Well, today was our final day of Video Production and Editing Level 1! We learned and covered a lot this week, including but not limited to concepts regarding:
- Creating a Shot List
- Understanding different compositions
- Storyboarding
- Methods of Video Production
- Different kinds of cameras, and how to best use the one you have
- ADR
- Foley
- Sound Design
Beyond filmmaking, these learned concepts can translate to many other mediums and industries as well, including animation, graphic design, and visual marketing and branding!
Over the course of the week, the class produced a self directed video production, and have delivered fantastic results. On top of demonstrating an understanding of the course content, the class ultimately succeeded in telling an effective story, the fundamental pillar of all visual art and content creation.
We slowed things down today for our final class, and reviewed the class' weeklong projects, and I must say, I'm incredibly pleased by the class' natural knack for storytelling! There's evidence of growth from our first class on Monday, so I'm so happy to see how we ended up. More than that, wherever our class goes from here beyond this course, I know that they'll be successful in whatever they choose to pursue.
Once again, I'd like to thank the class and Explorer Hop for sharing this experience with me, and I wish everyone the best of luck and wishes for the future.
Kind regards,
Jimmy
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Hi everyone!
Today, we began class looking through the footage taken from yesterday's homework. The class has shown a strong and thorough understanding of the fundamentals of storytelling and how to translate them through video, and I am incredibly pleased to see the class' hard work!
Of course, this all leads to today's homework, nearing the conclusion of our weekly program. Today, the class has been tasked with putting it all together through video editing. We had to navigate some of the difficulties of the limitations that the base video editor on PC brought about, but we managed to trudge through and get started in an efficient way! This marks the transition to the final part of video production - the post production process!
Tomorrow, for our final class, we're going to review the class' rough cuts! With this, the product of our work will be ready for the world to see. I'm excited to see what the class comes up with!
As usual, if you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out!
Jimmy
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Hey everyone!
Today, we went over a lot of fundamental filmmaking techniques to send our class off to our first day of production. We covered concepts like creating lead room in our compositions, as well as the 180 degree rule, both essential concepts to understand when composing our images. We also discussed whether it's necessary to have the most expensive equipment to create creative and artful films, and the answer we came to is no. The quality of the work ultimately comes down to the storytelling, and how well the filmmaker understands the fundamentals of production!
For today's homework, the class begins capturing all the video and audio footage! This is an exciting time, as we are now transitioning from the pre-production phase to the production phase, as alluded to in the first class of the week. I'm excited to see what the class comes up with! It's going to be a busy day.
For a sneak peak at tomorrow's class, we are going to be reviewing the raw footage from the class, and transition to the post-production process.
If there are any inquiries or concerns, please don't hesitate via email, jimmyk@explorerhop.com.
See you all tomorrow!
Jimmy
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Hi everyone!
Today's class went over a lot of concepts! We discussed and learned about a variety of concepts. We talked about lighting - how to light subjects, and how different lighting creates different environments, moods, and aesthetics. We then talked more about the nitty gritties of on set film production, and roles involving scene management and continuity.
Moving from there, we talked about today's homework assignment, which is for the class to take the shot list and script conceptualized yesterday into a proper storyboard, one of the key parts of the pre-production phase. Tonight, the class will take the work they conceptualized and put it to paper, and think hard about how they want their films to come out.
Given the quality of the work presented today, I'm excited to see what the class comes up with tomorrow! Until then, please do not hesitate to reach out should there be any further questions or concerns leading up to tomorrow's class at jimmyk@explorerhop.com.
See you tomorrow!
Jimmy
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Hi everyone!
Welcome to Video Production and Editing Level 1! This is the class where students dip their toes in all the fundamentals of film and media production, from everything including storyboarding, camera operation, post production, screenwriting, and more! Throughout the course of the week, the class creates their own short film and try their hand at all the different elements of production.
Today's first class of Video Production and Editing went great! We went over the fundamentals of shot sizes and cinematography, and viewed some examples from some popular films. We also learned about the three different stages of filmmaking, from the pre-production stage, the production stage, and the post production stage, and how each are vital to the creation of a film.
For today's homework, I've assigned the class to start drafting a shot list and narration script for their short film. Taking what we learned about the basics of cinematography, students tonight will conceptualize the plot of their film, and perhaps more importantly, how they plan on shooting it!
I'm excited to see what the class comes up with, and seeing the first steps from ideation to creation. If there are any questions regarding today's class or the rest of the week, please don't hesitate to reach out! You can contact me via my email, jimmyk@explorerhop.com, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Again, I'm really excited for the rest of the week, and I'll see you tomorrow!
Jimmy
]]>This has been an amazing week of Video Production and Editing Level 1! Over the course of the week, our students have learned the fundamentals of video and film production. We have discussed and learned about industry standard practices, including but not limited to:
- Creating a Shot List
- Understanding different compositions
- Storyboarding
- Methods of Video Production
- Different kinds of cameras, and how to best use the one you have
- ADR
- Foley
- Sound Design
Over the course of the week, the class produced a self directed video production, and have delivered fantastic results. On top of demonstrating an understanding of the course content, the class ultimately succeeded in telling a story, the fundamental pillar of all visual art.
Thank you so much for the great week, and I look forward to hearing the class' future accomplishments.
Kind regards,
]]>Today was the last day of the Entrepreneurship Camp. It concludes the wonderful week we have all had together and the massive amount of success we have had with our lemonade stand. We did our big lemonade sale today, selling yellow and "IBM blue" lemonade, and completely sold out! Everyone was amazing at selling and marketing our lemonade, and contributed so much to us making a total of $778.20, more than half of which will go to help Cancer Research (total of $396). The rest was all profit (thanks to the generous donation from Mary from the IBM Cafe, which lowered the cost of making the lemonade) so the kids made $382.20 of profit. This profit was the split evenly between all 13 campers + 2 Volunteers and everyone got to take home $25. Thank you everyone for an amazing and successful week.
Today was the last day of a wonderful and exciting week. It was great to meet all these fantastic kids and getting to know them over this past week.
Today was a very fun and interesting day. We got to meet the IBM Robot Pepper, and perfected our marketing campaign.
We started the day with a game about naming the countries in Europe.
We had an extremely successful day today, with sales from our trial lemonade stand several times more than what we anticipated!! Today was a good day.
Today was a very productive day, with all of the kids working very hard to market our lemonade stand.
We had another lovely day as we learnt all about Australia.
WOW! What a great group of kids! Today was the beginning of our Entrepreneurship Camp. We have a wonderful group of kids who seem very keen on making a very successful lemonade stand.
We had a very pleasant day today, which is mainly attributed to the the lovely group of kids we have this week.
We are very excited to meet the kids on Monday. I will be joined this week by our counselors:
Around the World Camp: Richa (an educator with a wealth of experience)
Entrepreneurship Camp: Abtin (who is full of business ideas! )
We also have two very enthusiastic volunteers who will go between the two camps: Diya & Peony
Here are some things to remember:
Waivers & Registration forms: If you have received a reminder about the registration form, please can you complete and send to us. Due to insurance reasons your child cannot participate till we receive the form. You can find the forms here.
IBM Waivers: In addition to our waiver, IBM has their own waivers which have been emailed to you. Please complete, sign and send a HARD COPY with your child on Monday morning. Click here for IBM waiver
Lunch & Snacks - Please send plenty of them! We find our campers get hungry at camp. No nuts please as we have a camper this week with allergies to nuts. There is a refrigerator but no way to heat a meal. Don't forget the water bottle.
