Friday, August 2, 2019

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! 

Thursday, August 1, 2019

It is all finally coming together! We are done with the chocolate and ready for big day at the Distillery district tomorrow.

1. We were very productive today as we started in the chocolate studio and finished weighing and packaging our chocolate int 50 gram bags. 
2. We then walked back to the church and had a great time at the splash pad on the way.
3. Once we were back, we took our Tie-Dye shirts out of the ziplock bags and left them out to dry.
4. And to finally wrap up the day, we made the posters that we are going to hang up at the Distillery district tomorrow.

Parent Information: 

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.

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Wow!  These kids have already met their GOFUNDME goal!  Yay!  Thank you everyone for sharing and supporting them. 

1. We had a lovely day today and the kids made a movie about what they did yesterday (it's on our Instagram page). 
2. We then created a product page and banner where kids are selling the chocolate they made. Please SHARE and SUPPORT THEM:  https://explorerhop.com/products/chocolate-bark-that-saves-lives
3. We also walked to the supermarket to see how much chocolate bars cost.  They will work on their sales pitch tomorrow. 
4. Then we made tie-dye which is always such a hit! 
5. And this was followed by water-play! 

Parent Information: 

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.  

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

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!

1. Right away, the kids were shown how the chocolates came into studio, and got to see Laura's chocolaty works of art.
2. The kids were then excited to start making their own chocolate, so they started by painting different colored cocoa butter on some acetate.
3. Then they picked 2 toppings that they liked and began mixing them together to create the extra texture the chocolate was going to have.
4. Later, they poured their choice of molten dark or milk chocolate, mixed with their toppings, onto the acetate which held their paintings, then refrigerated their chocolate barks so it could transfer their painting onto the chocolate.
5. While they were waiting for their chocolate bark to solidify, we decided to go to a nearby park, where the kids had fun playing in a splash pad.
6. Once we returned, Laura and Jazz surprised us with another thing we were gonna create, Chocolate Pops! The kids got to chose everything from the filling, whether it's vanilla or milk chocolate, to the outer layer which could be dark or milk chocolate.
7. And finally they dipped their popsicles into the molten chocolate of their choice to conclude the day.

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.



July 29, 2019

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. The kids learned about trillion dollar companies, how much a trillion dollars is, and why those companies have been able to hit a trillion dollars. They were surprised at how many countries are less wealthy than Apple. 
2. The kids learned how to raise money by creating their own GoFundMe campaign and uploading a video advertising their chocolate business. They are raising money for Walk for Water.  Here is a link to the GoFundMe page.
3. They also learnt about Instagram Posts and Facebook Posts and posted 2 videos.  We will learn more about it tomorrow.  Please see their posts here: Instagram and Facebook: @Explorerhop 
4. We then learnt how chocolate is made from the Cocoa Bean to an edible form and looked deeper into the issues surrounding chocolate trade. 
5. They also learned about the cocoa business, how many cococa farms use unethical ways to get more crop, such as using child labour. The kids learned the importance of things such as fair trade, sustainability, ethics, and organic crop.
6. The kids were excited to learn about exactly how chocolate is made, from the raw cocoa bean to the chocolate bars we all love.
7. Much to the kids excitement, they also got to try and create the chocolate themselves using real methods, which resulted in them making a delicious (yet chunky!) hot chocolate!  It was such a fun and novel experience for all of them! 

Parent Information: 

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.  

General Information

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. :-) ) 

• Drop Off at 9am. 
• Pick up at 3.30pm. 
• Before / After Care is not available this week. 

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.