This summer I went back to Camp Moshava to become a Madatz, or counselor in training. This is the next step in becoming leaders in the Habonim Dror movement. I had an amazing summer full of new experiences such as working with kids and bonding with my friends in new ways. I was at camp for 7 weeks, the longest I had ever gone, and because I was having so much fun, I barely missed home.
If you've never heard of Camp Moshava, here is some background information. Camp Moshava is affiliated with a Jewish/labor Zionist youth movement called Habonim Dror. (Zionism is the belief that there should be a Jewish state.) They also believe in collective labor, which is why Moshava is one of the only camps that lets campers and counselors handle labor tasks such as cleaning up camp spaces, taking out the trash, and washing dishes. Additionally, instead of hiring outside staff to cook meals, counselors take care of this responsibility. Another value the movement believes in is Kupa. This is an idea where a certain amount of money included in the tuition is put into a shared budget and what the money is spent on is decided consensually as a group. Camps in Habonim Dror also use an educational style called the peula, which in Hebrew simply means activity. Peulot consist of engaging games, methods to teach concepts, discussions about the concepts, and a conclusion. Some methods include reading texts, acting out skits, and playing engaging games related to the concept being taught. Some concepts that are often touched on in peulot include gender, Zionism, Kupa, and race. One other value the movement believes in is the concept of kvutzah. Every age group is considered a kvutzah, and everyone in a kvutzah is believed to work together and get along. This is why we have a lot of bonding activities to help us get closer to each other.
The Madatz (counselors in training) come to camp a couple of days before the kids come so that we can help prepare for camp. On the first day, we had to set up the platform tents we were going to be living in for all of the first session. This was a lot of work but thankfully we were able to get it all done in one day, something that doesn't happen every year. During the preparation time before kids came, we also had peulot that prepared us for working with kids. When the kids came I was overwhelmed with all of the new responsibilities that I had. I later realized that I didn't have to do everything on my own since counselors and the other Madatz were there to help me.
For the first session, I was assigned to the youngest age group, which consisted of 9-year-olds. We had to attend peulot with them and put them to bed two times a week. The first time we put them to bed we had help from our counselors, but the rest of the time it was only the Madatz. I wasn't by myself though, since I had another Madatz to help put my cabin to bed. The little kids were also surprisingly easy to put to bed. As the session went on I felt like I got to know my kids better and they really liked me too.
During the second session, we had more responsibilities with our kids. We had to attend peulot with them every day and we had to live in a cabin with them. We still only had to put them to bed twice a week though. During this time, I was assigned to the 11 and 12-year-olds. This is a weird age to work with, as kids at this age are trying to test their boundaries and be mischevious. I had to do some work to make them pay attention and stop goofing off during peulot and other activities. Putting them to bed was also sometimes a struggle, but sometimes they were really tired and actually wanted to go to bed. These kids were a lot of fun, as they had some interesting conversations and I enjoyed hanging out with them.
One of the most exciting things about being a Madatz is being able to have Revo, which is short for Revolution. During Revo, the Madatz kick out the counselors and lead a day full of fun activities. Before this can happen however, there has to be a lot of planning. The whole kvutzah has a meeting to decide on a theme. Then, they are split into groups to work on different aspects of the day, such as the plot, activities, the food that will be had that day, and the decorations that there will be. Next, people sign up to do various tasks during the day such as leading round-robin groups, running stations, and doing behind the scenes work such as setting up stations or working in the kitchen. Revo is always a surprise, and is always a very exciting thing as a camper. One way we do this is by announcing Revo in exciting ways. For example, for the first session, we had all the kids come to the activity center in the morning to find Zeus standing on the stage with a fog machine running, who then announced Revo. When this happens, all the kids run outside and throw water balloons at the counselors who are running away as they get kicked out of camp for the day. The theme for the first session was Greek mythology and the theme for the second session was apocalypse, which was about the world ending.
As Madatz, we also lead activities with other counselors. A good example of this is on Special Day, where we teach the camp about a problem in the world through fun activities. One example of how we did this was when we taught about gentrification using a Monopoly theme. We sign up to do tasks similar to the ones we do during Revo, but we are also doing them with older counselors. For example, I lead an activity where another counselor and I were robots from Seattle that were dressed up in boxes by the kids and then quizzed on our knowledge. During regular days at camp, we attend most of the activities throughout the day with our kids and interact with them, even if we aren't leading the activity. However, during second session we had the opportunity to sign up to do more things during certain time blocks, such as leading activities with the help of older counselors or becoming characters. I particularly remember one evening activity we had in which a couple of my friends signed up to be the bride and groom in a roleplay wedding.
Speaking of which, we had lots of time to ourselves as Madatz, and we used this time to hang out and bond. We would have our own peulot, and we discussed a lot of important things in mature ways. Our counselors and our other friends also planned lots of fun activities for us, such as a game of 'Thunderdome,' a scavenger hunt, and a Jeopardy game. We also had two opportunities to go off of the campsite together. The first one was a night of fun activities planned by our counselors. We went swimming in a river at Rocks State Park, ate dinner at a restaurant, and then went to a playground to hang out. The other time was when we went to one of my friends' house to hang out. We played ping-pong and pool, went to a park, and went to get milkshakes at Five Guys. Aside from this, we have lots of time to hang out together at camp during our free time, and that was where I feel like we bonded the most.