Leaving for Lunch: For those who have parents / authorised adults who wish to take their camper to the IBM Cafeteria for lunch, our lunch break is from 12.00 - 12.45pm. Please let the Counsellors know if you will be coming to take them for lunch so we have the activities ended in time.
Leave Phones / Devices at home: Please leave your child's devices at home, or let them know they need to leave it in their backpacks. Campers are not allowed to use their devices during camp hours. The camp is also not responsible for lost/broken devices. If you need to contact us during camp hours - please email us at hello@explorerhop.com and someone will get back to you very soon.
Talent Show on Tuesday: We have our Talent Show on Tuesday where kids bring their talents. Previous winners have been able to name every single subway station in Toronto, impress us with their math talents and touch the top of their nose with their tongues (we will never forget that one!) . So let your child know to bring their unique skills.
White old Cotton t-shirt for Thursday: We will be tie-dying tshirts on Thursday which they will wear on Friday for our Graduation Ceremony -so please send in an old white cotton t-shirt. It's ok if it has a print on it.
Graduation Ceremony is on Friday at 3.45 pm: Please come with your cameras and see how well your child has done as they collect their certificates. We are going to attept to stream it live on our FB page for those who cannot come in person.
Contact information: During Camp Hours, please email us at hello@explorerhop.com
Where & When to pick up / drop off
What do parents need to do?
1) Bookmark this page as all the info you need will be published here, along with pictures of what the kids were up to each day at camp.
2) Follow us on Instagram and Facebook: @Explorerhop You will see what the kids are up to there.
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The kids raised a total of $653 this week! Absolutely AMAZING!! Each of them worked so hard and was so innovative at sharing their ideas. This was really an excellent group of kids.
A special thanks to Laura Slack who not only taught them how to make the finest chocolate but also served as a role model to the kids on how a successful entrepreneur should be.
And another special thanks to all the parents to helped share the posts and help their kids raise the money.
We hope your kids had a fun week and look forward to having them in one of our programs again soon.
Please take a moment to leave a review for us on Google. https://g.page/explorerhop/review And click on Write A Review (mid way through the page)
Enjoy these pictures from today!
It is all finally coming together! We are done with the chocolate and ready for big day at the Distillery district tomorrow.
Drop off: St. Cuthbert's Church, 1399 Bayview Ave, Toronto
Pick up: Distillery District - Maisonette 12 Tank House Lane. (It's a tiny store that has Laura's retail boutique in it) Pick up at 3:30 sharp
We will leave from the church at 12:30.
Please spread the word! We have a lot of chocolate to sell and you are our biggest help.
Wow! These kids have already met their GOFUNDME goal! Yay! Thank you everyone for sharing and supporting them.
Drop off: Laura Slack's Chocolate Workshop, 206 Parkhurst Blvd. Unit 107, East York, ON M4G 2G3
Pick up: St. Cuthbert's Church, 1399 Bayview Ave, Toronto
Please send a change of clothes as we will stop by a splash pad on the way here.
Today was an amazing new experience for everyone. We all learned a lot about chocolate and with Laura and Jazz's help, we even made our own chocolate bark and Popsicle!
Overall, it was an extremely fun day with lots of chocolate making and chocolate eating. Big thanks to Laura and Jazz at the chocolate studio.
Today was a fun and exciting day for the campers. We have an amazing bunch of young entrepreneurs and even the youngest ones are truly savvy. They learnt what it takes to create a business and learnt about funding and how to use "funnel" marketing.
1) DROP OFF AND PICK UP TOMORROW IS AT THE CHOCOLATE STUDIO. Laura Slack's Chocolate Workshop, 206 Parkhurst Blvd. Unit 107, East York, ON M4G 2G3 (It's a bit hidden at the back side of the building - take the alleyway just north of Parkhurst and drive to the end). If you are lost please call our Counselor Abtin (647-544-5000).
2) Please send Apron & Shirts they can get dirty tomorrow. Chocolate goes everywhere.
3) Waivers for the Chocolate Studio are here. Please complete them.
We are very excited to meet the kids tomorrow. It's a small camp so we can do so much more and we love that! I will be joined this week by our counselor Abtin (who is not only a very savvy investor who has been training with me for a while, but also a whiz with social media). He will be able to help the kids with their online strategies.
Here are some things to remember:
Waivers & Registration forms: We have not received Registration forms from everyone so please do complete them. We cannot allow your child to participate until we have the forms. You can find the forms here.
Lunch & Snacks - Please send plenty of them. We find the campers are hungry at camp. No nuts or shell-fish please. We have a refrigerator but no way to heat a meal. Don't forget the water bottle.
Send Apron or T-shirt they can get messy - We will be roasting cocoa beans tomorrrow and try to grind some cocoa nibs which will be messy so please send an apron / tshirt that can get messy. At the Chocolate Workshop, they will be melting chocolate and making chocolate bark and chocolate pops - which is again very messy.
White old Cotton t-shirt: We will be tie-dying tshirts on Wednesday which they will wear on Friday -so please send in an old white cotton t-shirt. It's ok if it has a print on it.
Leave Phones / Devices at home; Please leave your child's devices at home, or let them know to leave it in their backpacks. Campers are not allowed to use their devices during camp hours. The camp is also not responsible for lost/broken devices.
Where to pick up / drop off (Don't worry if you forget, we'll be sending you reminders. :-) )
Monday: Drop off & Pick Up: St. Cuthbert's Church, 1399 Bayview Ave, Toronto
Tuesday: Drop off & Pick Up: Laura Slack's Chocolate Workshop, 206 Parkhurst Blvd. Unit 107, East York, ON M4G 2G3 (It's a bit hidden at the back side of the building - take the alleyway just north of Parkhurst and drive to the end)
Wednesday: Drop off & Pick Up: St. Cuthbert's Church, 1399 Bayview Ave, Toronto
Thursday: Drop off: Laura Slack's Chocolate Workshop, 206 Parkhurst Blvd. Unit 107, East York, ON M4G 2G3
Pick up: St. Cuthbert's Church, 1399 Bayview Ave, Toronto
Friday: Drop off: St. Cuthbert's Church, 1399 Bayview Ave, Toronto
Pick up: Distillery District - Maisonette 12 Tank House Lane. (It's a tiny store that has Laura's retail boutique in it)
How will the kids get transported on Thursday and Friday:
Thursday: The kids will walk from the Chocolate Workshop to the Camp Location. The distance is about 1.5 kms and we will stop for lunch in the park on the way.
Friday: Depending on what time we finish the posters etc, we will either take TTC or 2 Taxis to get to the Distillery.
Parent will be informed by email when we leave and when we arrive so you don't need to worry.
What do parents need to do?
1) Bookmark this page as all the info you need will be published here, along with pictures of what the kids were up to that day.
2) Follow us on Instagram and Facebook: @Explorerhop
3) Share all the posts your kids make with your community. We find nothing is more rewarding for kids than being recognized for all their efforts.
]]>We have a fantastic bunch of kids this week. Uber Talented and FULL OF IDEAS!!
We spent the day learning how to start a business. They will be starting a lemonade stand and collectively decided the following:
I am really impressed with how much they did today!
For Parents:
VERY Important: Please share the Go Fund Me Campaign with your social network. The link is here: https://www.gofundme.com/more-
Save the Date! On Friday @2pm our Lemonade Stand will open at 1399 Bayview Ave. Please bring all your friends, family, neighbours, people you meet walking your dog, literally everyone and join us!
Send an old white t-shirt with them. On Wednesday we will be making their uniforms for the lemonade stand. They will be making brightly coloured tie-dye t-shirts. Please send any OLD White cotton t-shirt with them. Also please send clothes they can get dirty in as dye has a way of showing up everywhere.
