What’s better than Chanukah? Chanukah coming in August!

This summer we are working with PJ Library to promote their new program, PJ Our Way, which is helping to build Jewish libraries for children ages 9-11 based on their own choices and reviews.  This past Friday, we celebrated one of the PJ Our Way book selections, Penina Levine is a Potato Pancake, by celebrating Chanukah in August!

Campers woke up in the morning to find that it had snowed on their tables in the Chadar Ochel, and to find wrapped Chanukah presents waiting for them at breakfast!  As they tore into their gifts, each camper discovered a PJ Our Way book for them to take home.

The book is about a 6th grader named Penina who is having a tough time around Chanukah with her best friend going on vacation, her little sister annoying her, and her favorite teacher moving to Arizona.  In the book, Penina argues with her sister over the colors for the Chanukah candles, plays dreidel with her family, cooks oily snacks for Chanukah, and makes thousands of paper snowflakes for her teacher to take to her ill sister in Arizona.

Our Chanukah in August festivities mirrored Penina’s adventures with more snow in the hockey pavilion, frying latkes at Teva, creating paper snowflakes to hang in the Mirpa’ah, decorating chanukiyot to take home, and competing in a dreidel tournament!  Campers were excited to connect the story and activities to what they’ve been learning in Limud this summer, all about mitzvot.

We closed out an amazing Chanukah by going “sledding” on a hill of shaving cream!  So much fun! Be sure to watch the video of all the fun. Happy Chanukah everyone!