Educating While At Disney (when your kid misses school)

[ms*mountaineer]

I encouraged my kids to realize that the people in the different countries in Epcot were actually FROM those countries, and spoke a different language- and we talked to the person at each kidcot station, asking their name and letting the kids hear them talk in their language. It was fascinating to them!

We took their picture with the kidcot person - and put those pictures in our album - so the kids can talk about the person they met.

You could take pictures of your kids with different things in the countries - holding a flag, by some landmark (troll in norway!) - and make a small book when you get home with the pictures and something about the countries.

I think an A-B-C book is a good idea - especially for kindergarten age - You could make a book with a letter on one side of the page - and leave the other side blank. Take pictures on your trip of your child with something they found that starts with that letter - A for Alice, B for Big Thunder Mountain, etc.... Then back at home - make a book with the letters and the corresponding picture.

 

[loser1824]

I need ideas for educational ties for the 4 parks for my daughter who will have just started Kindergarten when we visit in September. Anything that you've done with your 5 or 6 year old to take back to present to teacher? I'm looking for specifics plans or ideas that you've used!

I want to be prepared in case the school wants to know "What's educational about Disney?" lol

Please, just ideas! There are enough threads debating not taking your kids out of school for a Disney vacation.


Thanks.

We usually go in May during the end of school so I usually fill out a form that goes in my sons file about his absence. On the form it asks about educational experiences. I usually say something like this:

"David will not be attending school (dates) because he will be away on a family vacation. Our trip we will be at Disney World. During our vacation David will have a variety of educational experiences, academic and personal development. He will also get to utilize and develop his communication skills. These opportunities will take place in a variety of settings. For example, David will learn about many countries in Epcot's The World Showcase. During this experience he will also get a better appreciation from a diverse group of people. Each country that we visit in Epcot has a representative and is available to do some activities and also answer questions. David and I will discuss a variety of questions that he would like to know about and we will ask the representative at each country. This is also a great way for him to develop his social skills, interpersonal communication, and his confidence.
This is just one example of the variety of opportunities that will be presented to him

I have talked with Mrs. Smith, his teacher, and we have developed a plan so David will not fall behind upon our arrival home. We will make time each day for him to write a journal of his experiences and thoughts. We have also agreed that he will work on his fine motor skills and color a picture to go with that days journal entry. We have also agreed that we will be providing an opportunity everyday for David and I to read together. Mrs. Smith will also provide us with any work that she thinks David needs to do while we are away.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,



I hope this helps!

 

[MamaCrush]

There's also a lot of math in Disney. If you're on the DDP, talk about the credits. "We had 3 credits and we used 1. How many do we have left?" Count the people in (short) lines - maybe for a bus or the FP machine. Or if you're in line for TSM, count the number of pieces in a game. Or "There are 4 of us. Each car on this ride only allows 2 people. How many cars will we need?" Or telling time: "It's 10:00 now. The sign says we have to wait for 30 minutes. What time will it be when we get to ride?"

These kinds of things not only teach the skills, but show kids that yes, math is part of everyday life!

I like this a lot-- even if we're not taking them out of school!!

 

[luvsgrumpy]

I love the ABC idea and I bet your DD's teacher will too. How about having her look for the items beginning with the letters and put them in a "scrapbook". When you're home, have her write a sentence or two about the item. I think that would be hugely educational. Anytime we've gone, we've never had time/energy to do homework except on the plane and the elementary teachers were only concerned that the kids have a good time. (often that was the only "assignment" the teacher would give them!) When my kids were in K, a good bit of class time was spent on "kid writing" where they would try to write a sentence/two (amount increased as the year progressed) on one side of their journal and illustrate it on the other page.

 

[koolaidmoms]

Last October when we took our 3rd grader out for 3 days she did a project on the countries. We took photos of her in each country in Epcot. She learned the flag and capital of each country. We used a presentation board and glued the photos and copies of the flags to it. She shared it with the class and even got an effort award for doing it. She also used her own money and we talked about change which we do every trip.

We just returned a few weeks ago and did something similar. I had my kids (kindergarten and 3rd grade) put the flag for each country we visited on one side of a notebook page and then they had to write a few sentances about each country we went to. Maybe you could transcribe for your daughter some of the things she saw or did in each country. Also makes a great keepsake for her trip.