For Ryan: The other kids will help him with the tie-dye since he won't be able to do it with one hand.
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Wow! What a packed day we have had.
We have reached our GO FUND ME campaign mark so the kids are super excited about it!
The kids took all the pointers given yesterday and brought their stand and their sales pitch up to a whole new level!
Here are only SOME of the things we did:
1) Kids created 2 social media posts that were shared on Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin. FOLLOW THEM!!
2) Created a web page where you can PRE-ORDER a glass of Lemonade. It's currently only $1 online. Make sure you place your orders today! To place your order click here.
3) Made another 15 second video, this time using some really neat marketing techniques - it's all on the social media links above. Please COMMENT as they love reading them.
4) Tomorrow we will be doing a trial lemonade stand pitch and the kids will be at the intersection of Bayview (but still on church property) to sell lemonade. The goal is to get them comfortable with selling to others. Adult supervision will be there at all times. Our outdoor stall will be from 2.30-3.30pm.
For Parents:
VERY Important!! Share this link on social media and with your network! This allows people to order their lemonade online. https://explorerhop.com/products/freshly-squeezed-lemonade
Save the date! On Friday @2pm our Lemonade Stand will open at 1399 Bayview Ave. Please bring all your friends, family, neighbours, people you meet walking your dog, literally everyone and join us!
Send an old white t-shirt with them. On Wednesday we will be making their uniforms for the lemonade stand. They will be making brightly coloured tie-dye t-shirts. Please send any OLD White cotton t-shirt with them. Also please send clothes they can get dirty in as dye has a way of showing up everywhere.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Another great day. We had a goal of selling 10 lemonades and we made it! Wow they were all amazing.
Today, the kids made $10 for themselves ($1.25 each) and raised $49.55 for Princess Margaret. Fantastic!
For Parents:
VERY Important!! Share this link on social media and with your network! This allows people to order their lemonade online. https://explorerhop.com/products/freshly-squeezed-lemonade
Save the date! On Friday @2pm our Lemonade Stand will open at 1399 Bayview Ave. Please bring all your friends, family, neighbours, people you meet walking your dog, literally everyone and join us!
Send an old white t-shirt with them. On Wednesday we will be making their uniforms for the lemonade stand. They will be making brightly coloured tie-dye t-shirts. Please send any OLD White cotton t-shirt with them. Also please send clothes they can get dirty in as dye has a way of showing up everywhere.
We will be walking to Value-mart tomorrow again.
Please note, due to security and insurance reasons, kids are not allowed to wait outside for parents. You need to come in for pickup.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
WOW! What a packed day it was!
Here's just some of the things we did today:
Parents:
TOMORROW IS D-DAY!!!!
VERY Important!! Share this link on social media and with your network! This allows people to order their lemonade online. https://explorerhop.com/products/freshly-squeezed-lemonade PLEASE ORDER YOUR LEMONADE ONLINE!!
Save the date! On Friday @2pm our Lemonade Stand will open at 1399 Bayview Ave. Please bring all your friends, family, neighbours, people you meet walking your dog, literally everyone and join us!
Pick up tomorrow may be a few minutes after 3.30 as the kids need to tally how much they made and divide it between themselves.
Friday, July 12,2019
What an absolutely amazing bunch of kids to work with! This camp has been one of my most favourite ones to date!
Here’s a recap of what we did:
1) We went up and down spreading the word and even wrote on the sidewalk with arrows pointing to our lemonade stall!
2) The truly awesome manager at Value Mart was kind enough to give us all the cups we needed for our lemonade stand.
3) The kids scored 50 take out containers from Epi Breads for the Mega Classic drinks.
4) We got tweeted by the South Bayview Bulldog on-line journal
5) Robert Oliphant, Member of Parliament came to meet the kids
6) We had amazing ideas contributed by parents to improve our sales strategy, and it was just brilliant how cars and strangers would come by and buy our lemonade
7) We ran out of lemonade! A total of about 40 litres of lemonade has been made this week! Lol!
8) The kids raised $547 in total! This is a new record for an ExplorerHop camp! Each kid took $39 as the portion they earned and the rest has already been sent to Princess Margaret Cancer Fund.
Such amazing kids! It has really been a privilege to work with them this week!
]]>We had an amazing time today! It’s been such a fun week full of excitement.
Today we went to South America and Ecuador!
Kids learnt all about mariachi bands, made Cinco de Mayo masks, made Maracas and did nail and thread colouring on blocks of wood! They saw a matador fight a bull and learnt about races in Quito where parents build wooden carts and push their kids down a steep hill!
Our middle eastern tea was this afternoon and it was so much fun! Most of the kids tried dates for the first time. They also drank mint tea and had yoghurt with cucumbers. It was a fun experience for all of them!
The tie-dye shirts were superb and kids loved wearing them.
Our oldest camper Kevin finished weaving his plastic mat for the church ladies who garden and we presented it to them. They were really touched and have even asked if they can send the picture in the newsletter. It was a lot of effort to weave it and it’s really admirable that he completed it.
We wended the day with breaking open our piñata ! I am pleased to say with Meghan’s help, our piñata was successful!
Such a fun week! Look forward to seeing them all again very soon!
Day 4 (Aug 2)
We turned the schedule upside down today. Instead of learning about a country and doing arts and crafts after, we spent an awesome morning immersed in art. (Love it!)
At 9am, our awesome campers made pasta from scratch! Most of them had never cooked anything before so this was a fun experience. They mixed the dough, rolled it out and cut it into whatever pasta shape they wanted. Dinner is ready! The pasta is very edible, so please cook it in boiling water with a bit of salt and a little oil for about 3 minutes.
After pasta, we did tie-dye. Again, this was the first time for a lot of campers so it was a lot of fun and they enjoyed the whole process of tying the cloth, folding it, putting rubberbands on and dyeing it. There was so much excitement and "wow" as they saw the dye on their shirts. We will keep the shirts here overnight. It's very messy to remove the rubber bands so the kids will do this here and we will dry it in the garden and then they will all wear it for graduation tomorrow.
After a very short break, we made pinatas. My wonderful counselor Meghan has done a lot of work to make sure the pinatas actually form. My fingers are crossed! Tomorrow we will fill candy in them and the kids will break it and eat the candy. (More waivers needed!)
After lunch we learnt all about Italy and the Renaissance. They learnt about Leonardo da Vinci and tested out the "eye trick" with Mona Lisa! They also learnt about the Vitruvian Man and measured each other to see their proportions! What they were most astonished about was that people in Italy didn't always eat pasta and pizza and some of them had pure shock when they found out that pizzas were only made 110 years ago.
The boys have totally taken to marbles and spend all their free time playing it. It's nice to see kids engaging with each other and not only with their devices. They were also very happy that the rafts they made floated!
Splash Time will end the day and the church ladies have put out sprinklers for the kids to play.
Tomorrow is Graduation!! Please come with your cameras at 3.30 as our campers get their certificates!
Day 3 (Aug 1)
Such a fun day! We started the day with playing musical chairs.
We learnt all about Ancient Egypt today. They had fun learning about Pharaoh's and writing their names in hieroglyphics.
At sports the boys impressed us with their long jumps and the girls set up their own gym.
After that they learnt some key words about Ancient Egypt and out we went for lunch.
Today was art extravaganza after lunch!
The girls made crowns, capes and fish aquariums.
The boys got the chance to wrap themselves up as a mummy! What fun! They then made rafts that we will try and float tomorrow!
After this we pounded leaves and flowers into t-shirts and the results were quite amazing.
