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Camp is in my blood. Like many east-coast Jewish kids, my mom attended summer camp throughout her entire childhood. She started the first year she was old enough for the camp to take her, and she continued as a staff member until she finally had to enter the adult world. Comparing camp stories with her, I’ve found that we’ve had a lot of experiences in common. The camaraderie between staff and cabin-mates, the closer connection to Judaism and nature, and the opportunities for growth in confidence and ability remain cornerstones of a Jewish summer camp experience. But, given the several decades of separation between my experience and my mom’s, there are many differences, too.

For one thing, camp is safer now, with much more supervision – my mom once wandered all the way to a different property and got in trouble when she showed up an hour late to dinner with a stranger’s horse in tow. And, of course, we go to camp for a much shorter length of time. When my mom was six years old, she went to camp for the first time and stayed for six weeks. Here at Ranch Camp, minis of the same age (or even older) stay for only one. 

When I meet parents on drop off day, many of them share similar stories, telling me about how long they went to camp when they were younger than their own children. To some, a week at Ranch Camp doesn’t sound like nearly enough. If kids could handle six weeks away from home back then, why can’t they do it now? How could a camper have the life-changing experience of camp in just seven days? What’s the point?

In my potentially slightly-biased opinion as the Chalutzim unit head, I think there is a very important point in sending kids to a mini session at Ranch Camp. A mini session is like an appetizer before a full meal. For kids who are nervous about being away from home for the first time, being here for just one week whets their appetite for more without overwhelming them on the first go. 

They get to experience some of the touchstone programs of camp, like Maccabiah, Gold Rush, and campfire. They still get to bond with the other Chalutzim campers during unit programs like Ranch Camp Jeopardy or Wishboats. And they have enough time to get used to the day-to-day schedule of camp, so that when they come back next year they know which songs we sing at degel and which shower stall has the best water pressure. Full-session Chalutzim campers who attended a mini session the summer before are some of the most successful campers to come through the front gates. Armed with the knowledge and confidence that the mini session has given them, they are much more easily able to adjust to the rhythm of camp, and to help their cabinmates do the same. 

Out in the real world, adults attend orientations all the time. At a new job, a college tour, or a new house, people take the time to make themselves comfortable before settling in. For campers, that’s exactly what a mini session is for – it’s a week of orientation, hand in hand with discovery, adventure, and a rousing welcome into the Ranch Camp community.

Shabbat Shalom Ranch Camp!

What a wonderful week it has been. We’ve had an absolute blast in our first full week of Session 3. I cannot believe that we are looking down the horizon of the last week of camp. This has been an absolutely amazing session so far and it’s crazy that it is so close to the end.

This week we had quite the laundry list of exciting activities. Our TASCers began their 10 day trip on Monday, and are having quite the adventure up north despite, or in spite of, some pretty consistent rain every day. Not to mention our Toshavim 8th grade boys took their four day to Staunton State Park and also had such a great time, also, in spite of the rain and some sniffles on the trail.

Back at camp, it’s been a weather weird week. We got missed by the biggest storm of the summer, we had an awesome time at Gold Rush on Wednesday, we had an completely unhinged afternoon at Mayhem Day, where I was dunked in the dunk tank by basically every Toshavim camper, over, and over, and over again. It was a riot of a day only marred by the fact that it was the first day below 80 degrees Fahrenheit (it was about 60) for the first time all summer.

We had a fantastic Shabbat together with all our campers, indoors, as it was once again storming out on Friday night. The Mo was full of soul, signature, spirit and song. Once the storm cleared out, we danced outside under what was the best night sky of the summer – you’ll see some of the beauty in some of our pictures.

I truly cannot believe we are looking down the chute to the last seven days of main camp for 2022. It was been a summer for the record books, outside of a pool that deserves to be a skate park, but a summer for the record books nonetheless. I hope this session and the sessions before it have helped your campers be the best possible versions of themselves and given them a confidence in their ability to make the world a better place through their own actions.

Shabbat Shalom Ranch Camp Families!

What an amazing first week kicking off Session 3. It is truly a packed house this session! We’ve got over 160 campers on site and almost every bed at camp is full – it’s a really awesome send off to what has been a phenomenal summer.

