Camp Kee Tov

Oops! We were having too much fun yesterday and forgot to blog!

Before the computer melts, here’s what happened at camp today:

• Rishonim had a HOT Pirate Day, traveling the seven seas, going on a treasure hunt, and having a water-fight.
• Habonim spent the day at Campus! Wow! What a HOT day to be walking! They came back in good spirits after an awesome scavenger hunt!
• Giborim had a HOT morning in their Chugim before being SO happy to go to the pool.
• Mapilim came off their one-night slumber party to have a HOT All-Day Specialty. They’re furiously working to get ready for TOMORROW night’s Mapilim Performance (7:30 in the Sanctuary).
• Chalutzim continued their HOT overnight in Marin. All reports are very positive (and hot).
• Gesher did some HOT community service: singing for the elderly and removing invasive plants at Codornices Park, and then dominated the rock wall at Bridges.

Tomorrow (if we haven’t burst into flames) will be another awesome day:

Rish is having Hollywood Day and becoming stars; Hab is heading to the pool; Gib is going to campus (wear your good shoes); Map is having specialties and swimming for the last time and preparing for the MAPILIM PERFORMANCE; Chal is returning from their overnight, and Gesh is going to the beach (back at 5:30).

Today we’d like to share with you one of those little things that you might not know about Kee Tov. Why? That’s a great question. Did you know that we rent cargo vans? Yeah that’s right, big white cargo vans that we drive to bring all the food and supplies to our overnights. We also use them to get stuff to Family Night. Only 8 days until Family Night! The thing about the vans is that they’re not exactly easy to drive. Zero visibility, lots of weight, mediocre handling. Driving one of those things 6 miles along a very twisty stretch of Redwood Road on the way to Hawk Ridge is a challenge to say the least. A fun challenge, but a challenge. (Don’t worry, the kids don’t go in the van). The worst part about the vans: having to return them after a long overnight. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

And no, we don’t bring a van to Staff Training. Refrigerated truck baby. Now THAT thing’s a pain to drive.

Today was another high-octane day at the Tov:

• Rishonim had vacay-day. (Vacay stands for vacation in case that wasn’t clear). They practiced yoga, made visors, and created oceans in a bottle.
• Habonim Edah Bet traveled the world in just ONE day (those 80-day people are lazy). They had penguin races (yet another use for a foam noodle) and climbed Mt. Everest. Edah Gimmel made love potions during Midsummer Night’s Dream Day.
• Giborim Edah Daled returned from an awesome overnight. Edah Hey made birthday cards for their program director, sang with Eric, and practiced their cheers before joining Daled at the pool.
• Mapilim moved their specialty and swimming day to Thursday this week. They joined Gib at the pool for some fun in the sun.
• Chalutzim got ready for All-Camp Shabbat and held a bake sale at UC Berkeley!
• Gesher returned from a spectacular three night backpacking trip near Lake Tahoe. They were in such good spirits that they were MORE than happy to stay late to join the staff in the All-Staff meeting.

Tomorrow is ALL-CAMP SHABBAT! We’ll all be together all day long in Tilden.

It’s National Aviation Day today. That, naturally, makes us think of airplanes. And flights. Like how a flight has three stages: the liftoff, the cruising, and the descent/landing. You could think of Kee Tov like a cross country flight. In June we head down the runway and take off on our summer-long journey. As we head into July we reach cruising altitude, have the meal service, and maybe enjoy a movie. As we move through August we wrap things up, clean up the cups and trays, and put our tray tables into the upright and locked position. Now we’ve reached the beginning of the final approach. Soon everything will be done, the plane landed, and only thoughts of our next journey to comfort us. The flight’s not over, but the end is in sight.

Today showed that we’re still making the most of the time we have left:

• Rishonim took a trip to the Oakland Zoo to visit the animals and look for the lost Kee Tov animal! Now they’re enjoying their Mock Overnight!
• Habonim Edah Bet woke up bright and early after their one-night overnight. They joined Edah Gimmel for an all-Hab ro-sham-bo tournament and singing with Eric and Mapilim, then had the pool all to themselves.
• Giborim Edah Daled continued their awesome overnight (sounds like they’re having a blast) and Edah Hey went bouncing at Sky High!
• Mapilim and Chalutzim soaked in the rays at the A’s game!
• Gesher continued their backpacking trip. Reports are that everything is going great!

Tomorrow the journey continues:

Rish is taking it easy and treating themselves at the Kee Tov spa; Hab Bet is going around the world and Gimmel is having a Midsummer Day’s Dream; Gib Daled is returning from the overnight and joining Edah Hey at the pool; Map is having specialties and then joining Gib at the pool; Chal is getting ready for All-Camp Shabbat; and Gesh is coming back from their backpacking trip!