And after a rather competitive game of egg and spoon races we were out for Splash Time!
Please send with your child tomorrow:
Day 2 (July 31)
The day went by so fast! We have so many projects planned and only had time to do a few of them!
The morning started with the kids learning about Australia and the environment. We spoke at length about the Great Barrier Reef, how Aussie's like to shorten the names for everything - including their own country which they call "Straya"! The kids were fascinated by Christmas traditions in Australia (BBQ on the beach and Santa in shorts and a tank top!).
When we discussed the environment we spoke about the Ozone Hole, the Great Barrier Reef dying, the problems with pollution and how this impacts kids in Australia. We also spoke about the waste problem that affects all of us and the sea of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean. The kids were really amazed to find out all this information.
After we broke for sports, the kids painted their salt lamps. The experiment Kevin did with creating a salt bowl was also successful! Bravo to him. The bowl held water!
We also successfully turned the salt lamp into a functioning oil lamp!
After this we started to weave our plastic rug out of plastic bags. The point was to teach kids that you can reuse stuff and innovate.
The campers also got to try Fairy Bread which was a success! Fairy Bread is a treat that kids in Australia love.
And we ended the day with Splash Time!
Please send with your child tomorrow:
Day 1 (July 30)
It's a great start to the week!
We've got a small group today of amazing kids so this is sure to be an awesome week.
Today, we went to Asia and focused on India. Kids learnt all about the Taj Mahal. They also learnt in the morning about Ganpati (the half elephant + half human god that people in India believe in) and different festivals in India.
We did an hour of obstacle racing, ultimate frisbee, wheel barrows and loads of other games.
We had a late morning activity where campers made salt lamps (they are currently cooking in the oven all night and will be painted tomorrow). One of our campers, Kevin, who is incredibly imaginative and detailed oriented, made a salt bowl! It will be interesting to see how it turns out tomorrow.
We also learnt some Hindi and all campers wrote their names in Hindi. After this we played the very Indian game of Kabbadi which is always a success and Tumbang Presso which the girls won hand down.
The older campers learnt the Indian tradition of passing stories through drums and had quite a good time with it!
We then played a game of marbles in teams and ended the day with some Splash Time!
Please send with your child tomorrow:
Investment Challenge Winner:
We have been trading for 5 days and the campers have all changed several stocks and enjoying their virtual portfolios. Each and every one of them has learnt so much this week. The markets have been up and down and they have seen their virtual portfolios also go up and down.
The winner of this week's Investment Challenge is James. He made $3218 profit in 5 days (32%). Congratulations and we wish him a lot of luck.
We spent the day talking about Bitcoin and the realities of trading it. We also spoke about drugs and how it is a useless and money consuming activity and how they would be much better off taking the money they have and investing it.
The kids liked their Tie-Dye shirts and wore them. They also made some pasta which they enjoyed.
Day 4 (July 19)
We had a great day today!
We started off by learning about Gold and other precious metals. Campers were shown gold and silver coins that they really enjoyed. They were also asked to feel the weight so that they understand how much 1 oz feels like. After this they calculated how much each investment would have been worth if their grandparents had invested $100 for them. They were quite surprised to find out that the stock market always out performs gold as an investment long term.
After sports which the kids requested to be more like free play, we did our tie-dye projects.
This was followed by learning how to keep their money safe.
After this there was a round of marbles which they thoroughly enjoyed. Some of the kids made South American Worry Dolls (they take away your worries) and the others did water play.
To bring tomorrow: .
1) Change of clothes as we will be making pasta.
2) Level 1: Should look up both their stocks and bring information on the companies they have invested in.
3) Level 2: Need to bring 1 stock in precious metals
4) Parents are requested to remind children that we have a no device policy. It disrupts the class and takes away from the experience for other campers.
5) Diploma Ceremony. We will be giving certificates to all campers at 3.15pm so please come here with your cameras!
Day 3 (July 18)
We covered NAFTA and Free Trade Agreements today. Now that the kids understood how dependent Canada is on USA, they were able.to get a better picture of the issues surrounding NAFTA.
We also covered Buying Local and supporting the local economy and got into a discussion of how to balance Buying Local and Free Trade.
Campers had to balance the need to buy local and support local economies with free trade. We spoke about Competitive Advantage and how canadian businesses need to keep improvising to stay competitive.
Campers had the option to do art and a few of them did. We made rafts today that floated in the water!
Add a bit of kick-boxing and some water play and it was a nice day.
To bring tomorrow:
1) T-Shirt for Tie-dyeing. We will spend the afternoon doing art so please send a t-shirt with your child.
2) Level 1: Should look up both their stocks and bring information on the companies they have invested in.
3) Level 2: Need to bring 2 stocks that have been impacted by NAFTA and explain how they have been impacted.
4) Please send more snacks as several campers were hungry today.
5) If your child would like to have water play at the end of the day, please send change of clothes / swimsuits for them to change into.
6) Parents are requested to remind children that we have a no device policy. It disrupts the class and takes away from the experience for other campers.
Day 2 (July 17)
Today we learnt all about the environment and the impact that global warming has on your investments. Since "Cap and Trade" is so much in the news we learnt about that. We also learnt about Carbon Tax and different methods other countries have implemented to address pollution issues. The example we discussed was London, UK and the Congestion Charge where cars need to pay about CAD 20 to enter Central London. The campers then brainstormed ways that they could implement to create less pollution.
This was followed by a good game of soccer where Team Alex scored enough points to get an additional $2400 added to their virtual portfolios (they subsequently lost $600) :-)
After that, a rather raucous time trading where Santiago almost traded one shoe and Caitlyn did not part with her heart pillow she had stitched herself. The winner of the trading market today was Maddy who walked away with way more than she gave.
After lunch we spoke about the ethics of investing and each camper thought about what kind of companies they would not like to invest in. They learnt that ethics is different for everyone and since it's their money, they need to figure out what they would consider ethical or not.
All Level 2 Investment Challenge sold their US Holdings and bought Canadian holdings. This exercise really showed them how big the US economy is and reiterated the need for them to follow not only local news but also US and world news.
We ended the day by learning about Gift Giving, they learnt about deadweight costs and If you don't have the money, don't spend it.
The team has been divided into 2 Investment Levels:
Level 1: Campers select 2 stocks and have approximately $10,000 to invest.
Caitlyn, Alejandro, Courtney, Jim, Tyler
Level 2: Campers select 5 stocks and have approximately $10,000 to invest.
Nikita, James, Ryder, Maddy, Emma, Alex, Ben, Santiago, Frank (moved to level 2 today)
Click here to see their recent stock holdings
To bring tomorrow:
1) Level 1: Should look up both their stocks and bring information on the companies they have invested in.
2) Level 2: Need to bring 5 Energy Stocks. Don't need to be Canadian and could be clean energy or not. Up to them.
3) Please send more snacks as several campers were hungry today.
4) If your child would like to have water play at the end of the day, please send change of clothes / swimsuits for them to change into.
5) Parents are requested to remind children that we have a no device policy. It disrupts the class and takes away from the experience for other campers.
Day 1 (July 16)
It's a full class today!
We started the day by talking about how kids could earn money and they were very innovative in their ideas. This was followed by them learning about how to save money and before spending any money to ask themselves 3 questions:
Do I need it?
Will I use it?
Will I enjoy it?
We then learnt how to budget and the kids created their own budget. They wrote down their "must haves", what they would invest in and how much they would spend on fun. When they saw their total budget almost all had to go back and remove things because they realized they could not afford it.
The stock market followed and we talked about shares, share prices, ticker, stock markets, brokers, commission and how to invest.
