Under the auspices of our own Lauren Elise Bier Nursery School, Congregation AABJ&D provides a fantastic preschool summer program for boys and girls, ages 2-5. In 2010, our first summer, Camp Shemesh ran from June 28 through August 20. We are happy to provide our community with an exceptional program that enhances, encourages and develops your child’s creativity and independence.  
 

 

 LENA DICKMAN, Camp Director
 

As a former resident of West Orange and member of AABJ&D now living in Livingston, Lena was very excited to direct Camp Shemesh in its inaugural summer. Besides being the mother to three young children, Lena holds degrees in both special education and elementary education. She has 13 years of experience as a special educator in the public school as well as the private school systems. Additionally, she has held positions as co-chair of a synagogue youth committee, and as director of a preschool camp. 

Lena can be contacted at 973-736-1407 ext. 250 or at aabjdsummercamp@gmail.com.

 

 

The summer is an especially wonderful time for young children to socialize and grow through various interactions and activities. At Camp Shemesh, your child will make new friends, learn new concepts, create works of art and experience independence in a safe, enjoyable and nurturing environment. Each week will include a unique theme and fun-filled outdoor and indoor learning activities. All groups will be appropriately supervised by properly trained, enthusiastic and loving counselors. Children will enjoy summer days learning new songs, making crafts, cooking, playing games, experimenting with science, and more. All camp activities are structured so that they are appealing, rewarding and best of all, a lot of fun! 
 

Some of the fun that we have to look forward to includes: instrument making, musical murals, homemade drinks and treats, bubble adventures, and so much more. We look forward to providing your children with an experience they won’t forget!  

 

 

It has been an incredible first summer at Camp Shemesh. As soon as the children received their welcome packets their anticipation began to grow. From start to finish the children were involved with a variety of activities and themes that heightened their senses and expanded their knowledge and creativity. Launching our summer of excitement we began our first week with “Fun in the Sun” activities. The children loved splashing in the pool, creating ice sculptures and sunshine tambourines. During our theme “Around the World” the children virtually explored countries and traditional clothing and ideas such as sombreros in Mexico, kimonos in Japan and stained glass windows in Italy. They especially enjoyed the Rice Krispy sushi and home made pizzas that they made. The children saw pictures of shuls from around the world and were able to compare them to our shul here in New Jersey. The highlight that week was of course our very favorite place to be--Israel; where we learned about the kedushah of the kotel. We also navigated through the rain forest and jungle, where we met up with animals such as limber monkeys, ferocious lions and enormous hippos. While learning about our 5 senses we not only expanded our palate with a varietyy of flavors, we created beautiful bisamim boxes andcolorfull and decorative shakers. The world of puppets opened new doors for us as we put our creative capabilities to the test by making bobble head sock puppets, hand puppets, stick puppets and finger puppets. “Puppeteer”, “ventriloquist” and “marionette” became a new part of our already expanding vocabulary. Our little scientists explored the world of insects and could be seen scavenging around for bugs with magnifying glasses close to their eyes and noses. It was amazing to see how brave and adventurous our campers could be as they uncovered rocks, branches and leaves in order to discover the variety of creepy crawlers.
 
Our camp experience was heightened weekly by the special programs incorporated into our schedule. The children discovered the magic of music with Miss Samantha. During this music class, the children explored many types of instruments and sounds. They lyrics of the songs had the kids mouths and minds in motion. In addition to that, Travelin' Tumblers got us moving parts of body from our head to our toes. Miss Trish encouraged the children to use the balance beam as well as the ever popular parachute. Our weekly cooking class was eagerly anticipated by both our campers as well as our counselors. Our little cooks became gourmet chefs creating superb concoctions such as stained glass cookies, deviled eggs and colorful corn salad.
 
Further enhancing our already wonderful experience were the generous visits that we had from the West Orange Fire Department and from Miss Faith the West Orange childrens' librarian. The children were able to learn all about fire safety and get a close up view of the inside of a fire truck. Miss Faith brought in a variety of books for the children to choose from and listen to. Our most exceptional special event of the summer was the incredible presentation that we had from "Goowins Balloons" from The Encore Performing Arts Company. The children were captivated and enthralled by the amazing balloon works of art. All of our campers were able to participate in the interactive performance as Allen Goowin brought fairy tales and Jewish folklore to life.
 
We are gratified that Camp Shemesh turned out to be the huge success that it was and are pleased to be able to provide the community with an outstanding and affordable camp option. See you next summer!