Summer 2020 was full of community, fun, and Judaism. The unconventional detail of it being through the screen allowed for some of our staff alumni who haven’t been able to be at camp for the past few summers to “come back home”, and join our other eager staff and campers in the 200+ chugim sessions and cabin times. We had a great summer with you all!
Kallah Kalsman Reflections :
Camp Kalsman’s online camp was absolutely perfect for our kids. They enjoyed cooking, crafts, games and fun activities with their ‘cabins’. The staff did a wonderful job executing these programs in an online setting.
Our rising 6th grader said, ‘I liked that we were able to do arts and crafts, because they were the types of crafts we do at camp.’
And our rising 3rd grader loved cooking so much and now continues to make English muffin pizzas and snacks out of pretzels and chocolate!
Congratulations to Camp Kalsman for pulling off this awesome program!
– Alex Rosenstein, Summer 2020 Kallah Kalsman Parent
Wow what a weird world we live in now! While this isn’t the summer most of us had planned, we are learning to make the most of it.
During Virtual Camp Kalsman, I taught cooking classes each of the 3 weeks. In some ways, it was very much like camp! I had repeat campers, we had the wrong supply request and had to make-do, we joked around during a scavenger hunt, saw our friends, and got to try new and fun things. During my chugim, we learned new techniques for chopping fruits, we learned how to make a double boiler, made homemade s’mores, made animals out of food (and played with our food), and ate a TON of chocolate. All things we do during our summer in the Art Center kitchen.
And the best part? Our families got to help too so now there are entire Kalsman families out there making Pretzel S’mores! The delicious and easy recipe is below:
Ingredients:
Square or Twist Pretzels
Mini Marshmallows
Hershey’s chocolate bar
Steps:
1. Place pretzels on a baking sheet. (For easy clean up, place tin foil or parchment paper on baking sheet first.)
2. Place 3 mini marshmallows on each pretzel.
3. Put baking sheet in oven on High Broil for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it and when marshmallows are puffy and golden, remove from the oven.
4. Quickly place 1 square of chocolate on each marshmallow cluster.
5. Return to broiler for about 30 seconds.
6. Remove from oven and add another pretzel to the top. Enjoy!
– Lauren Fishman, Summer 2020 Kallah Kalsman Staff
Coming back to camp this summer was really special! With all the uncertainty in the world, it was so nice to see familiar faces and pick up with friends and campers, even if it was through a screen. It felt like I had a little piece of Jordan Road in my own living room! Thanks for another great summer, Kalsman!
– Anna Geffen, Summer 2020 Kallah Kalsman Staff
Quarantine has been a highly unusual time, to say the least. It has been tiring, exhausting, and challenging to fill my time and feel a sense of normalcy. While it has been difficult, getting to be a part of this summer camp albeit virtually has been a blessing. Every time I lead a Zoom call with Kalsman campers I am reminded how special this community is. I am able to transport ourselves to Jordan Road and feel as though we are spending our summer filled with chugim, friendship bracelets, and Shabbat Shiras. Coming “back to camp” after being away for three years is a special feeling. It is magic to feel as though no time has passed since my last summer.
– Bella Merritt, Summer 2020 Kallah Kalsman Staff
Kallah Kalsman was definitely a different experience than camp in the past. Although it was sad to not to be able to have our typical in person summer experience, Kallah Kalsman felt like camp. Logging onto different chugim and cabin times was so much fun being able to see and interact with so many campers from all over. We still brought the sense of community to our different activities even over zoom. Our staff were amazing in leading these fun and engaging programs for our campers. My favorite parts of Kallah Kalsman were the song sessions and joining cabin time to play fun games and just hang out with camp friends.
– Jessica Brumer, Summer 2020 Kallah Kalsman Staff
Thanks for an amazing summer, Camp Kalsman!!!