Tayasim (Hebrew Immersion): TK–6

 

 

J-Camp is incredibly happy to offer another wildly popular, fully immersive Hebrew language traditional-style camp for two four-week sessions for incoming transitional kindergarten through sixth graders.

 

See last year's fun here!

 


"This is now my son's 3rd year in Tayasim and every year he can't wait for the summer to come. Tayasim is more than just a fun summer camp (which it definitely is); it also brings my son a taste of Israel. He comes home chanting the new hip Israeli songs, makes friends that last him throughout the year and comes home proud of his Israeli roots! I also need to do a special shout-out to the Israeli counselors that come all the way here for the summer. Each one comes with amazing energy that helps shape the program and also creates a lasting bond with the kids. As you can tell, I am a big fan of the program!"
~J-Camp Parent


Hebrew immersion in summer camp encourages Hebrew language proficiency and promotes pride in Jewish identity in a nurturing, creative and fun way. We welcome campers with any level of Hebrew knowledge, from zero experience to 100% fluency, regardless of nationality. At J-Camp, it is possible to learn Hebrew in a fun-filled way, while practicing the language as part of everyday life. With a team comprised of local Hebrew-speaking counselors and Israeli shlichim, we create a camp community filled with ruach and enthusiasm for a fun summer experience!

 

Host Family Discount: We have Israeli staff join our team each summer. The best way for our Israeli staff to experience America is to immerse themselves in the day-to-day lives of our J-Camp families! Host family responsibilities include housing, meals, transportation to and from J-Camp and access to laundry facilities. Once they have met peers at camp, most international staff members are able to secure rides home each day. Host families who host for a minimum of four weeks receive $1,000 credit toward camp this summer. If you are interested in hosting one or more of our Israeli staff members, please email pbassett@paloaltojcc.org or mvaldez@paloaltojcc.org.

 

This year we will continue our yearly traditions such as Chavurah (morning rally), L'hitraot (end-of-day games and gratitude), Shabbat celebrations and our spirit-filled Fun Fridays.

 

We are also planning to once again offer our classic J-Camp field trips and off-campus fun for an incredible summer! Our field trips have been designed to meet a high-level fun factor and are planned to help celebrate our camp themes for each week.

 

Our trips provide a fun and exciting experience for all ages in camp. Our younger campers have the opportunity to engage in playful fun, both on and off campus, while learning and exploring some of our local gems. Our older campers will take trips that continue the exploration with more thrilling adventures and extended day trips as part of an aspirational arc to grow, learn and connect more deeply with each other every summer.

 

Examples of field trips we plan to take include:

 

OFJCC Palo Alto JCC J-Camp

 

We will build a keen sense of community through our classic camp rituals and develop new skills through a variety of activities such as arts and crafts, sports, STEM projects, field games and more. Each activity is built for our campers at all grade levels, with activities increasing in challenge and complexity as our campers continue to grow at camp. All our activities are guided by our camp values so campers can build friendships and cultivate our camp values: bitachon, rachamim, sakranut, achrayut, moodaut and hakarat hatov.
 
Here is an example of our daily schedule:
 

OFJCC Palo Alto JCC J-Camp

 

Activity Highlights:

 

Awesome Arts and Crafts: Each day campers will explore their creativity with fun and silly arts and crafts projects related to the week's theme. Campers will come home with thoughtfully made crafts for the whole family to enjoy.


Super-fun Sports and Field Games: Sports, relays, games and fun in the sun are a huge part of daily camp life. Campers will spend time each day at our wonderful Freidenrich Community Park playing sports like soccer, dodgeball and capture the flag, in addition to fun and age-appropriate field games and relays.


Sublime STEM and Science Time: One of the best parts of camp is taking curiosity to the next level with fun and sometimes messy STEM activities like slime, mason jar aquariums or ice cream in a bag!

Classic Camp Activities: Camp wouldn't be the same without classic camp games like gaga, house of cards or poison dart frog. Campers get free time to choose games and activities they like, such as lanyards, fuse beads or four square in the quad.

Wacky Water Field Days: Back by popular demand, as a huge highlight of recent summers, get ready for J-Camp's super-fun water days on the field with our water slides, crazy sprinklers, splash zones and more!

Swimming: Chill out in the OFJCC pool and have some splash-tacular fun with camp friends. Campers will enjoy free swim and some awesome pool games each week with their group in the pool.

Fun Fridays: Every Friday, campers across the entire campus will participate in ruach-filled individually-themed camp days that celebrate the incredible week of camp. Fridays are filled with excitement and joy, and are the best way to end a week at camp!

Chavurah and Lehitraot: We begin and end every day at camp with fun and meaningful rituals to build community together. Each morning camp groups come together as one to sing and cheer and play some fast-paced games to wake up and begin the day with lots of camp spirit. At the end of each day, groups wind down by sharing something they are thankful for and counselors award our special camp-value bracelets, highlighting ways campers have grown and demonstrated our camp values that day.

 

 Dates  Fee Grades
 Session 1 (4-Week Session): June 10–July 5*
 (No camp on June 19 or July 4 in observance of Juneteenth and Independence Day)
 $2277 Members |  $2480 General Public  Incoming TK–6 Grades  
 Session 2 (4-Week Session): July 8–August 2  $2357 Members | $2561 General Public  Incoming TK–6 Grades
 Full Summer (8-Week Session): June 10–August 2  $4479 Members | $4863 General Public    Incoming TK–6 Grades
 Drop Off  Camp Hours
 (includes drop off and pick up)  
 Pick Up
 8:30–9:00 AM    8:30 AM–3:30 PM    3:00 PM–3:30 PM
 Extended PM Care  Hours  Fee (weekly rate)
 Additional registration required  3:30–6:00 PM  $170 Members and General Public