Children who are entering Kindergarten and children who are 4 years of age by September 30 are eligible to attend Playland Day Camp.

Aleph, Bet, Gimmel, Dalet, Hey, Vov, Zayin, Tet and Yod are letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each group then adds their own personal touch - such as the Groovy Gimmels.

No other day camp can match our combination of caring, experience, dedication and expertise. Our Director of Day Camping, Jill Davidson is an experienced and enthusiastic full-time, year round, camp professional who will be happy and able to meet all of your family's needs. Jill has worked at The Mandel JCC for over 14 years in the children and day camp departments and has attended or been involved in camp every summer since she attended Playland Day Camp herself! Lynne Berliner and Judi Likover have been Playland's Co-Directors for eight years. Both have been with The Mandel JCC as preschool teachers for 15 and 20 years respectively.

We work hard to create a strong sense of community throughout the summer and believe that young people benefit most from the consistency of a full summer camp program. The Playland program is a cohesive 6-week session. After the 6 week Playland session, we invite campers entering Kindergarten to attend Anisfield A La Carte. This is a great introduction for our youngest campers to all that Anisfield has to offer.

Drop off begins at 8:50 AM with morning circle starting promptly at 9 AM. Pick up begins at 2:00 PM and is typically over by 2:15 PM. Extended care is available. Morning care begins at 7:30 AM and afternoon ends at either 4:00 or 6:00 PM

Our Kindergarten groups are typically comprised of 15 campers and our Pre K groups have 12 campers. Each group has a Senior Counselor (usually a college student or teacher), at least one Junior Counselor (high school student going into 10th, 11th or 12th grade) and a Volunteer (going into 9th grade).

Learning to swim is one of the most important aspects of camp. Campers have instructional swim every day for 30 minutes in the morning. Classes take place in the indoor pool. The classes are all taught according to American Red Cross swimming guidelines and are taught by certified lifeguards, water safety assistants and water safety instructors. Campers are tested for their swimming abilities during their first days at camp and are then placed in their ability levels. Swim groups are kept small 6 - 8 campers with 1 instructor and 1-2 counselors assisting at all times. The Head Instructor and a lifeguard are on deck at all times. On Fridays we have free swim in the outdoor pool. If at any time in the summer you have any questions about your child level, the skills they are working on or any concerns please call the camp office immediately so that we may address your question or concern.

The Playland Press will be sent home every other week. It includes information about each group as well as blurbs from the Co-Directors, Sports Specialist and Arts and Crafts Specialist. You will receive a newsletter from your campers group on the other weeks. There will also be other notes and reminders sent home so we ask that you check your camper's bag daily. In addition to these mass communications, it is important that communication lines between a camper's parents, the directors and the village supervisors are strong. The confidential camper profile is provided to parents to begin this individual conversation. Any information about the personal or general nature of your child assists our staff in helping plan a camper's smooth adjustment to camp. If a parent has any concerns or questions about their camper's experience at camp, please call our camp office to arrange for telephone conference or a meeting with the camp co-directors. It is our priority to partner with parents to create the best camp environment for every camper.

The word Nitzanim which is the name for our youngest camp group in Pre-K and K means BUDS-as in budding flowers. Our 1st and 2nd graders are called Kochavim meaning STARS. The 3rd through 8th graders are known as Sachkanim which means ACTORS and our 9th graders participate in a leadership training program known as Movilim which means GUIDES.