Disney in your Classroom

[Sooze]

Amazing ideas, Sooze! I am known in my school as the "crazy Disney teacher." I don't really incorporate it into my lessons, but I do have a Mickey clock, wear Disney pins on my school lanyard, and wear my Mickey watch.

Yay! I'm the Crazy Disney Teacher, too! We should start a support group...

 

[Sooze]

I teach an entire college course on WDW and Communication. Does that count?
I'll be bringing my class down (for the second year in a row) for a week in March for an immersive experience.

Heck, yeah, it counts! Can I PLEASE take this course and join you on your 'immersive experience'?!?!

I had the Disney characters painted on my lockers when I taught first grade. The school willl be torn down after the new school is finished and I hope to be able to buy a few of them at auction.

Oh, I sure hope you can save some of those. What a cool idea!

I'm also the crazy Disney teacher. I incorporate it into a lot of things in my fifth grade reading class. I have tons of Disney snow globes, figurines, and plush all over the room. On top of my cabinets I have figurines that the kids have given me over the years. I'm hoping for them to eventually go all the way around the room.

Oh, Phineas & Ferb is going to be big this year.

I love it... There is another teacher in our building who is known as the "Mickey" teacher. She loves Disney World, but is more obsessed with Mickey himself. Her room is wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor Mickey (and the Fab 5) paraphernalia. I love going into her room for my 'fix' of the day!

Phineas and Ferb are GREAT inventors.... I think they can be a great addition for you this year

Not a teacher, but a public librarian, and I use Disney in my library, although a bit passively... During the summer I put up cover of all the books that I was reading to show the kids and adults WHAT I was reading and to be an example for them that adults DO read (we're not allowed to read on the job so all these were books I read at home/on off time). I included all my Disney planning books, as well as books that had Disney in them: Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Unofficial Guide to Disney World, Realityland, and Kingdom Hearts....

During the school year, I put up the current book that I'm reading, which will include the Keeper Kingdom series when it comes in...

And for our family movie nights, we usually use Disney movies- this month we're showing Lilo and Stitch and using magic scratch surfboard bookmarks...

Librarians are teachers, too!! Have you read the Kingdom Keeper series? I downloaded an audio book once, but have yet to listen to it. I'm sure I'd love them.. just wanted to know what you thought!

My daughter is in 3rd grade in Indianapolis and she said she wishes you were her teacher!!

Ha! Where does she go to school? I teach in Decatur Township.

 

[Pastamom]

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the story idea with the pictures! I'm going to have to try this one.

Ok, no pictures but here is what my gifted kids in 4th grade are doing. . .

I gave them $5000 in play money to go on vacation to Disney for 6 days/7 nights. The kids have to figure and pay gas from Tylertown, MS (about 100 miles east of New Orleans), hotel rooms, park tickets, meals (most are figuring using the meal plan) and such. They have to pick a location to stay on the way down and home. Then they are writing reports about visiting each park. When the whole thing is finished we will be searching the internet for pictures to add to their projects and compiling the entire project into powerpoint presentations. It's a great way for my kids to get into the experience of Disney. We live in a very low socioeconomic area and most of these kids will never get to go to Disney.

I teach college and gave them something similiar to this in my math for Elementary Teachers class. I also included a google maps aspect where they had to approximate the area MK, DL, Hongkong DL or Toykyo DL and Space Mountain. Can't wait to see the results.

 

[vermontgirl]

I'm not a teacher, but I think this thread is tres cool! Love it!

 

[timandlesley]

Love those Sooze. I'll have to take pictures of mine. I have Mickey hanging everywhere and my students ( I teach 2-3rd grade special education) have a "check in" board, and they each have their name on a Mickey head, every morning we say "move your mouse " : )
Lesley

 

[purplepeg]

Sooze, love, love,love your decor in your classroom! 2 years ago when my eldest daughter was in 3rd grade her teacher told me my daughter "talked about Disney alot, I mean alot, she's almost obsessed?!" I would have loved a teacher like you that gets Disney and obsession and use it in the classroom to motivate. Oh well not all teachers can be as fab as you and the others on this threadKeep up the good work!

 

[Sooze]

I teach college and gave them something similiar to this in my math for Elementary Teachers class. I also included a google maps aspect where they had to approximate the area MK, DL, Hongkong DL or Toykyo DL and Space Mountain. Can't wait to see the results.

Why couldn't YOU be my professor in college?! I despised my math for elementary teachers class!! Thanks for making it cool and relevant!

I'm not a teacher, but I think this thread is tres cool! Love it!

Glad you're enjoying it! If you have any fun ideas or thoughts, please share!

