We’re a week and a half into camp and Nachshonim has been off to a great start!

Nachshonim’s unit theme is “Heroes”. Campers explore what makes a hero and how to be more aware of heroes within the Jewish community and beyond. During Nachshonim’s first Mashehu, the campers participated in a program called “Hero Value Shopping”; campers went around the room and saw various different values written down (e.g. enthusiasm, empathy, and compassion). They then had to pick their top 5 and then cut down to their top 2 favorite hero values which they deemed meant the most to them in making a good hero. Following on with the Heroes theme, during an Evening Program, the campers participated in ‘Inner Hero’, which involved campers taking four different personality tests. They rotated between different stations, including a psychology test which asked questions like ”You’re walking in the woods, who are you walking with?” and ”You see an animals, what animal do you see?” Campers recorded their answers which were then reviewed for their meaning. The second test was an extrovert/introvert test, the third a zodiac sign test which was then followed up with a discussion of whether they believed in zodiac signs or not, and lastly was a color personality test. This final test required campers to circle different adjectives which they believed described them, their answers were reviewed, and the answers led to one of 4 colors, each which reflected a different personality group.

Another Mashehu Nachshonim participated in was called ‘Field-shehu’, a free time for Nachshonim campers to spend together on the Lower Athletic Field. A kick ball game was being played along with a game of frisbee, gaga (think dodge ball but using your hands to slap the ball and hitting opponents below the knees), card playing, and book reading- whatever campers needed to unwind and whatever fit them as individuals.

Whether it be diving down into what makes a hero so super or what one needs to collect themselves and feel at peace, Nachshonimers are ready for whatever summer throws at them!