The Woodshop as an Educational Workshop
by Dotan Appelbaum, Rosh Nagarut (Woodworking)
Since the start of the summer, the nagariah (woodshop) has seen many campers enter for the first time or return to develop woodworking skills. Campers design their own projects, Jewish and otherwise. Many of our chanichim (campers) are eager to choose the woodworking activity or come to the nagariah during their free time to make tables, chairs, baseball bats and a variety of other projects.
This summer, we have introduced new classes in help campers develop skills in designing and creating projects. We are currently offering a wood carving class and a woodworking 101 class (in which we go through the various steps and concepts of any project) to Bogrim campers. These classes will later be offered to both Solelim and Shoafim.
In the Machon intensive, 5 campers are collaborating to design and build a stacked garden with two flower beds and a bench. With this group, we went on an outing last Thursday to get a tour of a lumber yard and milling facility, followed by a visit to a local wood and metal artist’s studio. The campers had the opportunity to see various incredible pieces of art. The chanichim also had an opportunity to ask the artist for advice on the construction and artistic elements of their intensive. By the end of the summer, we plan to finish building a wonderful addition to our camp landscape that will last for years.
