Activities & Programs
SPORTS
After stretching at the beginning of an Athletics period, campers get to try a variety of different athletic activities including Basketball, Soccer, Gaga, Softball, Street Hockey, Flag Football, Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, Indoor Games, Ping Pong, Kickball, Lacrosse, Newcomb, Pillow Polo, Track and Field, Weights, Wiffle Ball, Hacky Sacks, Devil Sticks/Diablos and more!
Electives: Tennis, Basketball Archery, Fall Sports Conditioning, Fitness/Weights, Running, Frisbee Golf.
Intercamp Competition: Jr. Jr. Jamboree, Archery, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Softball, Volleyball, Newcomb, Swim
AQUATICS
Camp YJ is on the shores of beautiful Baboosic Lake. Our waterfront is home to many aquatic electives! Both the pool and waterfront are staffed by First Aid, CPR, and AED trained Red Cross instructors.
Electives: Waterskiing, Canoeing, Kayaking, Fishing, Stand-Up Paddle Boarding (“SUP”), Sailing, Corkle, Bellyak
THE ARTS
Campers are able to express themselves through singing, dancing, acting, and creating different things throughout the summer! We have a multipurpose indoor facility (fondly known as “The Levine”) with a stage and an indoor sports court, as well as a Media and Arts & Crafts Studio. Music electives and periods alternate between indoor and outdoor space.
Many talents are displayed in the camp play, musical, and at Media Night, where the whole camp gets a chance to see their peers incredible videography and photography work. Our oldest campers (entering grades 9 and 10) can take part in Voice Company (“V-Co”) and Dance Company (“D-Co”). They showcase their performances in front of the whole camp and perform at Jewish Arts Fest (an inter-camp event).
At our Arts & Crafts studio, we offer woodworking, jewelry design, friendship bracelet making, gimp, ceramics, pottery, copper enameling, tie dying, drawing, and more!
Electives: Arts & Crafts, Performing Arts, Dance Company, Voice Company, Videography and Photography (Media),
Active Learning And OUTDOOR Adventure
Our Project Adventure staff support campers in strengthening their team-building skills through a variety of cooperative group games. We also have a Low Ropes Course and Climbing Tower where campers display their team work!
Campcraft and Nature programs includes overnight trips to our camp-site, just across the street and in the woods. At our Campcraft space, there are bunk beds, tents, a fire pit, and ample room for exploring nature.
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS
HORSEBACK RIDING And Farm Care
Camp YJ offers horseback riding for all ages and all levels. Never been on a horse? No problem! Have lots of horseback riding experience? No problem! We team up with a local stable to offer a unique & individualized program for anyone who wants to participate! Lessons are offered once or twice a week, for beginner or advanced riders.
LIFEGUARDING
Campers in our Daled group (entering grade 10) can take the American Red Cross Lifeguarding and CPR course. Campers who sign up must be full-season campers who will be 15 years old by the time the course ends and must be willing to devote extra time to studying and practice during the summer.
*additional fees apply for these programs
ADDITIONAL Fun Activities
We have fun in AND out of camp!
Out of Camp: We plan amazing Trip Days and Nights Out, Camping Trips (to our own “Spooky Woods” campsite and to beautiful New Hampshire state parks). We have travel teams for all ages in sports!
In camp: Sports Tournaments and Game Days, Maccabiah (Color War), and special activities including bounce houses, water slides, ice cream trucks, special entertainers and more!
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A Camp YJ CAMPER
A typical day at camp features six 45-minute instructional periods, including electives, and scheduled activities. Younger campers are provided with a wide variety of programs, including tennis, arts and crafts and free swim. Older campers have the opportunity to design a more customized program.
Take a look at an example of a typical day:
RISE & SHINE
8:00 am: Wake up
8:20 am: Lineup and Flag Raising
8:30 am: Breakfast
9:15 am: Bunk Cleanup
10:00 am: First Period: Swimming
10:45 am: Second Period: Athletics
11:30 am: Third Period: Elective (your choice)
12:15 am: Free Time
12:45 pm: Lunch
DIVE RIGHT IN
1:45 pm: Rest Hour
2:45 pm: Fourth Period: Project Adventure (grades 3-6), Elective (grades 7-9)
3:30 pm: Fifth Period: Jewish Life, Music, or Dance
3:50 pm: Snack (popsicles or fruit)
4:15 pm: Sixth Period: Electives
5:00 pm: Free Time
NIGHTS TO REMEMBER
5:45 pm: Lineup and Flag lowering
6:00 pm: Dinner
7:00 pm: 7th Period: (Drama rehearsals, team practices, tennis courts and athletics fields are open, bunk time, etc.)
