Fun with JCCGV's winter campers

OLGA LIVSHIN

Children learn; that's what they do. At school or on vacation, playing with friends or arguing with parents, they eagerly absorb new knowledge and new experiences, new people and new images. What lessons did they learn while attending the winter camp at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver? To find out, this writter spent a day with the campers, following a group of children from kindergarten to Grade 3 through their daily routine.

The morning started with table games. Boys played Monopoly with Rael Katz, a 20-year-old University of British Columbia student and one of the counsellors. Girls played cards with Jordana Kroft, a 16-year-old who looked hardly older than the campers; only her green uniform shirt with the moniker madricha proclaimed her status as another counsellor. Quiet and unassuming, she smiled and cuddled with the younger kids, and one of the shiest boys in the group hardly ever tore his grip from her hand all day.

Two years ago, Kroft first volunteered as a camp counsellor and she loved it. She returned the next year as part-time staff. This year, she works with the camp full time and she enjoys it. "I might make working with kids my future profession, but I'm not sure," she said.

Drawing is one of the favorite activities of many of the children. Flaunting her perky little braids, one of the youngest artists, after laboring for an hour, proudly demonstrated the result of her artistic endeavors – a boat full of black crayon people. Maybe they were giant ants; the creatures seemed an amalgam between the two species. With a pencil behind his ear, Cobi Dayan, the camp director, duly admired her creation.

Dayan is currently a student at the University of Victoria. His experience with the camp at the JCCGV goes back to his days as a preschooler. "I grew up with this camp," he recalled. After having been a camper for eight years, it was a logical progression for him to become a counsellor and then the assistant director. Capable and self-assured, he projects calm, and the kids respect and obey him without demur. And he shows them respect in return, even to the most rebellious boy in the group, who wouldn't participate in any activities. Dayan's way of dealing with such a rebellion is to herd the seven-year-old culprit into his office and talk. It seems to help. "I try to understand, to step [into] his age level, to reason," Dayan explained.

In a distinct nod to Chanukah, Dayan led his charges to the arts and crafts room to make dreidels. Despite the bright sign on the door, "Welcome to Messy Art," the room was sunny and orderly, not messy at all, although the tables were covered with the multicolored layers of paints and crayons, reflecting the years of heavy use. But as soon as Dayan distributed the Play-Doh and the children started projects, the room indeed turned artistically messy.

Dayan showed the kids the Hebrew letters that go with a dreidel, the acronym for the Hebrew phrase "Nes gadol hayah sham" ("A great miracle happened there"). Some dreidels came out really well, although not everyone made a spinning top. One little girl made a couple of colorful clowns, while a five-year-old boy made a family of snails in different clay colors. He arranged his multi-hued sculptures on the table by size: from the biggest brown father to the tiniest yellow baby boy, with an orange mother and a green older daughter in between. "Does he have an older sister?" I asked his mother later. "No. Maybe wishful thinking," she replied, laughing.

The next activity was a music session. Alex Konyves came with his treasured guitar to entertain the kids. Recently graduated from the Vancouver Film School, Konyves wants to make kids entertainment his profession. "I learn a lot from the children audience," he said. "They are very honest, so you always know what works and what doesn't." While children sat on the floor around him, Alex first played a couple of Chanukah songs. Then he started some music games that united the participants in jumping, dancing and making all sorts of funny faces. "Let's groove. Let's move," he encouraged his hopping public.

Afterward, it was time for cooking. The children headed to the kitchen, where Hilit Nurick taught them how to make latkes. She organized a lineup to grate potatoes, for there were only five graters for a dozen willing children. "And who wants to grate an onion?" Nurick asked. She clearly didn't expect any volunteers, but an exuberant chorus answered, "I do!" Almost everyone wanted to grate an onion. A couple of older campers got lucky. They won the commission and shed the resulting tears gleefully. Later, Nurick offered many children their first sniffs of nutmeg and lemon thyme. Everyone enjoyed eating latkes prepared by their own hands. And after the latkes, they went swimming.

So what did the kids learn during that day at camp? They learned the values of a smile and kindness from Kroft. They learned how to be efficient and respectful from Dayan. Konyves shared with them his love of music. Nurick showed them how to work together and taught them safety rules of the kitchen. The kids developed new friendships and effortlessly learned ages-old Jewish traditions. They had fun.

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer.

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