A Taste of Goodbye
Today was the 2nd last day that the Pnimiyot Yom kids will be part of our daily routine at Afula. Because of this, we staged a 4th of July style carnival on the basketball court to give them one more great day at the home. The kids absolutely loved it. Everywhere we turned there was another kid smiling, another kid on the shoulders of a volunteer, or another water balloon being thrown. After lunch, we spent almost no time on land. First we went kayaking with the kids, and th
World Cup Championship
Today was another amazing day here at Neve Michael. The featured program of the day for the boys was the 3rd annual World Cup. Each Kvutsah participated and squared off against the best of the best in Pardes Chana. One of the boys in my kvutsah was so excited for the games he woke up right away and helped the volunteers get all the other boys ready. The excitement on the boys faces was seen throughout Neve and the competition was fierce. Eventually, Team Ethiopia (13-17 boys)
Going with the Flow
Yesterday was the first day of our 2 day tiyul from Neve Michael. We were told that we would be going kayaking, which sounds mostly relaxing in theory, but in practice was a rafting trip that was much more lively. Once we arrived at Kfar Blum for the rafting, I got together with my kvutza and two madrichim. There was not a single native English speaker in the bunch. Luckily, this provided another opportunity to improve my Hebrew, which could use some work. I learned that the
Double Mitzvah
This morning, I jumped out of bed and got ready to go to my girls. But this morning was slightly different than the others because a family came to do a chessed project in honor of their son's bar mitzvah. In order to welcome them, we had a Zumba class with the girls from the bar mitzvah group. Initially, it was just the Americans and Israelis dancing together but then we began pulling in the spectators, and soon the girls who were visiting for the bar mitzvah were dancing a
Friendly Competition
Let the games begin!! This morning Afula hosted the first annual World Cup for the PY (day care) campers. As the Americans drafted each camper, the excitement flourished. Each team made banners and songs to represent their country. There were shifts of soccer games, keeping the competition strong. The kids ran onto the court with smiles that never faded. The teams on the bench cheered for their friends which kept the spirit going. With sweat and smiles, everyone ran to the ch
Final Push
Just another awesome day at the pool! We had a bright and early start to our day with our PY (day care) kids. With our boarder kids still at their tiyul, the PY kids had our undivided attention. As the gates to the pool opened at 9 AM sharply, we all bursted in with joy and excitement. The day consisted of water fights, handstand competitions, races, and much more! And of course, a delicious schnitzel and hummus pita lunch to satisfy our empty stomachs after all of the swimmi
Facing our Fears for the Kids
Today we went to Luna Park with the mishpachtonim. After an hour long bus ride filled with songs, snapchat selfies, and naps, we finally arrived. Now that we were all well-rested, each one of us was ready to conquer the day. We had a quick snack of shoko and ran to the first ride: the haunted house. Even though I don't like rides, it was truly amazing to see all of my new friends, the girls in Barid, running from each ride to the next.
On the line for a rollercoaster
Too Tov Tuesday
The adrenaline from our mini color war last night had worn off by the time we all woke up, only a few short hours later, to begin our day. Bright and early, by 8:30, the boys were en route to Yamit 2000, a water park, and the girls to the local swimming pool. While the pool was a core feature of the Achuzat summer 2016 - the entire pnimia went every day - this was only our second time there (and both times, only the girls went). At the pool, we played games in the water, brai
Shabbat As a Family
Friday morning we all woke up with excitement for the upcoming Shabbat. Most kids in the home have negative feelings about Shabbos. Knowing this we had to make this the best Shabbos ever! We spent hours making personalized shabbatograms and thinking of fun games to play with the kids. We started Shabbos with a beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat. Everyone in the room was singing in harmony and there wasn't one person without a smile on their face. It was a beautiful way to welcome in
Sizzlin' Shabbat
Shabbat at AS is always special. We began the evening with an enthusiastic Kabbalat Shabbat, complete with singing and dancing. This week, only 10 of the children remained at the home for Shabbat, and therefore we wanted to make each of them feel special and valued. We did this by writing each of them a Shabbat O Gram, containing a personalised sweet message for them. As they read the cards, you could see in each child's face that they were touched by them. After dinner we ha
