had machaneh rotations to tour and get to know the important places at machaneh. These places included the gan (garden), beit omanut (arts and crafts building), and the pool. The chanichimot also got to know the mazkirut (leadership team) and the ropes & tiyul (camping) madamotim (specialists).

Then it was back to basics for the chanichimot. First, they got to know each other a little bit better through ice breakers and name games. Then, on a more serious note, madrichimot (counselors) went over rules.

Once that was over and done with, chanichimot had their first hitkansut erev (flag lowering ceremony) of summer 2017!

Chugim skits!

After that we had a delicious dinner. After that we had skits for chugim (clubs) so the chanichimot can decide on which ones they want to do along with avodah (work) and sports. They will list their preferences preferences and learn which ones they will be in in the morning! Tomorrow will be the chanichimot's first "normal" day!
That's all for now, see you again tomorrow!

-Miriam Glickman

Meet the tzevet!

Welcome to Machaneh (camp) Galil for summer 2017! My name is Miriam and I will be your first session Communication madam (specialist singular).

In this first blog post before opening day, let's meet each kvustah's (age group) madrichimot (counselors).

Here we have the tzevet (staff) for our youngest chanichimot (campers): the Amelimot.

(Left to right) Maya, Tom, and Eve.

This is Maya's 1st summer on tzevet. Fun fact: she's an elite gynmist.
This is Tom's 4th summer on tzevet and he wishes to share that everybody has the fun fact of having no muscles in their fingers.
This is Eve's 3rd summer on tzevet and interestingly enough she was born a red head.
Next we have the 2nd young shikva (age group): the Chotrimot!

(Left to right) Benj, Eliza, Miranda, and Rachel L.

This is Benj's 2nd year on tzevet. This past year he worked for a grilled cheese food truck company.
This is Eliza's 2nd year on tzevet. She's lived in 3 continents in her life.
This is Miranda's 2nd year on tzevet and 11th year at machaneh.
This is Rachel L's 1st summer on tzevet and she's from Texas.

Now pictured are the madrichimot for the Sayarimot.

(Left to right) Adam S, Hannah, Jenna A, Emily, Adam B

This is Adam S's 1st summer on tzevet. Fun fact: his left thumb looks like a toe. 
This is Hannah's 2nd summer on tzevet. She once thought that semel (the hebrew word for symbol) was an actual English word that meant symbol.
This is Jenna's 3rd summer on tzevet. When she was young she used to eat crayons.
This is Emily's 1st summer on tzevet and she went to State Championships for track.
This is Adam B's 2nd summer and a fun fact about Adam B: two fingers on his right hand are connected when they shouldn't be so he can't move them independently of one another!

Now we have the Tzophimot.

(Left to right) Rachel B, Abby, Dani, and Alex. (Not picture: Samson)

This is Rachel's 1st summer on tzevet and she has an older sister.
This is Abby's 1st summer on tzevet and she just got a new kitten named sage.
This is Dani's 3rd summer on tzvevet, but 1st summer here at machaneh Galil! Fun fact: she's from California and went to a different camp within our youth movement (Gilboa) over there.
This is Alex's 1st summer on tzevet and his great-grandfather's cousin is Albert Einstein.
This is Samson's 1st summer on tzevet and he's originally from Kenya but then moved to Uganda. He is training to become a Rabbi.

Here are the Bonimot madrichimot!

(Left to right) Dotan, Bri, Sophie, Maor, and Yaneev.

This is Bri's 3rd year on tzevet and she can lick her elbow.
This is Yaneev's 1st year on tzevet and he's never had a cup of coffee.
This is Sophie's 1st year on tzevet and she acted in a Broadway play once when she was younger.
This is Dotan's 1st year on tzevet and he plays 7 instruments.
This is Maor's 1st summer on tzevet and not only is she a shaliah (female Israeli representative), she is also a black belt in tai kwon do.

Here we have the Bogrimot!

(Left to right) Adam B-W, Tal, Taylor, and Dan.