The first week of the session is always my favorite – seeing friends reconnect and faces light up throughout the first few days is a real treat and never stops putting a smile on my face. It’s awesome to see so many campers returning this session for 2021 and beyond, really bringing a full (and very loud) community for our last camp session of the summer!

Truly appreciate everyone’s patience at drop off. I know check-in took a little longer than expected for some of ya’ll, and I can’t thank everyone enough for being so patient coming in for arrival.

It couldn’t be the first week of camp without some great activities. We’ve spent the first few days in cabin cohorts, and when we get through our final round of COVID testing, we’ll break out into activity groups and get camp fired up proper on Sunday morning. That being said, we had an awesome first few days of program, riding horses and bikes, screaming down the zip line, and jammin’ it up with some ultimate frisbee on the sports field. We had an AMAZING all camp capture the flag to close out our first few days of evening programs, congrats to the red team (not playing favorites at all) on their absolutely dominating victory.

Our first Shabbat today was so full of people, and full of soul. The community that comes during Session 3 is a special one – very invested into camp and its myriad of unique traditions – and whether its chanting in the Chad, or morning Degel, or bumping tunes during Shabbat services, this crew really brought the energy to our first Shabbat weekend and I can’t WAIT to see where it goes from here.

So excited for what this coming week will bring. Enjoy the photos, stories, and journeys your campers take as we rock into the rest of Session 3!

JCC Ranch Camp’s Sports Track allows our sports loving campers to fully embrace their passions through various different athletic activities. Not only do campers get to experience new forms of athleticism, they also learn new skills and improve their coordination. Together and with a fun spirit, the sports track campers play all kinds of games. These games consist of capture the flag,  basketball, and even water kickball! Some of our more exciting sports include lacrosse, soccer, ultimate frisbee and many more! Ranch Camp’s sports staff really enjoy the Sports Track because of its flexibility in scheduling and because they feel like they have more fun than all the other tracks! Kids gain the unique experience to also learn from staff from all over the world during the sports track. They are able to learn different games from many different cultures and can take this knowledge back home with them! In addition to learning various games, kids are able to learn many valuable traits. These traits include team work, good sportsmanship, communication, and Ruach (Hebrew for “Spirit”). These are not skills specific just to games, but are applicable and beneficial to their daily lives. With a variety of games, absorbing knowledge of varying cultures and perspectives, plus gaining valuable life skills-what more could a sports loving camper want from a program?

Oh man, what a session. What a week! What an amazing way to kick off 2022.

As we wind down into our second soul-filling Shabbat of 2022, I couldn’t be more thrilled with the start to what has already been an amazing summer. We’ve had an action-packed Session 1 and the second week launched it truly into orbit. From seeing the sales pitches made during our camper ‘Shark Tank’ to the amazing acts including a live-singing of ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ during Kaleidoscope (our talent show) as well as a camp dog doing wild tricks on stage, it’s been a wild week of seeing campers step outside their comfort zones and show us the best they have to offer as their individual selves.

On top of all of that, we also broke the week up with some pretty intense competition! This past Thursday was the first of our three camper Maccabiahs for 2022, with an over-the-top afternoon where the green team ultimately took the cake (quite literally, for some of the challenges) at the end of the day. It was an awesome day culminated by the Mac-o-Peel, thecross-campus relay race that starts at the front gate and finishes all the way at Niven Field.

Weeks like this are a special time at camp. We break up and have some pretty serious competitive events, which, depending on your camper, may sometimes be taken a little too seriously! We struggle, we yell, we scream, all in the name of our team winning and, most importantly, having as much fun packed into a single day as we can. It’s a nice reminder at the end of the day, when we celebrate with a color powder party, that our teams, at the end of the day, don’t really matter too much. The wrap up of this day serves as an important reminder that we are one family, no matter who we are, what we look like, how we identify or where we come from.

Despite our early challenges in the session and taking an impromptu evacuation field trip to the Elbert County fairgrounds, it’s been so great having a ‘normal’ first session of 2022 so far.  It was great hearing our 8^th grades reflect on their four-day, and amazing to hear from all our campers on some of their reflections on what they’ve enjoyed most about camp during this week’s Shabbat service. I can’t wait for the stories to be shared with you.

Shabbat Shalom Ranch Camp. We’ll see you Sunday morning!