One other really neat thing we did was when we went to Germany, Japan, Morocco and France we purchased one adult combo meal with dessert and shared it among the 4 of us. We all got a tast of bratwurst, tempura shrimp, ginger cake, couscous, lamb and of course the pastries among other things. My children still talk about all the things they tried in each country and how they found they loved the lamb in Morocco and the bratwurst with sauerkraut in Germany. Our rule was you had to take just one bite to try it and see what the flavors and types of food in each country were. Then if you wanted more if there was some left we would split the remainder of the item. The only thing they did not want more of was the couscous in Morocco because they did not like it cold.

I also took work books and each night I would have them do a page or two of math, English or Geography. Maybe bring some kindergarten or other books that are what they are going to be covering. Each of our children brought two books to read and at the end they were to have completed at least one if not two book reports. I think a history of WDW or a Walt Disney biography might be in our next trips lesson plans now that I think about it.

We were there for 9 days and on vacation for 2 1/2 weeks so it was really important to me to keep them ahead of the curve.

Hope this helps some.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

They learn a lot and make up the work when we return. The teachers haven't wanted to assemble it early I guess. I definately don't give it a second thought.

I always feel compelled to respond whenever make up work is mentioned. Sorry.

Putting work together before someone is going to be out is difficult and time consuming. My disrtict requires me to do it if a parent requests it.

For starters, it can be impossible to predict how long a lesson will take in advance. One group completes the lesson in a day, another takes a week; same lesson. Often current events play a role. We call them teachable moments. The Clinton Scandal was a particluar goldmine! I was teaching Shakespeare's Caesar at the time. Who could have predicted that ahead of time? (9/11, Columbine, tragic accidents, power outages, mice?)

I also don't like to give one kid a chance to view a test ahead of the rest of the class. A cell phone picture is just a click away, and coming up with two tests is royal pain. Never mind the time to create one, it's every student's reaction, "Why did I get the HARDER test?" Havng one student do make up is WAY safer.

I've taught at multiple schools. At best we have two copy machines for the whole teaching staff! There's always a line! If I prep a week's worth of stuff special for you, that's an hour of copy time. Computer and phone access are also limited! One school I taught at ony had three phone lines: the principal's line, the second for the front office, eighty teachers shared the third!

Books that are given out for make up almost never come back- even honors kids at the HS level in a top district. They just get lost. Then I don't have enough books for the class.

The final kicker is that 80 - 90% of the time work does NOT get done until AFTER the child returns - if at all, and they need an extra copy!

Plus for me as a teacher, I often come up with small assessments on the spur of the moment. It's a good teaching practice. Like a simple two question pop quiz on today's lesson. Or maybe there'a fire drill and our lesson gets interupted. I go to my file drawer of goodies and pull out a word puzzle of this weeks voacbulary. (Yes, I keep these things on file!) It's a handy device to get kids refocused. Ninth graders LOVE word puzzles! and they are instantly refocused!

If I am spending two hours - that's what it takes - of professional time to prep work for your child - that two hours I can't spend serving all the OTHER 180 children I am supposed to serve every day. I only get two hours of prep time a day (though nearly every day we have to dip into personal time to get things done.) Kindergarten teachers have it easier than middle or high school when it coms to prep needs, but still the effort required for absentee work is enormous.

I'm not complaining, I'm just trying to help parents see things from a teacher's pov. It's my job to provide as much as I can for each of my students. I'm all for educational vacations for kids (As long as they are within district limits), but please realize that asking for make up work is a big deal.

 

[aimeeg]

I always feel compelled to respond whenever make up work is mentioned. Sorry.

Putting work together before someone is going to be out is difficult and time consuming. My disrtict requires me to do it if a parent requests it.

For starters, it can be impossible to predict how long a lesson will take in advance. One group completes the lesson in a day, another takes a week; same lesson. Often current events play a role. We call them teachable moments. The Clinton Scandal was a particluar goldmine! I was teaching Shakespeare's Caesar at the time. Who could have predicted that ahead of time? (9/11, Columbine, tragic accidents, power outages, mice?)