Love those Sooze. I'll have to take pictures of mine. I have Mickey hanging everywhere and my students ( I teach 2-3rd grade special education) have a "check in" board, and they each have their name on a Mickey head, every morning we say "move your mouse " : )
Lesley

I'd love to see pictures, Lesley! "Move your Mouse"?! LOVE IT!!

Sooze, love, love,love your decor in your classroom! 2 years ago when my eldest daughter was in 3rd grade her teacher told me my daughter "talked about Disney alot, I mean alot, she's almost obsessed?!" I would have loved a teacher like you that gets Disney and obsession and use it in the classroom to motivate. Oh well not all teachers can be as fab as you and the others on this threadKeep up the good work!

My 4th grade DS gets the same thing! His 2nd grade teacher got married when he was in her class and they went on a Disney Honeymoon... we bought them their bride and groom ears!!

I teach in a low socio-economic area, so unfortunately, many of my students will not get to experience Disney the way my own kids do. I try to bring some pixie dust to school with me every day!

 

[jpeka65844]

I teach in a low socio-economic area, so unfortunately, many of my students will not get to experience Disney the way my own kids do. I try to bring some pixie dust to school with me every day!

I used to teach in a low SES area too. One year, we had a family that had 6 kids ask for help at Christmas time. Sure! The whole staff chipped in and I bought the kids Christmas presents, they specifically asked for Star Wars toys!!

However, come the first of February, the entire family, 6 kids, 2 parents and all, jetted down to WDW to stay at the Wilderness Lodge for a week. Now, maybe there's something I don't know; maybe the trip was paid for by someone else. BUT if you're asking for handouts and then turning around and taking EIGHT people to WDW, you don't really need it.

That's my irksome Disney school story.

 

[lovethecastle]

I used to teach in a low SES area too. One year, we had a family that had 6 kids ask for help at Christmas time. Sure! The whole staff chipped in and I bought the kids Christmas presents, they specifically asked for Star Wars toys!!

However, come the first of February, the entire family, 6 kids, 2 parents and all, jetted down to WDW to stay at the Wilderness Lodge for a week. Now, maybe there's something I don't know; maybe the trip was paid for by someone else. BUT if you're asking for handouts and then turning around and taking EIGHT people to WDW, you don't really need it.

That's my irksome Disney school story.

Could it have been a wish trip? I agree with what your saying though. Esp. since they would need 2 rooms with 8 people.
These days wish trips aren't just for terminally ill children. My son has epilepsy & his neurologist told me to sign him up for a wish trip & she would sign off on it. (We never did though because we go often enough & he was so close to 18 yrs old.-the cut off age-)

 

[Sooze]

I used to teach in a low SES area too. One year, we had a family that had 6 kids ask for help at Christmas time. Sure! The whole staff chipped in and I bought the kids Christmas presents, they specifically asked for Star Wars toys!!

However, come the first of February, the entire family, 6 kids, 2 parents and all, jetted down to WDW to stay at the Wilderness Lodge for a week. Now, maybe there's something I don't know; maybe the trip was paid for by someone else. BUT if you're asking for handouts and then turning around and taking EIGHT people to WDW, you don't really need it.

That's my irksome Disney school story.

Could it have been a wish trip? I agree with what your saying though. Esp. since they would need 2 rooms with 8 people.
These days wish trips aren't just for terminally ill children. My son has epilepsy & his neurologist told me to sign him up for a wish trip & she would sign off on it. (We never did though because we go often enough & he was so close to 18 yrs old.-the cut off age-)

Gosh, stuff like that just makes you WONDER, doesn't it?! I agree... even if someone else was paying for the trip, asking for handouts takes some nerve!! I guess I shouldn't judge, since (THANK GOODNESS) I'm not it that situation... but.... sheesh....

 

[nmoore14]

I am also a teacher (Birth to Kindergarten) and I love the tips you are giving! I will have to simplify many of the activities, but you have encouraged me to add my love of Disney into my classroom. Thanks all!

 

[Jotash]

I teach in a low socio-economic area, so unfortunately, many of my students will not get to experience Disney the way my own kids do. I try to bring some pixie dust to school with me every day!

This reminded me of a girl who was in my gifted sixth grade class last year (I teach social studies 6-8). Her family had lost their final appeal and was being deported with only two weeks notice. She was very upset to be leaving the only home she really knew (she had been in the U.S. since she was 4) and all her friends. She told me the thing she regretted most was her family was never able to afford to go to Disney World. Well, I had to run out to Disney Store that night and get her the biggest Mickey Mouse plush I could afford (not an incredibly large one by any means). I gave it to her on her last day of school (her class gave her a going away party). The other kids said they wished they were leaving too so they could get a Mickey and her mom sent me the most heartfelt thank you letter. Sometimes they just touch your heart in ways you never imagined - even in Middle School.

