14 | JULY 30 • 2020 

continued on page 16

I

t’
s a typical day in the 
new normal that is sum-
mer 2020. Parents want 
their kids to have fun and get 
outdoors, all while staying 
safe, social distancing and 
wearing masks. 
That can be a tall order, but 
there’
s a new, highly active 
Facebook page that helps 
hundreds of local parents 
make it possible: Camp Mom 
Michigan. 
Back in March, Shirli Gotlib 
of Southfield realized she’
d 
be on her own with her kids 
as schools closed; her hus-
band, Ari, is an ER doctor at 
McLaren Oakland Hospital 
in Pontiac. Gotlib was deter-
mined her four kids — Max, 
10, Alex, 8, Sophia, 8, and 
Jacob, 4 — would not be 
indoors and watching TV all 
day, even though, she said, “I 
knew they’
d be perfectly happy 
with that.” She attempted an 
at-home schedule, which she 
quickly discovered was unre-
alistic. 
Gotlib, who moved here 
from her hometown of 

Memphis in 2009, was not 
intimately familiar with the 
area and turned to technology 
for help. She downloaded the 
AllTrails app, which allows 
users to find and track their 
own hikes, and stayed up late 
every night, searching on 
Facebook for recommenda-
tions, Googling places to work 
out if they were appropriate 
for her kids for the next day’
s 
outdoor activity. 
Whenever she was on 
social-distancing hikes with 
her kids early in the pan-
demic, Gotlib would post 
pictures on Instagram Stories. 
Immediately her friends start-
ed messaging her questions. 
“They’
d write, ‘
Where are 
you? How much does it cost? 
What’
s the parking like?’
 I 
started tagging the location 
and posting answers to those 
questions with the pictures,” 
Gotlib said. “I figured, we’
re 
all in the same boat — why 
keep this information to 
myself?”
One of those friends 
was Naomi Gardin, also of 

Southfield, who became an 
ardent follower of Gotlib’
s 
Instagram posts. She even 
created a list on her phone of 
places she too wanted to visit 
with her family. 
“It became a joke,” Gardin 
said. “Whatever Shirli did one 
Sunday, I’
d do the following 
Sunday.”
Gardin tried downloading 
the AllTrails app Gotlib rec-
ommended but found it too 
complicated, and the hundreds 
of reviews too overwhelming. 
“It was much easier for me to 

follow in the steps of someone 
I know and trust,” Gardin said. 
As June approached, Gardin 
realized the hours of distance 
learning would be ending, and 
knew she’
d be entertaining her 
four kids between the ages 
of 7 and 14 for the next eight 
weeks. The idea was extremely 
intimidating. 
Gardin, who moved here 
from Canada five years ago, 
saw how much she’
d benefited 
from Gotlib’
s posts and had an 
idea. “I messaged Shirli, saying 
we should start a page about 

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Camp Mom
Michigan

Mission?
Create a fun summer
for the kids.

NAOMI GARDIN

Naomi Gardin
and her children

Jews in the D
cover story