The team has been divided into 2 Investment Levels:
Level 1: Campers select 2 stocks and have approximately $10,000 to invest.
Caitlyn, Alejandro, Courtney, Jim, Tyler, Frank
Level 2: Campers select 5 stocks and have approximately $10,000 to invest.
Nikita, James, Ryder, Maddy, Emma, Alex, Ben, Santiago
You can follow their stock picks here.
To bring tomorrow:
1) Level 1: Should look up both their stocks and bring information on the companies they have invested in.
2) Level 2: All stocks in US Stock Exchanges need to be sold and they need to come tomorrow with 5 stocks that are traded in the Toronto Stock Exchange or any other Canadian Stock Exchange.
3) Please send more snacks as several campers were hungry today.
4) If your child would like to have water play at the end of the day, please send change of clothes / swimsuits for them to change into.
5) Parents are requested to remind children that we have a no device policy. It disrupts the class and takes away from the experience for other campers.
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Wow! What an awesome day it was! These kids are really something else. They have learnt so much this whole week and made the most amazing farmers market stand.
In the morning, we completed all our posters that we needed for the market and did the financial calculations of running the market stand.
After lunch they had an amazing time harvesting all the produce they had grown themselves using state of the art hydroponics, acquaponics and different light.
The market stand itself was a complete success. The kids sold so much that Brian and Olivia from Ripplefarms had to keep refilling the supply!
In the end the kids sold over $200 of produce that they had made themselves! They were delighted to give over $110 to the Evergreen Worm Wranglers.
Such an achievement for all these kids. Excellent team work. Loads of work and it all paid off in the end.
Day 4 (July 26)
The excitement as we get closer to our final day is building. It is amazing how much the kids have learnt.
Today, in a span of 45 minutes they sold 6 jars of Pootrients! One client realized she couldn't actually carry the jars but was so impressed by their sales pitch, gave them $5 anyway. We also met a professor from U of T who was having a Masters Level Leadership Class and he brought his entire team to the Farm and made them listen to the kids sales pitch. He said it was a lesson in team work! We are really very pleased with the sales and the compliments.
The Kids have now sold over $50 of Pootrients!! Simply fantastic.
We did some tie-dye in before lunch and this is what they will wear to sell in the Farmers Market tomorrow.
Since we are teaching them about Sustainability, the bits and paper that they would have thrown away are now being transformed into a Karma Jar! Come and pick your Karma tomorrow. :-)
Brian the awesome Manager at Ripple Farms, spent the afternoon playing a game called Feed 9 Billion. In 2050, the population on Earth will be 9 billion and this game drives home the point that we need to start thinking about how all these people will be nourished today. It's certainly an eye opening game.
Don't forget! Friday July 27 at 3pm- 4.00pm is our Farmers Market Stand. Bring your friends and come along. We will be selling:
Cash only!
Profits from the sales go to support the Evergreen Brickworks Worm Wranglers so that they continue their mission to support the environment. We are giving back to the community!
Please note: Kids pick up tomorrow is 4.00pm, however we may stay a few minutes longer if they have gotten into the swing of it and want to sell.
Day 3 (July 25)
I can't believe how fast the day goes! Today was one action packed day.
In the morning, the campers created their own mini acquaponics system to grow lettuce. These will be available for sale on Friday.
They also helped set up a solar panel which is the only electrical outlet available to the farm. (We are quite serious when we talk about sustainability).
They also learnt how to test the level of nitrogen in the water and how the color changes depending on how much nitrates is in it. The Pootrients that Ripple Farms sells is extremely high in nitrates and excellent for your plants.
In the afternoon, the campers were ready to sell more. Our first sale was yesterday where after many tries we sold one jar of Pootrient. Today, we sold 6 jars!!! The campers work amazingly good as a team and were great at selling to members of the public. Selling is the hardest part of a business and these kids seem to be mastering it with great ease. Here are my thoughts on this: If someone can sell a jar of fish poop for $5 , I am certain they can sell anything now!
We are starting to get ready for our Farmers Market! Only 2 days left!
We made posters for our market, the camper who is "Marketing Manager" has identified spots where to leave our poster. The camper who is "Financial Manager" has accurately written down all the expenses and income and we have a profit of $16 today! The camper who is "Operations Manager" has started to identify the next level of things needed for the market stand. And our "Sales Manager" pre-sold 4 more jars of Pootrients!
Don't forget! Friday July 27 at 3pm is our Farmers Market Stand. Bring your friends and come along. We will be selling:
Profits from the sales go to support the Evergreen Brickworks Worm Wranglers so that they continue their mission to support the environment. We are giving back to the community!
Day 2 (July 24)
We have had a super day today!
In the morning the campers harvested the pea shoots and had them for snack :-)
They then planted more pea shoots with worm castings that we got from Evergreen Brickworks Worm Composting. The children also learnt the value of giving back to earth and building a sustainable model when the waste from the pea shoots was given back to worms to eat.
They absolutely loved getting their hands dirty with the worms and since most of them have never touched one it was amazing. Slowly, they are becoming experts in vertical farming.
In the afternoon, we learnt about sales. One of the hardest things to do when you have a new business is sell. So, we went out in a group to try to sell a jar of "Pootrient" for $5. The children learnt never to give up and how sales come from the strangest of places. They were overjoyed when they finally sold it.
We also did some A/B Testing with them understanding the value of alternative tests and trying out different strategies.
Don't forget! Friday July 27 at 3pm is our Farmers Market Stand. Bring your friends and come along. Don't forget also to pre-order a jar of Pootrients for your garden!
Day 1 (July 23)
What an amazing fun day! The campers started the day with a short hike around Evergreen Brickworks and then spend the morning planting. They will grow most of the produce that they sell in their Farmers Stand on Friday.
The day was spent learning all about Sustainability and how each of them could make changes to help support our environment. It was stressed that while all of them would like to make money, they need to find ways to do it without hurting the environment.
They also learnt in the morning about oneoponics, hydroponics and used coconut husk based soil and cocoa bean husks as wood chips! Needless to say, everything was fascinating and fun for them!
We then started to learn how to start their own businesses and how to identify a need that they think needs to be fulfilled. After this each person had their own function and off they went brainstorming on what comes next. We have an Operations Manager, Sales Manager, Marketing Manager and a Financial Manager.
It's wonderful being at Evergreen Brickworks because just in an hour, the kids saw several turtles, many different types of fish, birds and bees! They were delighted at this and have even given the turtles names!
Please spread the word about their Farmers Stand on Friday at 3pm. (Check out the poster below!)
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Day 5 (July 13)
The week has gone by so fast! Most of the kids commented today how they couldn't believe it's already Friday!
Today, we studied about Italy and the Renaissance movement. The children learnt all about Leonardo Da Vinci and the Vitruvian Man. They measured themselves to see if the distance from their head to toe is the same as their wingspan and then discovered that 10 hand spans were the same as their height!
Camp Millionaire:. Our money segment was all about Gift Giving and how you should only spend what you have. Children learnt - if you don't have the money, don't spend it.
All the kids spent the afternoon making pasta which was a lot of fun! Then there was dancing where they learnt traditional Italian dancing, did sports and of course, water play!
Thank you! And we look forward to having your child again in our programs!
Day 4 (July 12)
We have such an amazing group that the days go by so fast! It's hard to imagine that tomorrow is the last day.
Today we learnt about North America and South America. We learnt about New York City and Ecuador. The kids really love the adventure stories and totally get into it.
After that the kids worked in pairs and learnt some Salsa and Meringue dancing.
