Tishah B’Av Day Camp
| August 10, 2016
Photo: Shutterstock
Tishah B’Av is a long hot day and it’s hard to keep yourself and the little ones busy. Here are activities that will be a tremendous help for your mothers and in addition you’ll also be adding your own brick to the Third Beis Hamikdash! Stick to quiet low-key activities for the morning like reading or storytelling and begin our activity schedule from chatzos.
12:30 p.m. / Welcome!
Each camper sits down — oops there’s something on my chair! On every chair a surprise package will await the campers. Every camper gets an envelope with her name on it. There she will accumulate bricks for the Beis Hamikdash. Whenever her counselor notices that she is acting kindly to a friend or doing any mitzvah she will get a brick or another part of the Beis Hamikdash and save it in her envelope. Draw a simple figure of the Beis Hamikdash and cut it into squares to distribute to the campers. The activity and treat will come later.
What you’ll need: envelopes Beis Hamikdash puzzle pieces
12:45 p.m. / Lunch Prep
On the menu: mini pizzas and chocolate milk.
First prepare the chocolate milk. This recipe yields 8–10 children’s portions.
Mix 4 Tbsp sugar and 3 Tbsp cocoa with some boiling water in a cup. Pour the mixture into a 1-quart milk container close the cap and shake vigorously. Place the bottle in the freezer.
Next we’ll make the pizza dough. Each camper gets to pour in one ingredient or mix after each addition. This recipe makes enough for 10–14 individual pizzas.
In a large bowl mix these ingredients (in this order):
7½ cups flour
2 Tbsp dry yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
2¼ cups warm water or apple juice
4 Tbsp oil
Once you have a soft dough cover the bowl with a towel and set aside to rise.
1:30 p.m. / Skit
Act out the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. Act the part of the richly dressed angry host and have your partner (or an older camper) play the part of the humiliated Bar Kamtza. Challenge a pair of the oldest campers to play out the same skit again!
Photo: Shutetrstock
2:00 p.m. / Pizza Time!
While the campers decorate their pizzas preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Cover the table with a clean plastic tablecloth. Punch down the soft dough. Give each camper one piece of dough and have them roll it out with their palms into a circle. In the now empty bowl mix 1 cup tomato paste with 1 cup water.
Pass around the bowl and every camper spoons some sauce over his/her pizza. Put out spice shakers of oregano garlic powder and basil for campers to choose from. Then pass around grated mozzarella cheese or slices of American cheese and plates of sliced peppers mushrooms and tomatoes for campers to decorate their pizzas. Each camper now places his/her pizza on a lined cookie sheet (Each pizza must be original so everyone will identify theirs when it comes out of the oven!) Bake the pizzas for 15–18 minutes. Remove from the oven let cool a little and let each camper take her pizza. If you used water the pizzas are hamotzi; if you used juice they’re mezonos.
Remove the bottle of chocolate milk from the freezer. Shake if there are any ice crystals. Pour ice-cold servings into plastic cups and have campers choose a colored straw. Ahhh… cold and yummy chocolate with hot and yummy pizza!
3:00 p.m. / Arts and Crafts
We’ll make hands and hearts bracelets. Holding hands and hearts together we’ll bring the Beis Hamikdash!
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