Enchantment Ahead with School’s Out Camp “Magical Book Week” this Winter Break…
What’s more engaging than a good book? How about a whole week of Makom School’s Out Camp with dozens of activities, taking inspiration from our learners’ favorite books, authors, and series! We will offer a full week of camp December 27-31. In addition, we will be offering a separate day of camp on January 3.
Our theme for the winter is “Magical Book Week.” Of course, there are so many books that our learners and educators love that narrowing down the week into daily themes was no easy feat! In fact, our theme also spills over into the 1-day camp on January 3 the following week. Each camp day runs from 8:30am-4:00pm. Our schedule will be filled with crafts, games, building, art, experiments, baking, music, discussions, and [of course] books. Meanwhile, we’ll connect our thinking to the idea of holiness, which some of our campers who are in Jewish Enrichment will have just started to explore with their kevutzot (cohorts)! How does holiness come up not only when reading texts from Jewish traditions, but also from all different kinds of authors, illustrators, and books? Where are connections to holiness found in worlds both real and imagined?
- Monday, we’ll start our week off with The Magic School Bus, with crafts and science inspired by some of our favorite books from the series.
- Tuesday will be Dr. Seuss themed, exploring some of the themes around community and individuality that so often are centered in his work.
- Wednesday, Maurice Sendak day will include activities like making “Wild Things” puppets, and a baking project (food comes up in his books a lot!)
- Thursday, on Eric Carle day, we’ll continue to consider the holiness of critters, creatures, and creativity.
- Friday, we will do activities based on some favorite PJ Library books like The Castle on Hester Street. We’ll also do Shabbat activities like making challah, and a game with glow sticks to close out 2021.
The following Monday, January 3, you can also sign up for our one-day camp day. We’ll have activities inspired by some of our learners’ favorite fantasy adventure series (like the Percy Jackson books), with some crafts and projects that take inspiration from classic kids fantasy novels also making an appearance.
Sample Camp Schedule:
8:30-9:00am – Drop off: Campers can be dropped off anytime between 8:30-9:00am. We will start their morning with board games, legos, and art.
9:30am – Welcome and Snack: We provide snack. Campers and staff take some time to get to know each other, and maybe sing a song!
10:00am – Core Morning Activities: Each day, we’ll start off with activities connected to our book series, author, or illustrator. Often this will include a book and a group discussion, but also a variety of movement, play, and creating. We’ll draw connections with our lives, communities, and Jewish cultural themes. For example, on Wednesday, we might watch the very silly video of Maurice Sendak’s Pierre and then do roleplays to think through how the story could have gone differently. The following day, we might start Eric-Carle-style collage and also reflect on the significance of finding inspiration in everyday things like scraps of paper.
11:00am — Elective Block: We’ll give kids a choice of what to do next, often including building, sensory, art, and reading options. For example, one day’s elective choices might include a choice of constructing the Zax overpass or doing a One Fish Two Fish origami craft (after Dr. Seuss), or between wearing paper art or a mixed-up-chameleon sensory bin (after Eric Carle).
11:45am – Lunch: Time to take a break and enjoy some lunch outside. Send food that works for your kiddos. Remember a water bottle.
12:30pm — Outdoor Play Time. Wear lots of layers! We love fresh air, even in colder weather. We enjoy time at a local playground.
1:30pm – Rest and Relaxation: After so much time outside and an action-packed schedule, campers can rest and relax. Campers at Makom are typically found during this time reading stories with an educator, building a fort to relax in, or finding some quiet space to play.
2:00pm — Afternoon Snack: Time to refuel our bodies before an afternoon of activities. We provide daily snacks like graham crackers and fruit, chips and salsa, etc. Allergies are always taken into account.
2:30pm — Afternoon Group Activities: This hour will include some energizer games, and often another group craft, science experiment, or book. On Friday, this will include all of our Shabbat activities, including challah braiding, bag decorating, and candle lighting, and reflecting on our week together.
3:30pm – Tefilah: Prayer, Music, and Movement: Together we will reflect on the day, share awesome things we did, move our bodies, and engage with Jewish prayer.
4:00pm – Lehitraot Thanks for a great day! Campers are picked up at 4:00 pm.
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Have any questions?
Feel free to reach out to Ben Safran, Camp Coordinator, at [email protected].
To enroll, click here.