Camp Millionaire: We followed their stocks and the kids saw for themselves how news impacts their stock price. For example, Costco stopped selling hot dogs yesterday and their share price went down so today they decided to reverse that decision and the share price went up!
We also learnt about the importance of buying local and how we can support the local economy. I feel like this group, even thought it is much younger, has picked up a lot of information on financial matters.
Around the World in 5 Days: They made Cinco-de-Mayo masks and Maracas!
After that the whole team made tie-dye t-shirts and played Tumbang Presso and Marbles. Obstacle courses and Splash Play ended the day!
Please remember for tomorrow:
1) Their Tie-Dye shirts will stay here as it is messy business to remove the bands. I will do that tomorrow with the kids and leave them out to dry. Hopefully this will mean less mess at your homes.
2) Friday at 3.30pm we have our Diploma Graduation, so please come with your cameras to take pictures of the kids getting their certificates.
3) Please send things for Splash Time tomorrow.
Day 3 (July 11)
Another day that went by so fast! It's awesome when kids are having fun!
We learnt all about Ancient Egypt and the boy king Tutankhamen. They learnt about Pyrqmids and legends around them.
After that we had a lesson where all the kids did belly dancing! They were having so much fun that 2 senior parishioners who were in the garden joined the dancing!
Camp Millionaire kids learnt about investing in Gold versus the Stock Market. They saw how the earlier they invest the more money you can make.
After that we did a lesson in how to keep your money safe which the kids enjoyed a lot.
Around the World in 5 Days camp made themselves pharaoh crowns and capes.
All kids then played games with marbles and had so much fun that I strongly recommend it to others to play at home.
This was followed with obstacle courses, games and soccer.
And finally, splash time!
Need for tomorrow:
1) Old light colored t-shirt for tie-dye
2) Camp Millionaire: Kids have written their stock names, ticker symbols and prices. They should do research on their companies and come ready to tell everyone.
3) Please send a swimsuit and a change of clothes with your child. If the weather is warm we will turn on the sprinklers again.
4) Friday: Parents are invited to come at 3.30 for our Diploma Graduation where all kids get a certificate. Please bring your cameras and be prepared to take tons of pictures.
Day 2 (July 10)
A packed day full of fun!
We started the morning by learning all about Australia. We spent some time talking about global warming, the ozone layer and the children all brainstormed what they can do to reduce pollution in their communities.
After this we had a dance class where our very versatile teacher taught them the Kookaburra Dance from Australia. The kids had a great time with it.
The campers who are in Camp Millionaire spent the rest of the morning learning about Carbon Tax and the alternatives. We learnt about Cap and Trade and Congestion Charges and they tried to find other solutions to the carbon problem.
The campers from Around the World made their own mini coral reefs and really go into it. They also made their own rafts.
We played the Australian game of egg and spoon race and I was quite surprised at how the two youngest campers were also the most coordinated and how they scored the highest points!
After a quick lunch, we learnt about the stock market and the kids will come home and talk about "Equity"! We started our Investment Challenge today so please allow them access to the computer to do their homework.
Here are the stocks they picked:
Loic: McDonalds
Jacob: PetroCanada
Olivia: Indigo & Costco
Alyssa: Petsmart
David: Amazon
After an hour of sports we had fun splashing in the water.
It really was a nice day.
Things to bring tomorrow:
1) Camp Millionaire: Kids have written their stock names, ticker symbols and prices. They should do research on their companies and come ready to tell everyone.
2) Please send a swimsuit and a change of clothes with your child. If the weather is warm we will turn on the sprinklers again.
3) On Thursday - Please send an OLD light coloured t-shirt with your child. It's ok if it has print on it. We will do some version of tie dye. Please also send your child on Thursday with clothes that can be stained.
Day 1 (July 9)
This is going to be a great week! We have a great bunch of kids and one kid who is only 7 but totally got the point of saving and budgeting money!
Our day started with learning all about India. We went through the adventure of Mira & Teyus and the kids learnt all about the Taj Mahal. In between, they tried out a saree and a lunghi (sarong for boys). Everyone had fun.
They wrote their names in traditional Hindi characters and learnt how Indian alphabet and word structure is do different.
After this we had our dance segment where our awesome teacher Lena taught them Bollywood dancing. The boys had an amazing time! The girls were a bit reserved at first but by the end of the hour they were as good as any Bollywood dancer!
We then started learning about Money and Savings. The camp this week is much younger and I was surprised how quickly they picked up the concepts. All the kids wrote what they wanted to save for and this included a cat, a little house, a tree house and 3 houses.
We did some obstacle courses with Mehmet today and it was so much fun. The kids were laughing non-stop!
After the obstacle course we learnt how to budget and one of our campers managed to cut her budget from $3500 to $340 using all the pointers we had learnt! I was impressed.
Art wise, we tried out Okra and Zuchinni painting. The kids drew their own Indian Royal Elephants.
This week, we have a camper who wants to start his own business. He is a chess champion and wanted to start his own Chess classes. We started learning how to set up your own business.
Things to bring tomorrow:
1) Please send a swimsuit and a change of clothes with your child. If the weather is warm we will turn on the sprinklers.
]]>Day 4 (July 6)
It’s hard to believe the week is already over! We had so much fun and I think the kids learnt a lot as well.
We started the day by talking about news. The children have all been following the story of the brave Thai kids stuck in the cave, so we used that story to draw parallels with money management.
We spoke about the trade war with US and China and discussed unemployment rate. After that we talked about buying local and the benefits of supporting the local economy and came up with ways in which we can make local businesses more competitive.
We also spoke about gift giving and how unnecessary and wasteful a lot of gift expenditure is. They learnt the chant “If you don’t have the money, don’t spend it”. We spoke about how people really don’t want more junk at home and how it’s much easier for everyone to give cash as a present.
The dance segment was fun as was the sports where they did obstacle courses again.
After that it was time to get wet! And was that fun!
Our Investment Challenge for the week ended. Our first place winner made more than $1000 in 4 days! (I can’t tell you the number of times I look at these kids and say “darn - wish I had invested in it”) .
Well done to all the campers!!
Enjoy the summer and I look forward to seeing you soon!
Here is the link to our After School Program. It's Sunday morning from 10.30-12 and we only have 7 spots available so if you are interested, sign up now.
Day 3 (July 5)
Today was a fun day. We learnt about Gold and how it holds up to the Stock Market as a long term investment. After that we learnt how to keep our money safe and the campers enjoyed the story of Edna loosing everything.
Our new dance instructor Lena came today and the kids had fun moving. After lunch, Ramkin came to do an obstacle course and fun games for the kids. I think they had a good workout today!
Our trading market was in full swing and most of the kids felt like they traded something they didn’t need with something of greater value.
Our Investment Challenge continues with the kids following their investments. Some kids even sold and bought new shares on their portfolios. It’s always fun to see their excitement when their stock goes up!
Tomorrow is our last day of camp this week and it’s going to be a fun day.
Reminders:
1) Kids should read about their companies and come prepared to change them if they want to.
2) Tomorrow is Splash Day. Please send a swimsuit /change of clothes with your kid.
3) We will be handing out certificates at 3.30 so please do come to watch your child get their certificate. They have worked so hard this week and it’s well deserved!
Day 2 (July 4)
There was a lot of learning today as we have more fun activities tomorrow. Dance and Obstacle Course!
We spent the morning learning about Free Trade Agreements and how NAFTA impacts them. They learnt about tarrifs and how it impacts people in both countries. They also learnt about the pros and cons of Free Trade. The segment ended with the campers divided into 2 groups - one representing a country that grows organic strawberries and another representing one that grows commercial strawberries. Each group had to convince the other to allow them access to their market. However, as often happens in trade negotiations the groups automatically focussed on their products and putting down the other product and not how to find a middle ground. We spent time discussing this and how the recent trade war with USA will impact their disposable income, stock portfolios and the community in general.
