JCC Northbrook 'growing great kids' with summer fun options

Socializing this summer might be more important than ever for kids after a season of pandemic isolation.

So the Bernard Weinger Jewish Community Center in Northbrook is gearing up to welcome its youngest participants back to playing together, while also implementing precautions to decrease the risk of COVID-19 virus transmission.

The center is poised to begin its first in-person operations since March 13 when it reopens its Early Childhood program on June 29 at 300 Revere Drive. About 40 infant and toddler participants are expected to participate in five separate classes of full-day care as part of the center's first phase of reopening, JCC Chicago President and CEO Addie Goodman said.

Older kids won't be left out. They're set to begin Apachi Village Day Camp for ages 3, 4 and 5 or "Z" Frank Apachi camp for ages 4 to seventh grade for a five-week session starting July 6 in Northbrook as well as other JCC locations, Goodman said.

The camps are able to accommodate about half of their usual 900 to 1,000 participants on site at the Bernard Weinger center this summer.

Campers will join a "Camp Family" of no more than 10 kids and two counselors for activities including outdoor exploration, singing, dancing, tennis, baseball, fun on a special climbing tree and Jewish cultural experiences including Shabbat celebrations and Maccabi games. Some activities like campwide concerts will bring a larger gathering together in an outdoor space, but kids will still stay with only their "Camp Family" at a distance from other groups.

"Summer is made to be outside," Goodman said, and 95% of camp activities will take place there.

The camp hopes to add swimming as soon as it is cleared by public health authorities.

Campers will not be required to wear masks outside, but when they step inside the center to use the restroom, they'll need to put one on. The camps are not running buses this year, since masks would be required onboard and the transportation would increase mixing among groups of kids.

The JCC is not yet reopening the Marvin Lustbader Health Club in Northbrook for adult fitness activities. If it reopens during the summer, Goodman said, its operations will be outside of camp hours.

"Out first commitment is growing great kids," Goodman said. "We're really wanting to take care of the community and limit mixing of individuals and groups."

A new offering, called Apachi on the Go-Go, will bring JCC camp experiences to parks or backyards across the North shore and Chicago for up to 10 kids at a time with up to two trained Apachi counselors. Parents can choose Go-Go camps of two or three hours, which will run four days a week. Goodman said this option can bring fun to campers who didn't register early enough to be accepted on-site with limited availability because of the pandemic.

"We also know that some families aren't comfortable yet retuning to camp," she said, "but are really anxious for their kids to have a summer experience that's not on a screen."

Summer for Early Childhood and Apachi participants is about building self-esteem and confidence, trying new things and meeting new people, all of which will be possible even with new safety and sanitation protocols.

"We are bringing Apachi sunshine all summer long," Goodman said. "And we're very excited to do that."