Camp Ramah offers a family-friendly package

PALMER, Mass. – Have you ever wanted to attend your child’s overnight summer camp?  Did you miss out on overnight camp altogether as a child?  If so, Camp Ramah’s family weekend is for you.

During this past Memorial Day weekend, my husband, our two children (ages 8 and 4) and I attended family camp at the Conservative movement’s Camp Ramah in Palmer, Mass., one of a series of Ramah camps around the country.

I never did any Jewish camping as a child, or any overnight summer camp of any kind, for that matter. My husband had attended Jewish overnight camp as a child with “the other team,” as he calls it – a Young Judea Zionist camp.

I had heard vaguely of the Ramah camps but didn’t know anything about them. When I received the email announcement about the family weekend from my rabbi, I have to admit that my first thought was how appealing it would be not to have to cook or do dishes for three days.  My second thought was about all the fun activities available – the typical camp smorgasbord of sports, swimming, canoeing, arts and crafts, drama games and various age-appropriate activities. My third thought was about the opportunity to do some Jewish activities, including fully observing Shabbat (while we’re involved in our synagogue, we’re not observant).

Indeed, the weekend combined all of these in a welcoming, family-friendly package. The camp is located in a rustic setting on a lake with bunkhouses and community buildings set among tall pine trees. There are also open playing fields, tennis courts and a waterfront area for swimming and boating. We stayed in the camp bunkhouses, one bunkhouse per family.  Normally holding about 16 campers, each bunkhouse is a pretty basic affair with rows of bunk beds and a bathroom. Meals were in the camp’s dining hall at large tables, which provided us an opportunity to get to know other families.

The weekend began Friday evening with a Shabbat service in the beautifully rustic but elegant chapel, followed by a Shabbat dinner.

Shabbat and Shabbat-friendly camp activities filled the next day.  Sunday and Monday offered, among other things, swimming, canoeing, arts and crafts, ultimate Frisbee lessons, tennis lessons, a Sunday night campfire and, for our family, an afternoon snooze.  All the activities, including the religious ones, were voluntary, contributing to a relaxed atmosphere (this is not the case during the regular summer camp, of course, where campers follow a required schedule).

About 22 families attended the weekend. Some came from as far away as Maryland and Pennsylvania. Most appeared to be there to check out the camp as a future summer possibility for one of their children, or to preview camp life for children who are enrolled for the upcoming summer. The only other family from Providence was doing just that for one of their children.

Some especially nice features: There’s a Gan program for the nursery school set – a well-run daycare – is available if you want it. There’s also evening babysitting after the kids are in bed (but not necessarily asleep), so that the adults can participate in some childfree activity. One night it was learning with the rabbi, another night it was Israeli movie night.  The camp staffers, many of whom are college students, were wonderful, and they sure can sing loudly at prayers and at the campfire. Except for instructions about page numbers, the services were almost entirely in Hebrew.

Don’t expect the usual rabbinical garb from the camp clergy. Here the camp director rabbi was clad in a tallit over his t-shirt, cargo shorts and water sandals. Some people wore kippot, while others went bareheaded at prayers.

The only less-than-totally impressive aspect of the camp was the food, an unfortunate intersection of kosher, institutional and child-friendly food.  When even our 4-year old daughter’s JCC meals here in Providence feature such offerings as whole wheat mac-and-cheese and edamame, Japanese style soy beans, the Ramah food seemed like something out of the 1950s, before whole grains and, well, flavoring, became fashionable. Still, someone else was cooking and doing dishes.

Overall, it was a lovely weekend. As we left, we had to promise our children that we would come back next year.

Nina Tannenwald, a professor at Brown University, lives in Providence with her husband and two children. Contact her at nina_tannenwald@brown.edu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Potential interested families will be able to meet our Camp Director, Assistant Director, Head Counselors and other key staff. They will be on hand to answer questions and tell you about the extraordinary opportunities that await your child at Camp Ramah.

During the morning, visitors will have an opportunity to tour our facilities and see how our campers enjoy swimming and boating on our beautiful lake, swinging on our thrilling ropes course, participating in a wide variety of sports, engaging in music, dance and drama, creating original arts and crafts projects, and so much more.

Everyone will have a chance to learn about our unique Jewish education program which enables our campers to learn Hebrew and study their Jewish heritage in an informal setting.

Discover for yourself how a few weeks at Ramah will enhance your child’s life forever!

We hope you’ll join us!

Please RSVP to Lori Bard at lorib@campramahne.org.

Any interested families, as well as the families of new campers already enrolled for summer 2011, are invited to join us for an exciting day on Sunday May 29th! You’ll have an opportunity to tour the camp grounds and learn all about our amazing camp program.

We look forward to seeing everyone at camp on Sunday May 29th! Please RSVP to Leora Kimmel at LeoraK@campramahne.org

Are your children already enrolled for summer 2011 at camp, or are considering enrolling your children? Would you like a chance to tour our facility this spring? Then come join us at one of our upcoming tour dates!

There are two upcoming opportunities for you to visit camp for a tour: Sunday April 24th at 11:00 am and Sunday, May 29th at 10:30 am at Camp Ramah in Palmer, MA.

Please RSVP to Leora Kimmel Greene at leorak@campramahne.org or 781-702529- x227

Come experience the magic of Ramah as a family!

Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-30, 2011 Bring your family and enjoy a ruach-filled Ramah experience. Friday afternoon May 27th through Monday, May 30th, at Camp Ramah in New England in Palmer, MA.

Click here to register online

This all inclusive family vacation weekend includes sleeping accommodations, kosher meals & snacks, including festive Shabbat meals, childcare, and all programming and activities. Families have a choice of housing options ranging from basic cabins to upgraded accommodations such as the Guest House, the Marpeah and Tikvah village bunks. Upgraded housing is reserved on a first-come-first serve basis for an additional fee. No matter which option you choose, it is the best rate around for a family vacation, with something for every member of the family.

Applications are due April 1st, 2011. 10% discount for families that register by March 4th.

Click here to register your family today!

For more information contact Ben Greene, Director of Education at beng@campramahne.org

Click here for more details!

Click here to contact us with any questions

Temple Israel, 125 Pond Street, Sharon, MA.

Join your camp friends for shira (singing) with Cantor Gaston Bogomolni and watch the new 2010 DVD yearbook!

Rabbi Ed Gelb, Director, will be hosting a parallel parent meeting presenting the exciting future site plans for camp.

Please RSVP to Davey Rosen, Assistant Director, 781-702-5290 x232.

Click here to contact us with any questions