After a short break, we talked about determining the “value” of things and upselling. We spoke at length about the true story of the person who traded a red paper clip for a house (several trades later). This was followed by them trading in their own market. They had loads of fun!
After lunch we played “Tumbang Presso”. A game from the streets of Philippines. The kids had fun playing it. We also played something called the “Human Knot”. My first time playing this and way too complicated for my rather poor athletic abilities.
After a break, we headed back to learn about Carbon Tax. The kids learnt about emissions, ozone hole and what exactly the Carbon Tax is. We also covered the recent Cap-and-Trade that is in the news so they can now join conversations about that at home.
The day ended with each kid updating their portfolios. I love this part because when their portfolios go up by 10 bucks they are jumping and when it's down by 10 they are convinced they will loose everything. Tomorrow, we will use this to discuss risk again as they are better able to understand it now.
Don’t forget to send tomorrow:
1) Enough Lunch and Snacks for them as some of them were looking through the kitchen cabinets for food today. We find the more snacks they have the happier they are.
2) Something for them to trade in the daily trading market.
3) Read up about their stocks as we will start the day with what is happening in their companies and the news in general.
Day 1 (July 3)
We had an excellent first day. I am so impressed by the children at camp today and their maturity. When asked what they were saving for a number of them said Education and University, and one even said World Peace!
They learnt the 5 golden rules of saving and to ask themselves 3 questions before they buy anything:
Do I need it?
Will I use it?
Will I enjoy it?
This was followed by learning how to budget and how to identify Must Haves, money for Investing and money for Fun.
After breaking for a couple of hours for some sports we started learning about the stock market. The campera will all take part in the Investment Challenge. For the rest of the week they will buy and sell stocks in a virtual portfolio. Each camper has been given $10,000 in a virtual portfolio to invest.
Don't forget to send tomorrow:
1) Selection of 3-4 stocks, their ticker symbol and the price. They should also have a reason why they are buying these stocks.
2) Something to Trade with other campers. We normally do this every day at camp because it's a lot of fun but not enough kids brought stuff to trade today.
3) Permission to get Henna tattoos - I'd you haven't already signed the release forms please do so in the morning tomorrow. This is optional.
4) Don't forget lunch. Peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish free as we have severe allergies in the camp.
Day 4 (July 6)
An action packed day!
We are in Italy today!
The day started with making pasta and pizza. We then made capes which the campers loved to wear. This was followed with mosaic painting, dancing and splash time!!!
Day 3 (July 5)
A day filled with creativity!!
We started the day with Ancient Egypt. The kids made crowns and named themselves. I loved how one of them called herself Cleopatra and the other one declared she was Kate! They also made pyramids and wrote their name in Egyptian Hieroglyphics! This was followed by a quick detour to modern day Egypt where they learnt a few words in Arabic.
In the afternoon after a dance lesson with Lena they moved to South America! Maracas! Masks and cactus! A day full of art!
Please send tomorrow:
1) A change of clothes as we have Splash day!
2) We will be giving certificates to all kids tomorrow at 3.30 - please join us for the certificate ceremony.
Day 2 (July 4)
Today we went to Australia! What a fun day.
The girls learnt all about Coral Reefs and pollution. They were concerned to find out that a plastic bottle would not dissolve in a seafor 450 years and thought it was sad that kids in Australia can’t stay out in the sun as much because of the Ozone hole.
We made mini fish tanks. Then they made rafts which were super imaginative! And these rafts actually floated!!
They also did aboriginal style painting, learnt about Steve Irwin (Crocodile man) and did a lot of dancing.
It was a super fun day for them.
Day 1 (July 3)
We visited India today! The campers started the day with doing okra painting where they learnt about creating sustainable solutions to arts and crafts projects. After this they painted diyas (clay lamps) and we got to burn a fire in the the traditional way with some oil.
This was followed by Rangoli where we put colour on the floor in a design. Then the campers learnt a number of words in Hindi and wrote their name in traditional Hindi script. Throw in a game of Carrom, some Bollywood dancing and wearing a saree as well!
FUN FUN FUN !!!!
NEXT WEEK IS INNOVATION WEEK. This is the week where we try out loads of different projects, activities and start up ideas in an entirely different way. If you have a child who wants to start their own business - this is the week to do it! We have 4 spots available so sign up today and save $50, please speak to Hasina.
Read our amazing review on Future Farmers in Whole Family Happiness Project. Future Farmers is an amazing camp where kids learn cutting-edge techniques about sustainability, vertical farming and create their own sustainable business.
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What a week it has been! The kids have had an amazing week. It's hard to imagine how much we accomplished in a week.
Our Super Results!
Prior to the camp: The campers had limited ideas about saving, never budgeted and had no clue about investing and world events that impact their portfolio.
After the camp: They have some really good understanding about saving, budgeting and waste cutting. They have been following their investment portfolio for a week now and can easily read the financial newspaper and follow it. It's been an amazing transformation!
Our Reviews:
"I loved this camp. I had the most fun and got a lot of information about money and how to manage it; how not to waste it, nor to get it stolen. This is some killer information that you wouldn't find at any other camp. This camp is unique, it teaches you about you future life instead if you normal, stereotypical camp that focuses on sports such as conoeing, archery and much more. (We still do sports though)"
"I am 10 years old I loved it and if I had another time to come here I would take that chance we learned about different countries and continents mostly about investing I loved this camp and if you have a child that wants to learn about money I would totally suggest this camp"
Investment Challenge:
On Day 1, campers learnt about the Stock Market and made their own portfolios with 3 stocks. Every day they would follow it and understand why they went up and down. Today, was the end of the challenge. Overall, they were pretty pleased that they had made money.
James, the winner of our challenge increased his portfolio almost $500 in a week! Not bad for an 8 year old investor!!
Check out our investment challenge:
Culture:
We learnt a lot about Renaissance Italy and the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. This was followed by campers measuring their proportions against those of Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.
Check out their results here.
After this, we learnt all about London and the Big Ben. Campers were surprised to learn that Big Ben was actually the name of the bell inside the tower and not the clock.
Money:
Today, we focussed on a topic that kids spend a lot of time thinking about - Gift Giving. The campers learnt about "dead weight loss", how to gift, what amount to gift and the problems with giving people things they don't want or spending more than you have on a present.
We then completed the mission on Gift Giving where the campers got to pick their ultimate gifts. It was a lot of fun!
Sports:
Our Sports Director, Mr. Amr made them have the best time. They played a lot of team games and it was wonderful to watch how cohesive a team they have become.
Dancing:
The campers wanted to see Tap Dancing and learn "something like Irish dancing". Our brilliant dance instructor Kayla was just superb. The boys were totally fascinated at how fast her feet moved when she tap danced.
Check out our video here:
World Investment Challenge:
We ended the week with the much anticipated World Investment Challenge. All teams did brilliantly and the competition was stiff. The winning team was awarded certificates marking their achievement.
Award Ceremony:
All campers got certificates. Certificates were also awarded to the winning team for the World Investment Challenge and the 2017 Stock Market Investment Challenge.
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What a fun day!
Culture:
We had spoken about Philippines and how the main character Mira siphoned water from a pool with a hose. The kids were keen to try it, so our Sports Director Amr brought in his garden hose. We placed one end in a red tub filled with water and our camper Bassel was most eager to blow at the other end to get the water out. It looked like enough fun that even Amr got into it.
