by Raphaella Ruggiero
A full week into camp and Solelim has been up to some serious fun during their Mashehu period!
In their very first Mashehu, Solelim participated in a program called “Pave it Forward”, which is a play on the concept “pay it forward”. The campers each did something for the camp which made the rest of the camp and campers alike feel more at home. Before they started, they first watched a video on what paying it forward means, which is when you do something nice for someone and instead of that person returning the favor, they do something nice for someone new, creating a cycle and culture of kindness. This is an important lesson, especially since one of Camp Coleman’s four main values is chesed (kindness), and this was a good way to learn about how campers can incorporate it into their daily lives. After the video, Carly, the Solelim Programmer, told the campers that during t’fillah in the Hillman Chapel she has noticed some wilting plants. She decided to enact “paving it forward”; she got some plant pots and with help from the campers planted flowers. On top of that, every other Mashehu, a different group of Solelim campers are in charge of watering the flowers to make sure they stay alive to help make the Hillman Chapel a beautiful place for t’fillah.
Another an Evening Program the campers participated was called ”Egg Drop, Not Soup”. The Solelim campers had to think up a creative way to stop their uncooked chicken egg from breaking when dropping it off the Minsky Art Center balcony. The campers where given a specific set and amount of materials from which they could construct their egg protection. Once orchestrated, they dropped their contraptions off the balcony and had judges decide whether the egg remained intact or not. The idea behind this program is that the egg symbolizes resilience and that there is always more to come in life. When a chicken first lays its egg, it’s not the end of the story; that egg goes on to hatch and grow into a whole new chicken. This program helped teach campers that life may be tough sometimes, but there is always more to come and room for growth, and that needs to be protected.