7:45 pm: Evening Program
8:45 pm: Snack
9:15 pm + : Lailah Tov (good night and lights out; time depends on age of the camper)
JEWISH Life
Camp YJ is a pluralistic Jewish overnight camp deep in the hills of New Hampshire. Our approach to Jewish life is grounded in the belief that spirituality is deeply personal. At CYJ every member of the community is invited and encouraged to explore their own connection to Judaism. We learn by doing. We develop understanding through exposure. We recognize that Jewish ritual and prayer changes over time and space. At Camp YJ we invite campers to try new things, to stretch their wings, to take risks, and Jewish Life at Camp YJ is no different.
At Camp YJ we are committed to diversity. Our campers, counselors and staff come from a wide variety of Jewish backgrounds. Every member of our community brings their own Jewish experience to camp. Some campers attend Jewish day schools, some attend public school, and some are homeschooled. Some campers belong to a synagogue and attend religious school, some don’t. Some campers speak Hebrew fluently, others learn their first Hebrew letters and words at Camp YJ. Some campers have many Jewish friends in their home community, some live in towns where they are the only Jewish family. And, our counselors and staff are just as diverse. It is these differences, in part, that make us a welcoming, joyful, experiential community .
While members of the Camp YJ community come from many different Jewish backgrounds, we all have one goal in common: to be part of a joyful Jewish community where respect for diversity and a commitment to exploring all that Jewish life has to offer, guide our day-to-day living. We promote and encourage this at Shabbat (Friday night and Saturday morning) services in the Grove, at meals, at Havdalah (the Saturday evening ceremony which ends Shabbat) and throughout day-to-day life at camp.
Campers engage in informal Jewish Life experiences each week by chug (age group). Led by the Director of Jewish Life and Living, as well as bunk counselors, campers become familiar with the common Hebrew phrases used at camp, Shabbat rituals and the blessings we recite before and after each meal. Through informal education and hands-on experiences, campers learn songs and prayers, create ritual items to bring home, travel through the Jewish holiday cycle and life cycle, and deepen their connection to Judaism and Israel. At the core of Jewish Life is conversation and questioning…our goal is for every member of the Camp YJ community to develop a deep and personal connection to their Judaism.
GENERAL INFORMATION
At Camp YJ meals are either meat or dairy. All of the meat we serve is kosher. All processed foods are hechshered (have a kosher symbol).
In the Dining Hall we sing motzi (blessing before eating) and birkat hamazon (grace after meals) daily.
On Friday evening we gather in the grove for Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming Shabbat) and on Saturday mornings we gather again for Shabbat Shacharit (morning services). On Saturday evenings we gather for Havdalah (a ceremony to mark the end of Shabbat).
Communal services always include joyful and spirited song, Hebrew prayers, and English readings. Camp YJ is an egalitarian community; everyone, regardless of gender identity, is welcome and encouraged to take on a leadership role!
SHABBAT
Shabbat at Camp YJ is one of the highlights of the week. Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming Shabbat) is held in the Grove, Camp YJ’s outdoor prayer space. Followed by a festive meal in the Dining Hall, singing, and Israeli dancing, Friday night is a joyful celebration of the past week and a welcome break from the busy schedule of camp. On Saturday, Shabbat morning, we have a late wakeup, continental breakfast, and then gather again in the Grove for services. After lunch, the entire community participates in a rousing song session (our neighbors across the lake swear they can hear us cheering and singing!!). Saturday afternoon offers Rest Hour, free time, an opportunity to swim in the Lake or Pool, structured and unstructured sports and games, as well as special Shabbat activities. After dinner, we make Havdalah and begin our new week.
Jewish life experiences
Campers meet weekly for informal and experiential Jewish Life programs. Our primary emphasis is to explore our connection to modern-day Israel. Classes and programs vary according to age, but range from tikkun olam (repairing the world) to Jewish heroes and heroines, from understanding the roots of anti-Semitism to performing mitzvot (commandments/good deeds). Through movies, arts and crafts projects, discussion groups, hikes, games, and hands-on activities, campers are intimately involved in compelling and meaningful Jewish Life experiences.