 

[Sooze]

I am also a teacher (Birth to Kindergarten) and I love the tips you are giving! I will have to simplify many of the activities, but you have encouraged me to add my love of Disney into my classroom. Thanks all!

Thanks for checking in. Hope we can find some more tips/stories/ideas along the way!

 

[Sooze]

This reminded me of a girl who was in my gifted sixth grade class last year (I teach social studies 6-8). Her family had lost their final appeal and was being deported with only two weeks notice. She was very upset to be leaving the only home she really knew (she had been in the U.S. since she was 4) and all her friends. She told me the thing she regretted most was her family was never able to afford to go to Disney World. Well, I had to run out to Disney Store that night and get her the biggest Mickey Mouse plush I could afford (not an incredibly large one by any means). I gave it to her on her last day of school (her class gave her a going away party). The other kids said they wished they were leaving too so they could get a Mickey and her mom sent me the most heartfelt thank you letter. Sometimes they just touch your heart in ways you never imagined - even in Middle School.

What a sweet story. This is something I've not had to deal with yet as a teacher (deportation... yikes!) I'm sure that young lady will always remember the magic you gave her during such a terrible time in her life. I love hearing great teacher stories like these!

 

[book_junkie]

Librarians are teachers, too!! Have you read the Kingdom Keeper series? I downloaded an audio book once, but have yet to listen to it. I'm sure I'd love them.. just wanted to know what you thought!
.

I haven't yet- they're on my list to order when our new budget gets released, and with the kids' books I like to make sure we have them in my system before I start to plug them. I love the author, though, so I'm super excited to get them!

 

[jpeka65844]

Could it have been a wish trip? I agree with what your saying though. Esp. since they would need 2 rooms with 8 people.
These days wish trips aren't just for terminally ill children. My son has epilepsy & his neurologist told me to sign him up for a wish trip & she would sign off on it. (We never did though because we go often enough & he was so close to 18 yrs old.-the cut off age-)

No, it was not a wish trip. None of their children had any health problems at all. I would have TOTALLY understood it if it was! We did have one family that was granted a wish trip, though. They were a low SES family too and their 3rd grader was diagnosed with brain cancer. I've since left the school but at the time, her cancer was not terminal, thank goodness!

 

[lovethecastle]

No, it was not a wish trip. None of their children had any health problems at all. I would have TOTALLY understood it if it was! We did have one family that was granted a wish trip, though. They were a low SES family too and their 3rd grader was diagnosed with brain cancer. I've since left the school but at the time, her cancer was not terminal, thank goodness!

oh, well that's good for them then. Maybe they won the lottery. My son has been telling me lately we need to start playing the lottery again. Maybe there is something to that.

 

[snowy76]

This is probably not like any of the other posts (I read the first page)... but I teach a high school intro to sociology course, and I show "A Bug's Life" every semester to illustrate functionalist and conflict theorist perspectives. You have the leaders among the ants who don't want to rock the boat with the grasshoppers (functionalists - everyone fulfills their roles in life), and Flik and the young ants who work to fight back (conflict theorists - self-explanatory).

I also teach 10th grade global history, and incorporate the WWII-era Disney propaganda films into my curriculum (the ones from the Treasures DVD "Disney on the Front Lines"). It always gets the kids' attention when I ask if they want to see Donald Duck play a Nazi.

 

[Sooze]

This is probably not like any of the other posts (I read the first page)... but I teach a high school intro to sociology course, and I show "A Bug's Life" every semester to illustrate functionalist and conflict theorist perspectives. You have the leaders among the ants who don't want to rock the boat with the grasshoppers (functionalists - everyone fulfills their roles in life), and Flik and the young ants who work to fight back (conflict theorists - self-explanatory).

Love it! And I just thought it was a movie about funny bugs!!

It always gets the kids' attention when I ask if they want to see Donald Duck play a Nazi.

That'd get MY attention!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Jmee]

Another "Crazy Disney Teacher" here! I teach preschool...the Twos class, so not a whole lot incorporated in my curriculum... but I do bring in my personal Mr. Potato Heads with Disney parts for them to play with each year. I also wear a Tinkerbell lanyard with my keys, and a Disney Kookie pen on it every day. And I wear Disney Crocs with all kinds of Disney Jibbitz on them. And of course characters on shirts, jackets, etc. are often worn. The kids love identifiying, touching, talking about these things! They can spend most of the morning on my lap finding Tinks some days. When I teach lunch bunch with the older kids I often play Disney music, and they compete to see who can guess what movie it is from!

Thanks for starting this great thread, it's cool to see other teachers bringing Mickey and friends into the classroom!