Restoration Station
Sensory Space Tips, Tricks & Ideas
Restoration stations, or sensory spaces, can be used as a calm and quiet space for campers and staff to recharge or regulate themselves. These spaces can be used for programming, when a camper needs time to decompress or recover from sensory overwhelm, and are great spaces to take breaks from everyday camp life. This is a joint project between the Yashar initiative and the Yedid Nefesh initiative. The Yashar Initiative is funded by The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Family Foundation and promotes disability inclusion and accessibility at 46 camps. The Yedid Nefesh Initiative is funded by The Marcus Foundation along with UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Communal Fund of New York, and The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, supports mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health (MESSH) at 102 camps. Foundation for Jewish Camp’s first Restoration Station was created with support from Jewish Abilities Atlanta.
Below are some restoration station resources which you can use to relax and recharge.
Resources
Take a look at these helpful resources linked below:
Restoration Station Camp Lookbook
Pocket Grounding Guide for Staff
Amazon Wish List
Take a look at these Amazon Wish Lists to get an idea of products which may help create calm and sensory spaces. Items from previous year’s lists are still relevant and needed.
Mood Meter
Understanding your mood can help you better understand physiological connections and serve as a guide for introspective and meditative practice. Take a look at the resource below (or download the Mood Meter PDF) to help you better understand how moods can act as powerful emotional states to help regulate ourselves as we interact with the world and people around us.
Grounding Exercise
Stretching Exercise
Breathing Exercise
Three-minute Body Scan Exercise
ABC Things Around The Room Exercise
Animal Breathing Exercise
Staff Mood Playlist
Download the Staff Mood Playlists by Noa Fidel and Noy Okashi
This resource was created in 2022 by Mental Health & Wellness Interns to help camp staff to address holistic mental, emotional, social and spiritual health at camp. Powered by Yedid Nefesh and the Marcus Foundation.