BAR/BAT MITZVAH & HEBREW TUTORING
Each session offers one-on-one, personalized Bar and Bat Mitzvah tutoring as well as Hebrew tutoring. Tutoring is organized by our Director of Jewish Life and Living, Rabbi Jennifer Rudin (“Rabbi Roo”). Campers are paired with a counselor who meets with them for 30 minutes per week. We invite parents, Rabbis and Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutors to connect with Rabbi Roo before camp begins to set tutoring goals and make sure the necessary materials arrive at camp. There is a separate fee for this service. Please feel free to call us for more information about this program.
ISRAEL TRIP
Camp YJ offers a memorable five-week Israel Experience program to children completing 10th grade. Open ONLY to campers who have spent at least their 9th grade summer at Camp YJ, the program is a multi-faceted learning and social experience. Following the program in Israel, campers return to Camp YJ for a 12-day Leadership Training program. The Camp YJ Summer Israel Experience (popularly called the “Gadna” program), is operated in conjunction with the Israeli government’s Jewish Agency for Israel.
HEALTH, SAFETY & NUTRITION
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
We work closely with parents in making sure that campers' health needs--daily medication, allergies, hygiene, application of sunscreen and bug spray--are carefully monitored. Led by a team of pediatric nurse practitioners, nurses and EMTs, our health center has private rooms and multi-bed areas and is staffed by an outstanding medical team 24 hours a day. We also have a Camper Care Team that creates supportive programs for any campers with behavioral, nutritional or social concerns. We consult with a nearby medical practice (just in case!) and if necessary, it’s a ten-minute drive to two local hospital walk-in clinics. Our medical staff makes themselves available before every meal and before bedtime right in front of the Dining Hall, establishing rapport and relationships and monitoring health and wellness of our entire community. We offer “sick call” to the Health Center twice a day, once in the morning, and once after dinner time.
FOOD
Tasty, kid-friendly food, a constantly changing menu, rave reviews from kids…this is camp food? YES!
Every day at camp we offer fresh, delicious and appealing food choices to our campers and staff. We are proud of our ability to expand even the pickiest kids’ repertoires with tempting, tasty food choices! In addition to traditional favorites like mac and cheese, hotdogs and hamburgers at our weekly cookout, grilled cheese and curly fries, chicken fajitas, homemade pizza, make-your-own tacos and our weekly Friday night festive Shabbat meal, we offer inviting vegetarian options, a breakfast bar, giant, ever-changing salad bar, pasta bar, fresh fruit and vegetables and heart-healthy selections. Our yummy, homemade desserts and ice cream treats are legendary! (And did we mention an afternoon and evening snack?).
We provide nutritious, kosher meals from farm-to-table and avoid processed foods where possible. We can accommodate food allergies, including gluten-free, soy-free and other dietary restrictions, as well as lactose intolerance, picky eaters, vegetarian or vegan diets, and more! Our nursing staff works closely with our chefs, campers and their families to ensure that every child is eating nutritious and delicious meals and snacks. The entire camp eats together three times a day in our modern dining hall or outside in our park for picnics and cookouts. Each camper belongs to a table “family” made up of a cross-section of campers of different ages. Although we do serve peanut butter as a replacement meal, all of our other products and cooking are nut-free. Fruit and snacks are always available.
In addition, we aspire to reuse, recycle and reduce in all camp activities.
STAFF TRAINING
Interviews and staff reference checks are done for every employee, including required background criminal-record checks. Staff training includes pre-camp distance learning technology, a week of in-camp training before campers arrive and in-service training throughout the entire summer. All Waterfront staff are certified in First Aid and CPR as well as Lifeguarding; Water Safety Instructor certification is required of all second-year aquatics staff. We require certifications in other areas such as Boating, Archery and Low and High Ropes course programs.
SAFETY
Camp YJ is accredited by the American Camp Association, which provides year-round training and conducts on-site visits to ensure compliance. All cabins are equipped with smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers and lightning rods. We work closely with local law enforcement authorities and have sensible security protocols in place. Our staff is well-trained in handling potential emergency situations of all kinds. We have an extensive security camera system in place that surveils the perimeter of our camp and we employ security staff to keep our community safe. Our in-camp phone system allows immediate contact with the office, health center and director.