This is Taylor's 3rd year on tzevet and both her and her sister Jasmyn's names have 6 letters.
This is also Dan's 3rd year on tzvevet and he once could hold his breath for over 2 minutes.
This is Tal's first year on tzevet and she is another shalia and she has a cat back in Israel named Shookie.
This is Adam B-W's 1st summer on tzevet and he likes to produce music.

Now we have the tzevet Madatz (counselors in training)!

(Left to right) Guy, Cliel, and Leah!

This is Guy's 1st year at machaneh Galil and he is a shaliach! He also teaches juggling!
This is Cliel's 3rd summer on tzevet here at Galil, but she also worked last summer at Tavor. She is a proud member of a Feminist Sticker Club.
This is Leah's 1st summer on tzevet here at Galil, but she has also worked 3 years at Moshava. She studied abroad in Haifa last semester.

Now we can't forget about our madamotim (specialists). Each of us has a different tafkid (job).

(Left to right) Ropes and Tiyul (camping) madamotim: Afik and Erica

This is Afik's 1st summer on tzevet and he is also a shaliach (male Israeli representative) and also he's our guerilla rabbi (Judaism specialist). Back in Israel he has a guinea pig named Herzel.
This is Erica's 3rd year on tzevet and she can eat an absurd amount of Spaghetti.

(Left to right) Life guards: Julia and Allie

This is both Allie's and Julia's first summer on tzevet. Allie once did a Chinese student exchange program and Julia once had a turtle named Shelly that was named so because it had a shell and was hers (sheli in Hebrew means "mine").

Our driver, Molly.

This is Molly's first year working at Galil and she's so excited to be our driver this summer! Fun fact: Molly runs the community supported agriculture program in Morning Side Heights.

(Left to right) Beit Omanut (arts and crafts) madamotim: Jah and Sara

This is both Jah's and Sarah's first summers on tzevet. Jah once studied abroad in Japan and Sara was kicked in the stomach by a horse when she was young.

Gan (garden and ram) madam: Mira

This is Mira's first year on tzevet and they have been living in Switzerland for the past 2 years.

Jeff's (our groundskeeper) assistant: Alex, aka Pie

This is Alex's 3rd year on tzevet. An interesting fact about him is that when he first came to camp he was so nervous during a name game he said "My name is Pie and I like to eat Alex", thus sealing his fate to be known as "Pie."

Next we have here our mazkirut (leadership team).

(Left to right) Arielle, Segev, Naomi, Sarah K, and Ari K.

This is Segev's 5th year on tzevet. He is our rosh machaneh (head of camp). But he's not all business. His fun fact is that when he was born, his mother got a police escort to the hospital.
This is also Naomi's 5th year on tzevet and she is the chinooch (educational director). Fun fact about her is that she loves geography and knows most country's capitols!
This is Sarah's 5th summer on tzevet as well and she is melava (director of camper care). She can touch her nose with her tongue.
This is Arielle's 3rd summer on tzevet. She is the technie (logistical director). Fun fact: her birthday is on the Fourth of July!
This is Ari's 1st summer here at machaneh Galil and he is our head shaliach.

Last but certainly not least we have here first session tzevet mitbach (kitchen staff)!

(Left to right) Ari, Leora, Sarah, Erika, and Ilana (Not Pictured: Jenna)

This is Ari's 1st summer on tzevet and she has been a vegetarian for 10 years.
This is also Leora's 1st summer on tzevet and her two eyebrows are naturally different colors.
This is Sarah's 1st summer on tzevet and her record for hula hooping is an hour and 58 minutes.
This is Erika's 3rd summer on tzevet and she's performed stand-up comedy in Montreal & Israel.
This is Ilana's 3rd summer on tevet and she was born and raised and lives in Tokyo.
This is Jenna's 2nd summer on tzevet. Jenna is one of two Jenna's at camp this summer.

It's going to a great summer everybody!
Signing off for this morning!
-Miriam