Have you been to Beth El lately to see what’s going on at Kee Tov? If not, you’ve been missing out. In fact, this week is Ruach Week in the office – with a different theme each day! We started things off with Sporty Day yesterday and today was Luau Day.

Steph shows her Ruach!

We’ve also go the Kee Tov shop going strong!

Our very professional looking shop

We’re giving love to our staff with the counselor of the week board.

Counselors of the week

That’s just a little taste of all the fun we’re having here at Kee Tov. Come drop by and say Hi!

Luau!

We thought today would be a good day to share some more info about Camp Kee Tov through some older blog posts – you may have seen these before, but hey, why not?

Check out the Camp Kee Tov glossary!

Here’s a post from our old blog (that means the one from last year) about a day in the life of a camper.

And another similar one about a day in the life of a counselor.

Hope you’re having an amazing Tuesday!

What are the signs of fall coming? Leaves starting to turn. New fashions showing up in the stores. Back to school sales. The weather starting to get chilly (oh wait, it’s been freezing all summer). Sure, those are all good, but maybe the biggest sign is the start of preseason football games. Seeing the red and gold of the 49ers this past Sunday really made it hit home – fall’s almost here. Only two weeks of camp left. We’re making every day count:

• Rishonim 1 had career day! They helped Elana choose her future career as a children’s book author. Rish 2 had mad scientist day and made potions. Rish 3 traveled to the prehistoric ages, then the 1950’s, and 1970’s before finally making it back to the present.
• Habonim had some epic races in the morning, then went to the pool where they had a splash showdown. They enjoyed some time at King Park in the afternoon.
• Giborim had an all Gib Fear Factor Messy Day! They ate bugs (our sources tell us they were actually gummy worms), went to a haunted house, and made a splash on the slip ‘n’ slide.


That's one messy Giborim

• Mapilim partied with their specialties this morning, and then went swimming on this rare sunny day. After that they chilled at Aquatic Park where they were attacked by sprinklers. Look out!
• Chalutzim ventured all the way to San Jose to ride the waterslides at Raging Waters.
• Gesher departed for the mountains to start their 3-night backpacking trip!

Tomorrow the march toward autumn continues:

Rish will become Tov Scouts; Hab Edah Bet is heading to Pump It Up before their one-night overnight, and Gimmel will have a surprisingly fun day at the beach; Gib is having Chugim and Swimming and edah Daled is heading out to their overnight (don’t forget something to tie-dye); Map is visiting a fort and walking the Golden Gate Bridge; Chal is going on an awesome field trip (again); and Gesh is continuing their backpacking trip.

Another fabulous week has come to a close here at Camp Kee Tov. Here are a few pictures from the week:

Gesher helps lead the day for Habonim

Mapilim relaxes in Golden Gate Park

The Habonim staff gets messy!

The staff says goodbye for the weekend

Have a restful Shabbat and a fantastic weekend. We’ll see you for another big week on Monday! Gesher’s going backpacking!

Yesterday the San Francisco Giants made a trade with the Chicago Cubs, trading away a minor league outfielder for a utility infielder named Mike Fontenot. Funny thing is, the Giants and Cubs were in the middle of a four game series against one another in San Francisco. So Mike Fontenot was at the ball park getting ready for a game when he was told to go over to the other side of the hallway, throw on a new uniform, and watch his new team play against his old one. Must have been pretty weird.

Sometimes at camp we joke around about trading counselors from one program to another. Trade two Junior Counselors and a CIT for a Rosh. Maybe swap Senior Counselors. Of course, if you all of a sudden got traded from Habonim to Mapilim, you wouldn’t have to worry about playing against your former team; we’re all on the same side here at Kee Tov.

Next thing you know they’ll be negotiating for multi-year deals with a signing bonus, no-trade clause, and performance incentives. An extra $10 for making a good cooler of punch?

Today all of our teams showed how well they’ve gelled:

• Rishonim helped Ash find his lost Pikachu Pokemon. Don’t worry, we have no idea what that means either.
• Habonim Edah Bet had Survivor Day! Edah Gimmel had Messy Day! Jeopardy Slip ‘n’ slide was a new twist on an old favorite.
• Giborim Edah Hey returned from a successful two-night outing in Tilden. They joined Daled for some swimming at the pool.
• Mapilim had an awesome winter olympic themed morning (we think that’s what it was – all we know is that the dog-sledding was super cool). Then they went ice skating!
• Chalutzim returned from Lake Natoma after a phenomenal overnight!
• Gesher learned what it takes to be a counselor and planned out the days they’ll lead with Hab and Gib tomorrow.

Tomorrow we’ll surely hit another homerun as all our programs will be having Jewish themed programming for Shabbat. Gesher will become junior CITs in Hab and Gib, and Rish and Chal will buddy up once again.