We then got into discussing Australia and the environment. The campers heard about the ozone hole, Paris Accords and how the coral reefs are dying. After this, they designed an efficient underwater exploration device. They all got a kick out of this.
Money:
We started the day by talking about Carbon Tax and the kids were very interested in knowing about different ways they can save the environment which does not involve taxing them. They worked on a mission where they had to advise the Mayor of a town how he should deal with the pollution issue in his town. You can read their responses here.
We then learnt how to Budget with our favorite character Edna. The kids really enjoyed this story. They then did a mission on creating their own budget. Check out their responses here.
Sports:
Today was team building day! Our Sports Director, Mr. Amr divided the group into 2 teams and they had a number of really fun sports activities.
Dancing:
Hip Hop!! Watch these very cool kids getting better and better with the moves!
Art:
Here is how our coffee dyed shirts look!
We tried to fuse together plastic water bottles to create a recycling bin. We shall try this again next year!
Please feel free to share this with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or my email.
Thanks
]]>It's been an awesome Day 3.
Culture:
We learnt about Ancient Egypt. The campers heard about the tombs of the great pharoahs and the amount of gold that was found in some tombs. They also learnt about robbers stealing a lot of the treasure, and about the Boy King Tutankhamen.
Money:
We did an investment challenge of Gold vs. Dow Jones. Most of the campers thought Gold would fare better in the long term and were surprised to find that it was actually the stock market. You can see the results of their Gold vs. Stock Market Challenge here.
The next thing we learnt about was How to Keep Your Money Safe and Prevent Fraud. They went through the story of Edna, who has now also become their favourite. After this they did a mission where they had to think about where they keep their money and precious belongings now and how they could make it safer. You can see their submissions here.
Finally, we did a bit of Trading for things where the campers are really starting to get the value of things. There was some hefty bargaining today!
Sports:
Our Sports Director Amr is simply brilliant! He again made a super fun filled day full of different activities. He was born and spent part of his childhood in Egypt so there were a lot of games that were played there that he showed them. The kids really had fun.
Art:
Coffee Tie-Dye. Campers learnt how to put wax (Both dry wax and melted wax) on a shirt and how to tie it up with rubber bands. They then died it in very strong coffee. It was super interesting for them.
Dance:
Our wonderful dance instructor taught them some pretty cool african dance moves. Check out the video here:
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Thanks
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Hello Everyone!
We've had a second amazing day at camp.
Culture:
We started the day with learning about Ecuador. The campers learnt how roses from Ecuador come to North America and about music from South America. The campers had fun creating their own roses. You can read their submissions here.
We had a special guest today, Fatima a 16 year old exchange student from Mexico spent the day with us. She taught us some Spanish and told us about life in Mexico. The campers were particularly interested to find out that Spanish tacos have meat that is cooked in the same was as Shawarma (vertically on a rotating grill).
Money Lessons:
We started the day Trading Stuff. The campers learnt terms like Up Sell and also learnt how to value things. Then we started trading things they had brought. The most wanted item was the fidget spinner. This was eventually traded for a toy chicken. You can check out how the campers did trading here. Ryder ended with the fidget spinner and Hussein totally impressed us with how he creating an awesome origami shirt and traded that for something of more value.
We also spoke at length about Free Trade Agreements and how it impacts their lives. The group was then divided in 2 groups who discussed trading organic and commercial strawberries. Team Organic Strawberries won the debate. We also spoke about the impact of immigration on a number of countries. Team Pro-Immigration won with their speaker totally knocking the arguments out.
They were also checking out their Virtual Investment Portfolio. Bassel made the most money with a 1% gain in only 1 day.
Sports:
We honestly have the best Sports Director, Amr. He was amazing! The kids had so much fun playing that no one wanted to leave! A lot of games they played today they had never played before so it was a lot of fun for everyone.
Art:
We made Maracas which the campers then used it for dancing. We also worked with Fatima, the exchange student from Mexico and made a Pinata. This was a lot of fun.
Dancing:
Kayla had the kids dancing an awesome dance on matadors. They had a lot of fun and I have to say the boys are getting pretty good at dancing.
Saree Draping:
We never got around to trying out the sarees yesterday, so today some of the girls took turns trying it on.
Notes for Parents:
1) Please send lots of water with your kids tomorrow
2) Don't forget an old white t-shirt
3) If you have empty water bottles at home, please send those as we need it for our art project on Thursday.
Please leave us come comments and share with your friends on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or by email.
Thanks!
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We started the day with some introductions and the kids were surprised to learn that some of the kids had travelled from Oakville and Mississauga to attend this camp!
Our first activity was understanding the baseline story of Mira & Teyus (the main characters in ExplorerHop.com ). We read how the story started and then the story on India, where the campers met the third character, Hari.
This was followed by our Mission. (ExplorerHop.com is all about Missions! We are user driven content, which means we go where the kids tell us to go! Normally, we have about 3 days to write, edit, illustrate and publish a story.) The kids were asked their suggestions on how the story should unfold. You can see their comments here.
Campers also told us if they could go anywhere on their bikes where they would go.
Here's a sample of them:
From Nikita, " I would go to Hawaii and easy shaved ice".
From Zeina, "I would go to California and Hollywood so I can meet all the celebrities".
We took a break for snack - please remember parents, No Nuts or Sesame in the snacks and lunches!
It was then time to turn the camp over to our awesome Sports Director, Mr. Amr. He taught the kids how to play a whole bunch of games. We started with traditional Indian games called India, these included Kabbadi and Dabba Tor, and then Amr showed them several games they had not played before.
After games, we headed back to the serious stuff and learnt about the importance on Saving. We learnt the 5 golden rules of Saving and discussed how to stop wastage. We also learnt about the "Money Tree". You can read our story here.
Kids then completed the mission on how to save. It was really interesting to see what their saving goals are. Here is a sample of them:
From Ryder, " I want to save for education + for kids and my life".
From Kaylon, "I will look for new things that are only on sale to save money".
From Bassel, "Don't throw away edible stuff".
After lunch, we got right back into the India theme. This time we focused on crafts that kids in India do.
Campers learnt how to make stamps with cut okra and potatoes. The results were fabulous.
We then handed over the floor to our very amazing dance instructor Kayla who had the kids jamming to Bollywood numbers. Check out these moves!
After a short snack break, we got straight into our Stock Market Challenge. The campers learnt about the stock market and how it works. They also learnt how to select a stock to invest in and how to determine their risk tolerance. Campers are now following their stocks for the rest of the week to see how the stock price fluctuates before they decide to invest in it. We have some pretty Savvy Investors here. You can follow their progress on the investment challenge here.
Here is a sample of the investments:
From James: "100% invested in Microsoft".
From Erind: "50% in Nike, 25% in Adidas and 25% in Apple".
We learnt some Hindi words throughout the day. Each camper had one word / phase, I was "Main theek hoo" (I am ok) and Amr was "Namaste".
Finally, we ended the day with more cool games from Amr.
Reminder to parents:
1) We will be going to South America tomorrow and studying about Free Trade Agreements and how to trade individual things. Kids should bring with them a news article focusing on one of these topics tomorrow: South America or Free Trade Agreements. We will be discussing this tomorrow.
2) Campers should bring 3 things that can be traded with others. These things will not be returned please send stuff accordingly.
3) Campers need an old white t-shirt.
4) If you have iPads, chrome books or even laptops at home, send it with them as it is easier to do missions directly on devices.
5) Lunch and Snacks need to be Nut and Sesame free.
Let us know how your child liked the camp by commenting below. And please share our site with your friends on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Email.
Thanks!
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