Miriam Berlinger: "As a Working Woman and Mother of Little Ones, I Realized: This is How I'll Spend the Vacation"

Unbelievably, we have reached the middle of the summer vacation. Half of the vacation is already behind us, and if as parents you have endured until now, it is certainly a reason to give yourselves a pat on the back. On the other hand, the main challenge is still ahead of you, because until now most kids have been in organized camps, and even daycare centers and family daycares were functioning. In the coming days, even the last of the children who enjoyed organized frameworks will go on vacation, and this is truly the real challenge that awaits you.

So what do you really do? How do you fill the days with experiences? How do you make sure that all family members are satisfied without breaking the bank?

Miriam Berlinger, author of the book 'Home with Great Joy', a book that includes a wide variety of experiences, suggestions, and family attractions, claims from her experience that "a long vacation can be an endless nightmare, or a nightmare that ends." This is what led her to organize her children in recent years for several home "camps" during vacation days, all of which were wonderfully planned, almost without costs, and with continuous enjoyment.

Miriam notes that while she now has a large family and children across a wide age range, she began the routine of camps when her eldest was just four years old. "For years, I worked outside the home and did not have the opportunity to take days off, but we managed to find the time, maneuver within the existing possibilities, and realize a significant number of the ideas."

Miriam argues that every home camp, in her opinion, should be on a specific theme, and it is advisable to try and match the activities to the theme. Of course, you can hang the schedule in advance in a central place at home, thereby causing everyone to look forward to it. So if you also have some creativity and a great desire to keep the kids engaged and make their eyes shine every morning, you are invited to read Miriam's ideas.

A Warm Home Camp, (or in short: 'Home Camp')

Ideas for activities during the camp days:

'House Inspection' Day – On this day, check the house and perform repairs (preferably with dad present).

House Cake – The kids are given a large cake that mom baked with various candies, and they engage in making a decorated house-shaped cake with candies, down to the smallest details. Recommended on Thursday, and the cake will be kept for Shabbat.

Our House Shines – Have an all-night vigil (suitable for relatively older children...).

Kids' House – The kids take care of house chores, and mom rests.

To Their Ancestral Home – Trip to grandpa and grandma.

The Potter's House – A day of making crafts. They can later be displayed in an exhibition.

Come Shabbat to Our Wonderful Home - Preparing for Shabbat with the whole family.

House of Grain – A day of baking.

Old Folks' House – The kids dress up as elderly and eat cotton candy.

Café House - Throughout the day, make coffee-flavored items like cappuccino, layered coffee cake, coffee candies, coffee cookies, iced coffee, coffee ice cream, and more.

House of Study – A day entirely dedicated to learning.

Hotel in the Atmosphere of a Home – Every child receives small items, like a small folded towel, small soap, personal bottle, personal cutlery. You can also turn the house into a hotel, set up a reception desk, dining room, room keys, bar, and more. (Of course, before starting, have the children tidy their rooms, make their beds, and shine the windows... just like in a real hotel).

Dollhouse – Teach the kids to embroider and sew dolls, and eventually organize plays.

Remains of Our Temple – Throughout the day, tell stories about Jerusalem, and in the evening, travel to the Western Wall.

The Other House – Swap homes for an afternoon with a friend's family, and discover that the grass on the other side isn't necessarily greener...

The Cooking House – Dress up as chefs, and each one chooses a menu for lunch – buns, blintzes, pastries, schnitzels, sausages, etc. You can hold a competition between boys and girls. Mom will rate the adherence to schedule, budget, originality, taste, cleanliness, order, etc. Everyone wins ice cream for dessert.

House and Garden – A day to explore and visit new gardens.

And You Shall Draw Water with Joy Camp

Ideas for activities during the camp days:

Decorate the house with blue and white balloons

Braid flowers in water

Visit fountains

Travel to a stream to fish (or to watch others fish)

Water trail

Water fight with water guns

Trip to the beach

Getting acquainted with boats and sea birds through books and stories

Make homemade slushies

A day of cleaning with lots of water and soap

Make colorful ice cubes

Water exercise trails

Bake matzot (our water)

Dreams Come True - Preparing for the school year

Swimming lessons

Elevator Camp

To reveal the theme, you can hang a bucket tied to a rope on the home's window grill (from the outside). Inside the bucket, place the schedule with a package of popsicles. With the hot-cold game, the kids will have to find the schedule, they'll raise the bucket with the rope, just like in an elevator, and that's how they'll guess the name of the camp.

Examples of activities during the camp days:

Know what is Above You – Interview with grandparents

The Best of the Best – A plan with chocolate

Locked in a Safe – A pass-the-parcel program

Up the Mountain – Go for a hike

Step Up – Preparing for school

Going Up – Visit grandparents

Excellent – A day of baking

Try to Climb – Creating a snakes and ladders game

Rising Leaves – Sprouting plants and planting them in small dishes

May This Be a Year of Ascent – Prepare a calendar for the next year with the children's pictures.

Stargazing Camp

Ideas for activities:

Flashlights Starry Night – You can create a star with five flashlights shining from five points toward the center.

Every Star – From shiny cardboard, cut star shapes. Each child has a star. On each star, the children write praises or compliments based on the letters of their name, or just virtues.

Planet – Go out into nature.

Collecting Stars – A 'Star Collection' operation. Collect good deeds and receive star stickers.

Eating Stars – Even in foods, you can create or find a star, for example, you can assemble a star from pizza slices, make a star cake, serve star-shaped sour candies.

Observatory – Travel to a park or any open space. Stand, watch the stars come out, look for interesting patterns in the stars. Tell the children about stars, constellations, and about Israel being beyond fate.

Stars in the Sand – Drawing and creating stars in the sand.

Fireworks – Go to the nearby garden in the evening and make star-shaped fireworks.

'And This is the Blessing' Camp

Activities are divided according to the blessings, with each day dedicated to a different blessing.

Examples in a nutshell:

Blessing of Goodness – Play the game of 'The Gnome and the Giant'

Blessing of Creation – Go to the sea

Blessing of Challah – A day of baking

Blessing of Changing Creations – Zoo

Blessing of Sharing Wisdom with His Reverers – Visiting a great rabbi

Blessing of Not Lacking Anything in His World – A shopping day, and more, and more.

More Camp Name Ideas:

(Remember that a camp name and anthem affiliate the children with it, allowing us to provide more meaning, content, and of course enjoyment for the vacation days).

Ideas for names: Camps of Good Deeds, The Nations, The Neighborhoods, Safe Journey, Serial Stories, With My Hands, It's Good to Give Thanks, Provisions for the Journey, Smiles, On the Way Up, Roots, Delight Us, All Good Nature, This Small Shall Be Great, For the Sake of My Brothers and Friends, and more, and more.

And it is also possible without a name, and with the good power of imagination...

To contact Miriam Berlinger: 9744553home@gmail.com