Garinim is the second-youngest 
eidah in camp, for campers who will be entering 5th grade in the fall. The 4-week Garinim summer is designed to give campers a taste of Ramah. Garinim campers have the opportunity to rotate among various activities including art, drama, dance, sports, swimming, Hebrew and text. They also participate in an overnight camping trip. This year, we have a total of 6 Garinim cabins at camp! Garinimers are full of energy and enthusiasm, and their excitement for camp is contagious!
Josh Warshawsky (Rosh Garinim): Being the Garinim Rosh Eidah is one of the most exciting and exhilarating experiences that I have ever had. Every moment is full of energy. Ten years old is the perfect age, and I never want to work with another age ever again! Every day I’m learning something new from a different camper, be it some fun new game or something I didn’t know about Judaism. I love engaging the campers in a new way and going swimming with them. I’m finally able to live my Garinim summer because Garinim didn’t exist at camp when I was a camper.
Lucy O. (Junior Counselor, Garinim): I love being a Garinim counselor because the kids are really fun and always very energetic. They are always excited about doing all of their activities.
Becca F. (Junior Counselor, Garinim): What is so unique about the Garinim program is that, because the kids are only here for a month, we try to pack in as many fun and exciting activities in one machzor (first half of the summer). Every day at camp is jam-packed with peulot (activities) and lots of other fun things to keep the kids engaged and excited about being at camp.
Vered B.G. (Garinim): I like that in Garinim we get to do stuff with the whole eidah and not just with our cabins, it’s kind of nice in that way. In Kochavim, we didn’t have any boys so our eidah kind of felt like one big girls’ cabin. The Garinim boys make camp more fun, especially in sports! We have text class this year, which I don’t remember having in Kochavim. This week in text class we put on a play that was similar to the Jewish text we were reading. Also, I just wanted to add that I love Camp Ramah!
Betsy W. (Garinim): This summer is different from last summer because we are doing more stuff as a cabin and there are a lot more people here so we can make more new friends! I feel like everyone at camp treats us like we are more mature this year. We get more responsibilities, we go to bed a little bit later, and we do more prayers in T’filot. This year, we get to do activities that are really fun, like archery and tarbut (cultural activities like singing, dance, arts, drama, etc.)! I think tarbut is my favorite thing about Garinim, and I like rotating between the different tarbut activities. I can’t wait for next year!
Jordan V. (Garinim): 
My favorite thing about Garinim is that, since there are more people, we have all been getting to know each other. Last week we didn’t have any boys but this year we have a ton more people, including boys! Having boys in the eidah changes things because everything becomes more fun. If you’re playing a game, boys can get competitive and it gets really funny. My older siblings went to camp when there wasn’t a Garinim program, but having the program here at camp has made a lot of kids happier because they can go to camp earlier and they can meet new friends and all be happy with each other.
Talia S. (Garinim): In Garinim, I am exploring more of the camp than I did last year. I’ve seen some of the cabins that I hadn’t seen when I was in Kochavim, and I’ve gotten to play archery. I feel older and more mature this summer.
Markus T. (Garinim): Everything in Garinim is really great. I’ve played games of soccer, volleyball, and dodgeball which have all been really fun. One activity I’ve really liked was a peulat erev (evening program) when we had to do a skit about a famous hero. My skit was about Sandy Koufax, and we had to talk about what made him a hero. It’s been a great week here and I can’t wait for the next three weeks.