Overall, I feel like I had such a fun summer. I was able to see my camp friends, some of which I hadn't seen in 2 years, and become friends with people I wasn't friends with before. I also gained a lot of experience when it came to working with kids. I feel like the experience I had being at Moshava for the Madatz program was unlike anything I've ever done before, and I will remember it forever.
If you've never heard of Camp Moshava, here is some background information. Camp Moshava is affiliated with a Jewish/labor Zionist youth movement called Habonim Dror. (Zionism is the belief that there should be a Jewish state.) They also believe in collective labor, which is why Moshava is one of the only camps that lets campers and counselors handle labor tasks such as cleaning up camp spaces, taking out the trash, and washing dishes. Additionally, instead of hiring outside staff to cook meals, counselors take care of this responsibility. Another value the movement believes in is Kupa. This is an idea where a certain amount of money included in the tuition is put into a shared budget and what the money is spent on is decided consensually as a group. Camps in Habonim Dror also use an educational style called the peula, which in Hebrew simply means activity. Peulot consist of engaging games, methods to teach concepts, discussions about the concepts, and a conclusion. Some methods include reading texts, acting out skits, and playing engaging games related to the concept being taught. Some concepts that are often touched on in peulot include gender, Zionism, Kupa, and race. One other value the movement believes in is the concept of kvutzah. Every age group is considered a kvutzah, and everyone in a kvutzah is believed to work together and get along. This is why we have a lot of bonding activities to help us get closer to each other.
The Madatz (counselors in training) come to camp a couple of days before the kids come so that we can help prepare for camp. On the first day, we had to set up the platform tents we were going to be living in for all of the first session. This was a lot of work but thankfully we were able to get it all done in one day, something that doesn't happen every year. During the preparation time before kids came, we also had peulot that prepared us for working with kids. When the kids came I was overwhelmed with all of the new responsibilities that I had. I later realized that I didn't have to do everything on my own since counselors and the other Madatz were there to help me.
For the first session, I was assigned to the youngest age group, which consisted of 9-year-olds. We had to attend peulot with them and put them to bed two times a week. The first time we put them to bed we had help from our counselors, but the rest of the time it was only the Madatz. I wasn't by myself though, since I had another Madatz to help put my cabin to bed. The little kids were also surprisingly easy to put to bed. As the session went on I felt like I got to know my kids better and they really liked me too.
During the second session, we had more responsibilities with our kids. We had to attend peulot with them every day and we had to live in a cabin with them. We still only had to put them to bed twice a week though. During this time, I was assigned to the 11 and 12-year-olds. This is a weird age to work with, as kids at this age are trying to test their boundaries and be mischevious. I had to do some work to make them pay attention and stop goofing off during peulot and other activities. Putting them to bed was also sometimes a struggle, but sometimes they were really tired and actually wanted to go to bed. These kids were a lot of fun, as they had some interesting conversations and I enjoyed hanging out with them.
One of the most exciting things about being a Madatz is being able to have Revo, which is short for Revolution. During Revo, the Madatz kick out the counselors and lead a day full of fun activities. Before this can happen however, there has to be a lot of planning. The whole kvutzah has a meeting to decide on a theme. Then, they are split into groups to work on different aspects of the day, such as the plot, activities, the food that will be had that day, and the decorations that there will be. Next, people sign up to do various tasks during the day such as leading round-robin groups, running stations, and doing behind the scenes work such as setting up stations or working in the kitchen. Revo is always a surprise, and is always a very exciting thing as a camper. One way we do this is by announcing Revo in exciting ways. For example, for the first session, we had all the kids come to the activity center in the morning to find Zeus standing on the stage with a fog machine running, who then announced Revo. When this happens, all the kids run outside and throw water balloons at the counselors who are running away as they get kicked out of camp for the day. The theme for the first session was Greek mythology and the theme for the second session was apocalypse, which was about the world ending.
As Madatz, we also lead activities with other counselors. A good example of this is on Special Day, where we teach the camp about a problem in the world through fun activities. One example of how we did this was when we taught about gentrification using a Monopoly theme. We sign up to do tasks similar to the ones we do during Revo, but we are also doing them with older counselors. For example, I lead an activity where another counselor and I were robots from Seattle that were dressed up in boxes by the kids and then quizzed on our knowledge. During regular days at camp, we attend most of the activities throughout the day with our kids and interact with them, even if we aren't leading the activity. However, during second session we had the opportunity to sign up to do more things during certain time blocks, such as leading activities with the help of older counselors or becoming characters. I particularly remember one evening activity we had in which a couple of my friends signed up to be the bride and groom in a roleplay wedding.
Speaking of which, we had lots of time to ourselves as Madatz, and we used this time to hang out and bond. We would have our own peulot, and we discussed a lot of important things in mature ways. Our counselors and our other friends also planned lots of fun activities for us, such as a game of 'Thunderdome,' a scavenger hunt, and a Jeopardy game. We also had two opportunities to go off of the campsite together. The first one was a night of fun activities planned by our counselors. We went swimming in a river at Rocks State Park, ate dinner at a restaurant, and then went to a playground to hang out. The other time was when we went to one of my friends' house to hang out. We played ping-pong and pool, went to a park, and went to get milkshakes at Five Guys. Aside from this, we have lots of time to hang out together at camp during our free time, and that was where I feel like we bonded the most.
Overall, I feel like I had such a fun summer. I was able to see my camp friends, some of which I hadn't seen in 2 years, and become friends with people I wasn't friends with before. I also gained a lot of experience when it came to working with kids. I feel like the experience I had being at Moshava for the Madatz program was unlike anything I've ever done before, and I will remember it forever.
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