The Foundation for Jewish Camp’s One Happy Camper program, a sponsor of Reboot’s 2011 National Day of Unplugging on March 4-5, has written up a list of creative ways to unplug at home with your happy camper. Here is a sampling. See the entire list here.
— Can’t be outside? Organize a board game “color war”: Divide friends and family in teams for a tournament series of several board game face-offs over the course of the Sabbath.
— Make s’mores in your fireplace or in an outside fire pit. Nothing keeps you warmer in winter than graham crackers, roasted marshmallows, and melted gooey chocolate.
— Scavenger Hunt: Plan a neighborhood or household scavenger hunt for the signs of summer: bathing suits, bug juice, flip-flops, sunscreen, and more.
— Write letters to far-away friends and family members. Everyone is excited to receive mail from someone they love.
— Break out some supplies and do arts & crafts projects! Try making some lanyard keychains and clay Shabbat candleholders.
— Bake challah. Enjoy it as a family, deliver loaves to friends and bring some to your local soup kitchen.
— For the second National Day of Unplugging, REBOOT forged a national partnership with VolunteerMatch and is encouraging communities to“Unplug and Give Back”. Visit Reboot’s “Give Back” page to identify volunteer opportunities in your own community.
— Keep track of how many times you or your camper “slip up” and use technology throughout the NDU and tally them Saturday night. Collect $1 for each instance and donate the money to your favorite charity.
Want to learn more about what others are doing to observe Shabbat on the National Day of Unplugging? Check out Reboot’s 10 Principles.