Song Leader/Music Specialist

Young Judaea Sprout Brooklyn Day Camp is seeking a Songleader/Music Specialist  

Young Judaea Sprout Brooklyn Day Camp, located in Red Hook, is a Hebrew dual-language camp for children entering Pre-K through 5th grade. No previous Hebrew experience is necessary to be part of the Sprout Brooklyn community. Sprout Brooklyn is a place where children from a wide spectrum of backgrounds join together to create a joyful, diverse community built on Jewish values, a connection to Israel and the Hebrew language. 

Our Songleader will build their own informal Jewish education curricula based on Jewish values and creating a connection to Israel. They will teach daily 30 minute lessons to campers entering Pre-K through entering 5th grade, lead all of camp in  singalong song sessions twice a day, and play an active role in our weekly Shabbat celebration. 

Sprout Brooklyn values staff that are positive and flexible team players who are excited to spend the summer with young campers and staff. The ideal candidate is excited about camp life and feels comfortable wearing multiple hats and will never say that a task “isn’t their job”. 

Responsibilities 

• Work with the Program Director to create weekly lesson plans 

• Create and execute fun, age-appropriate activities  

• Engage campers and help them develop new skills 

• Run 30-minute lessons daily with groups of 12-14 campers  

• Incorporate Jewish values, Hebrew and/or Israel education into activities whenever possible (assistance is provided if you do not have experience in this area) 

• Lead song sessions for all of camp twice a day 

• Help Sprout Brooklyn to develop a lineup of singalong songs our campers will remember and look forward to singing for years to come 

Requirements 

• At least 18 years old 

• Experience working with children ages 3-10 

• At least 2 years’ experience teaching music/songleading for children 

• Experience attending or working at a summer camp (preferred, not required) 

• Enthusiasm and the willingness to be silly 

• Hebrew fluency is a plus (preferred, not required) 

• Guitar preferred  

Camp runs Monday - Friday from June 22nd – August 14th with a week of required staff training on June 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. The camp day is 8:30am – 4:15pm. Approximately 15 hours of pre-camp curriculum development.  

Learn more at www.sproutbrooklyn.org and contact Sam Gelberg at [email protected] 

What you should know about the Specialist Role 

The music specialist should be able to plan exciting activities for campers based on the themes and values of the week. Our goal for the music activity sessions is for campers to learn new songs, engage with rhythm and songwriting, and connect to Judaism through music. 

Each week at camp will have three themes we want to be incorporated into your programming. One based on a Jewish Value, another that has to do with Israel (Israel Spotlight), and a third that is related to the Hebrew Language (Hebrew Spotlight). When planning an activity, specialists should choose at least one of the three themes to relate it to. The themes will be provided to you ahead of the summer so that your can have your activities and supply lists prepared before camp begins. Assistance is provided if you do not have experience in planning activities that connect to Jewish values, Hebrew, or Israeli culture. Specialists must however, have prior experience planning and leading activities in their specialty area for children. 

Activities should be altered on a sliding scale to fit the needs of different ages. We know that the same activities that will be entertaining, challenging, and educational for a child going into pre-k will not have the same impact on a child going into 4th or 5th grade. Therefore, our specialists should have experience with different ages and developmental levels. They should be able to think on their feet and exhibit flexibility while maintaining professionalism.    

All of our specialists should plan two activities per age group per week plus a set of backup emergency activities that can be used at any time. Note that the same activity can be used for similar age groups such as pre-k and kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade, or 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. You should expect to see the same group of campers at least twice a week, but programming should consist of a project; it should be one that can be completed from start to finish within one 40-minute period. 

Example Activities