Hillcrest 2015 - Week 1 Recap

June 29 - July 3: Week 1 of Summer 2015

Click here to check out pictures from Week 1!

Nursery/Kindergarten

The Smurfs had a great first week at camp.  Our first trip was to Pump It Up, where we went through bounce houses and did obstacle courses. Wednesday was barbecue day and we played in the playground and had hot dogs for lunch.  We painted in arts and crafts and acted out different emotions in drama.

6/7 Girls

We had a great week!! In Arts and Crafts we learned about primary and secondary colors and made designs for our underwater collage.  In Jewish Heritage we sang songs and made our own mezuzot.  We had tons of fun at Pump It Up and made lots of friends. 

8/9 Girls

The first week of camp started with the campers seeing "Inside/Out" and spent most of the week getting to know each other.  BBQ day was spent scarfing down hot dogs and watermelon.  The group ended the week with enjoying themselves at Mini-Golf and the batting cages.

10/11 Girls

Our first week of camp was a lot of fun!  On Monday we went to the movies and saw "Inside Out" which the girls really enjoyed.  On Tuesday in Jewish Culture, the Powerpuff Girls exercised their team building skills to build the Gates of Jerusalem.  After the weekly cookout on Wednesday, the girls had some friendly competition with the 10/11 boys in a game of 20 Questions, Pictionary, and Trivial Pursuit-they were victorious!

Gym

The summer has begun with campers taking part in many activities.  The upper camp has played games of volleyball and basketball.  The lower camp has been involved in games of kickball and pindown.

Art & Jewish Culture

In arts and crafts this week the lower camp learned about primary colors and experimented with color mixing.  The 8/9s made Kandinsky inspired Crayon resist paintings, while the 10/11's and tweens made Giacommetti inspired figurines.

In Jewish Culture the lower camp decorated their own mezuzot and learned three new songs in Hebrew.  The upper camp built the seven gates surrounding Jerusalem in Lego and connecting them to form the walls of the city.

6/7 Boys

The 6/7 boys got off to a great start for their first week of camp!  They absolutely loved going to the pool for free swim. They were eager to learn ow to play kickball in gym an d also enjoyed painting in arts and crafts.  They couldn't wait to play at Valley Stream State Park and have their first barbecue together.  The highlight of the week was their trip to Pump It Up.  They loved running and jumping in the bouncy houses.

8/9 Boys

During the first week of camp the "Justice League" took part in various activities. We started out with an ice break formally known as "The Name Game."  This game helped all of the kids introduce themselves and learn everyone's name.  We then went to the movies where we saw "Inside Out" which everybody enjoyed.  On Wednesday we participated in various athletic activities and lunched on some hot dogs at the first cookout. The boys chose between soccer, softball, basketball, and volleyball. On Thursday we headed down to the Five Towns for their awesome batting cages and mini-golf.  The kids had an opportunity to break out their swings and compete in 18 holes of Mini-Golf.  Next week we get to go to the Bronx Zoo and Rye Playland.

10/11 Boys

The first week of camp was full of excitement since everyone go to see old friends and make new ones.  The Hey Arnold's had a lot of fun on both trips this week.  In camp, the Hey Arnold's had a blast playing pin down in the gym.

Tweens

The first day of camp, we told campers our group name     -Tween Titans- and off we were! We saw the movie "Inside Out" and the next day we had a fun day at camp. Our group loved swimming twice, arts and crafts, drama, Jewish Culture and Gym.  Then on Wednesday our barbecue was awesome- we played soccer, softball, newcomb, and chilled out at the playground!  Thursday we went to the mini-golf/batting cages trip. The Tween Titans have some mighty swings! On Friday we went off to Madison Square Garden: We hope to bring the NY Knicks good luck this year.  Does the fun EVER end?

Swim

This week the swim staff evaluated the campers skills in the swim area.  Each child in the upper camp was put into one of three swim group and instruction began.  Campers did a variety of drills ranging from dunking ones head and blowing bubbles to doing laps and working on kicking technique.  The lower camp enjoyed getting used to the pool and jumping in.

Drama

This week in drama we defined Drama, played ice breaker games to get to know each other, and got to know the things that represent who we are. The kids enjoyed playing a game called “A great wind blows.” The most favorite of all games was “Two truths and one lie” where using a “poker face” or a straight face, the kids told the group three pieces of information, and the kids had to guess what part if that information was a lie. We are so excited to work with such enthusiastic children and look forward to our big production at the end of the summer. Stay tuned for next week’s blog from our Drama class.

Camper Quotes

What was your favorite part of the week?

I love swimming-Aiden N/K
Going to swim because I love free swim-Briana K 6/7 Girls
Pump It Up! I liked playing in the bouncy castles.- William                                                                            6/7 Boys
Going into the pool- Nicole 8/9 Girls
Playing Volleyball with my friends at the barbecue-Lucas 
                                                                         8/9 Boys
I like swimming. It's the first time I've ever been in a pool.                                                                -Leah 10/11 Girls
Going to Mini-Golf and the Batting Cages-Yonatan 
                                                            10/11 Boys
The tour of Madison Square Garden-boo-ya!-Arielle Tweens

What was the most exciting thing you did at camp?

Pump it up was awesome!-Julianna N/K
Arts and Crafts because we got to mix colors- Sarah 
                                                                    6/7 Girls
I had fun at gym and free swim-Ethan B 6/7 Boys
Went to the movies-Shiloh 8/9 Girls
Stopping the other team from scoring the game winning goal in soccer- Ryan 8/9 Boys
Hanging out with my friends at swim- Alexia 10/11 Girls
Seeing "Inside Out"-Osher 10/11 Boys
Free swim was the best!!!-Lolita Tweens

What are you most looking forward to next week?

I can't wait to do more arts and crafts-Maya N/K
Swimming, because it's fun-Brianna A 6/7 Girls
I am looking forward to the next trip- Dimitrios 6/7 Boys
Seeing the animals at the zoo- Julia 8/9 Girls

Going to Rye with all my new friends-Cameron 8/9 Boys
I'm most excited to go to Rye Playland-Samara 10/11 Girls
I am very excited for pizza- Samuel 10/11/ Boys
I am looking forward to i-Fly-Reuven Tweens