Yom Yisrael at Camp KEF!

At camp, we use play as a tool to learn more about the world around us. From everything from fine motor skills for K’Ton Ton to leadership skills for Chalutzim, camp’s got it covered. Not only is camp a place for having the best summer ever, it’s a place for our campers to safely explore their limits and continue to grow. We also give our campers the opportunities to learn about and try things they aren’t coming across in their everyday lives. How often do you get the chance to try archery?! Last week, on Tuesday July 14th, all our campers came together to play and learn all about Israel!

Planned by our amazing Israeli staff, (click here to learn more about them!), on Yom Yisrael (Israel Day), we transformed the JCC campus into Israel. Our Boker Tov tent became the snowy mountains of Mount Hermon, and just across the field we got to see the hustle and bustle of Shuk HaCarmel in Tel Aviv. So much care went into decorating camp, it was honestly a little magical when campers began to arrive and see. We love Yom Yisrael because not only do our campers get a hands-on opportunity to learn, our Israeli staff get to share all about their beautiful country. 

“Creating Israel Day was such a special experience because we got to bring Israel to life for the campers through a fun and interactive journey,” shared our Israeli staff. “We’re most proud of the thought and creativity that went into each station, making sure every place represented a unique part of Israel while giving the campers a memorable experience.”

At the beginning of the day, our campers received “passports” (the cover is modeled after the real Israeli passport!) with a map of Israel, and a place to get a stamp for each “city” they visited. Each page contained some fun facts for our campers to get to learn even more! After getting familiar with the passport, our campers set off to explore Israel!

One of the cities campers could visit was Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. One of the stops was the Western Wall, (the Kotel as the campers learned for the Hebrew word of the day), where campers got to write a wish or a prayer and stick it in the “wall”. We’re so grateful to Dan, one of our ShinShinim who is going to bring them to the real Kotel for us!

Another stop on the tour was skiing on the snow swept Mount Hermon! 3 campers loaded up on a set of “skis”, and had to coordinate their steps in order to ski around the course. Campers had to figure out how and when to walk to make sure they all moved together. (We can’t lie -- watching them work together was so cute.) Even when they were falling over, campers were laughing and getting up to try again. Some of our older campers even raced one another!

We had such a blast exploring Israel last week! For some of our campers, this was their first exposure to Israel education. And for the rest of our campers, this was a chance to deepen their knowledge. Our kids and counselors loved learning through play. It’s so special that our staff gets to share what’s important to them in a way that also enhances our camper’s experience. Camp is already so special, and it’s days like these that really elevate this summer to be the best one yet. 

Putting our wishes in the Kotel.

Campers "skiing" on Mt Hermon!

All decked out for Yom Yisrael!