October 2017

Because We Can-Can-CAMP!

By Rabbi Matt Dreffin, ISJL Associate Director of Education
(Yes... that's a young Rabbi Dreffin in the image above!)
 
I used to have a friend who, every year, would have a countdown. The day she got home from camp, she’d begin posting on social media: 358 DAYS UNTIL OPENING DAY. She would text friends randomly: 220 DAYS LEFT UNTIL WE GO TO CAMP. And, if there was a lull in casual conversation, she would say: HEY! ONLY 100 DAYS UNTIL WE’RE BACK AT CAMP!
 
We didn’t make fun of her for her obsession because, like her, the countdown excited our friend group just as much as her. Imagine for a moment, if we imbued our religious schools with so much fun, energy, and Jewish enthusiasm that our students did this sort of countdown for religious school! Imagine a world where, on Wednesday, our children exclaimed, “I can’t wait for Sunday!”
 
With that phrase in mind, we put together some ideas for you about how to infuse camp into our weekly learning sessions:

• Get creative with space
• Make a Macabi'yah move!
• Empower CIT/Madrichim
• Community Accessible Meaningful Prayer (C.A.M.P.)
• And also, here's a special spotlight on Galveston, TX

 
From t’filah to tikkun olam, and Hebrew to Hosea, taking a dash of camp and infusing it into our religious schools can be a recipe for success!