If you had to choose three words to describe any of our campers, “enthusiastic” would probably be one of those words. This is all the more so with our Garinim (entering 5th grade) campers. Many of them have already experienced camp for part of the summer in Kochavim and they come to camp ready for an extended camp experience. They love being here for four weeks–it’s more time to try out different camp activities, to learn and grow as a person, and to be with their friends!
Garinim start the day off with song-filled tefillot (prayers). They love being with their friends for the prayer service and they are always happy to sing! We posted a video of their shacharit service last week. Click here if you missed it.
After services, everyone goes straight to breakfast. Mealtime is one of the Garinimers’ favorite times of the day.
Nathan: I like eating all together, playing sports, taking classes, basically everything. The classes are fun because we’re learning, but it’s not like school.
Perek aleph (first period) begins at 10:15 am and Garinim starts out with sports. Like Kochavim, Garinim campers play sports in a rotation so the can experience all the different sports that are offered at camp.
Jaren B.: I love to do a lot of things, like sports. My favorite sport is basketball, but I like them all. I also like that we get to stay longer this year than last year.
Sid: Garinim is great because we’re always with our friends and get to have lots of fun. The sports are great and I love learning new things in Hebrew and text classes.
During perek bet and gimel (second and third periods) Garinim campers learn Hebrew and Jewish texts.
Noa: My favorite thing about Garinim is that we get to be with all our friends. We get to be in classes together and everything. I like learning new things in Hebrew and playing games in our classes.
Sadie: I like hanging out with my friends and I like classes because you learn everything in a fun way.
After classes, Garinim campers go to their tarbut (cultural activities). They rotate between omanut (art), drama, rikud (dance), and shira (singing). It’s a great way to try out all of these activities.
Aliza G. : I like hanging out with my friends. The counselors are really nice and there are so many fun things we can do–like omanut and swimming.
Veronica V.: I love Garinim because four weeks is a great amount of time to be here. I like the activities like swimming, art and dance. I really love dancing because we get to learn the Kikar dances that the whole camp does together every Friday.
Can you believe they pack all those activities in before lunch?! After lunchtime and sha’at menuchah (rest hour), it’s time to begin the afternoon activities.
Perek hay (fifth period) is swmiming. Garinimers love swimming, during which they have a mixture of instructional swim, free swim and water games. Like all campers, they also love the Blob (a water trampoline).
Emma F.: I love Garinim because I love sports and swimming. It’s great to be active and try new things.
After swimming, Garinimers have shower time and then have a block of time before dinner that is used for various cabin and aidah activities, as well as Kef Li (organized free time). One day last week, over half of Garinim used this time to participate in an Island Swim.
Aaron C.: My favorite part of Garinim is Kef Li, organized free time. I enjoy shooting hoops during free time. I also really like going on the Blob during swimming—that’s a camper’s favorite. I also love exploring camp, meeting new people and being with my friends.
After dinner, Garinim campers have peulat erev (evening activity). Their counselors plan these activities, and they can be anything from games to sports and more. One night last week they had a Garinim talent show, and another night they played Human Foosball on the soccer field.
Noam: This is my first summer here and I like everything. I love our nightly peulat erev. I like all of them, but I really liked dodgeball.
Garinim is an action-packed four-week program. There are so many other things our youngest four-week campers get to experience, and they love talking about how much they love Garinim!
Itamar : I live in the city and don’t get out in the country very often. I don’t get to experience being in nature, so I like being able to come here and experience this natural environment. I like eating together as a cabin and going on campouts. I also like the nighttime because we always tell stories to each other and it’s fun.
Jonah F.: We have a lot more free time this year than last year. We’re here longer than we were in Kochavim, so we have more time in our schedule to try new things.
Maya: I like Garinim because you can learn things but you can also have fun and make new friends.
Naomi: My favorite thing about Garinim is Shabbat because you get to hang out with your friends and take a break from all the technology around us.
Beth: My favorite thing about Garinim is boating.
Sydney F.: What I like about Garinim is that we get to do a lot more than we did in Kochavim. Plus, this year there is only one session, so we get to be with everyone.
Rhiannon: We get to make a lot more friends this year than we did in Kochavim because we’re all together.
