First Time Campers

With over 40 years experience in overnight camping we understand that making the decision to send your child to overnight camp is not an easy one. We know that each child develops at their own pace and is ready for this experience at a different time. For this reason, we provide 2 shorter options for our younger campers to get acclimated to the camp experience. We provide:

• One week trial (rising 2nd -4th graders only) – Te’ima
• Two week experience (rising 2nd -4th graders only) – Nitzanim
• Our Te’ima program (1 week) and our Nitzanim program (2 weeks) operate as its own aidah (group). They stay in the same bunks and participate in activities together. Te’ima campers are able to extend from 1 week to 2 weeks, but will not be able to extend after 2 weeks. In addition, Nitzanim will not be allowed to extend to a full session. At the end of the programs, we will have a special closing event for the short session campers, and they’ll be ready for a full session at Sprout Lake the following summer!
• We also offer our traditional full session 3 1/2 week experience for rising 2nd – 8th graders.

We have a number of things we will do especially for first time campers to help you and your child:

Before camp starts:

• We can set up a meeting or a playdate with another new or returning camper
• Parents and campers are invited to watch our virtual open house together, which take place every 2 weeks.
• We invite you to take a tour of camp, we offer them on select Sunday’s throughout our summer season and a few times during the year.
• Call or email our office with questions! Someone from our staff will gladly help you!

During camp:

• On opening day please join us for our Parent Orientation.
• We have a Camper Care Coordinator for questions regarding how the campers are acclimating.
• Through your camp account you will see pictures that are uploaded daily, and videos that are uploaded 2-3 times a week!

Inclusion at Sprout Lake

We invite and welcome all campers, including those who may need extra support, into our camp environment. We strive to understand the needs of every camper and work hard to ensure that campers of varying abilities are given every opportunity to participate and thrive in an inclusive environment while promoting fun, learning, and new experiences. Each campers’ talents and qualities are contributing factors that help build a sense of community, equally valuing every camper, while still preserving the group cabin experience for all. Our goal at Sprout Lake is to support all campers to participate in activities to the best of their ability, participate in group setting, and develop strong peer-to-peer relations for a lifetime of friendship. We make an extra effort to teach our campers, through experience, what it means to be part of an inclusive Jewish community. The principle of kol yisrael arevim zeh lazeh (all of Israel is responsible for one another) guides us as we strive to include a place for each individual camper to succeed at camp. We believe that inclusion is good for everyone – kids with and without challenges, families, staff, and our entire community.