I also don't like to give one kid a chance to view a test ahead of the rest of the class. A cell phone picture is just a click away, and coming up with two tests is royal pain. Never mind the time to create one, it's every student's reaction, "Why did I get the HARDER test?" Havng one student do make up is WAY safer.

I've taught at multiple schools. At best we have two copy machines for the whole teaching staff! There's always a line! If I prep a week's worth of stuff special for you, that's an hour of copy time. Computer and phone access are also limited! One school I taught at ony had three phone lines: the principal's line, the second for the front office, eighty teachers shared the third!

Books that are given out for make up almost never come back- even honors kids at the HS level in a top district. They just get lost. Then I don't have enough books for the class.

The final kicker is that 80 - 90% of the time work does NOT get done until AFTER the child returns - if at all, and they need an extra copy!

Plus for me as a teacher, I often come up with small assessments on the spur of the moment. It's a good teaching practice. Like a simple two question pop quiz on today's lesson. Or maybe there'a fire drill and our lesson gets interupted. I go to my file drawer of goodies and pull out a word puzzle of this weeks voacbulary. (Yes, I keep these things on file!) It's a handy device to get kids refocused. Ninth graders LOVE word puzzles! and they are instantly refocused!

If I am spending two hours - that's what it takes - of professional time to prep work for your child - that two hours I can't spend serving all the OTHER 180 children I am supposed to serve every day. I only get two hours of prep time a day (though nearly every day we have to dip into personal time to get things done.) Kindergarten teachers have it easier than middle or high school when it coms to prep needs, but still the effort required for absentee work is enormous.

I'm not complaining, I'm just trying to help parents see things from a teacher's pov. It's my job to provide as much as I can for each of my students. I'm all for educational vacations for kids (As long as they are within district limits), but please realize that asking for make up work is a big deal.

As a former teacher I totally disagree with you.

My daughter will also miss a week of Kindergarten next year. I love the idea of the ABC book and feel that Epcot is fantastic. Just look for those teachable moments and enjoy your time together as a family.

 

[ms*mountaineer]

 

[Tricialiv]

I always feel compelled to respond whenever make up work is mentioned. Sorry.


If I am spending two hours - that's what it takes - of professional time to prep work for your child - that two hours I can't spend serving all the OTHER 180 children I am supposed to serve every day. I only get two hours of prep time a day (though nearly every day we have to dip into personal time to get things done.) Kindergarten teachers have it easier than middle or high school when it coms to prep needs, but still the effort required for absentee work is enormous.

I'm not complaining, I'm just trying to help parents see things from a teacher's pov. It's my job to provide as much as I can for each of my students. I'm all for educational vacations for kids (As long as they are within district limits), but please realize that asking for make up work is a big deal.

I don't expect everything and don't think it is to much to receive the nightly math sheets. My DD has 2 preprinted math sheets a night. How hard is that to copy a week early? If she goes a little ahead good for her.

The comments about cheating don't deserve a response. Do you change the test every period? Of course not. There is always option to cheat if there is the will.

The books being lost also seems extreme. We all take multiple books for plane rides, before bed etc and haven't ever lost one.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Former teacher and I have no problem taking my kids out of school for a week. My kids have missed a week in preschool, K, 2nd and 3rd. Didn't hurt them one bit.

I always go to this site:
http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads/kids/journal.shtml

and print off journal pages for each day of the trip. The older kids get the lined pages where I have them summarize their day each evening telling about what they did, their favorite parts etc. The younger kids get the unlined pages so they can draw a picture summarizing their day. My kids have taken these journals back to school after the trip and presented them to the class. It is a nice souvenir to have as well! All the teachers have commented how much they like it and none have seemed to have a problem with the trip. I have told the teachers if they have work they want my kids to take and finish we'll get it done but not to go out of their way to put anything together.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I don't expect everything and don't think it is to much to receive the nightly math sheets. My DD has 2 preprinted math sheets a night. How hard is that to copy a week early? If she goes a little ahead good for her.

The comments about cheating don't deserve a response. Do you change the test every period? Of course not. There is always option to cheat if there is the will.

The books being lost also seems extreme. We all take multiple books for plane rides, before bed etc and haven't ever lost one.

Just wanted to comment that when I was teaching we were only allowed a certain number of copies to be made each week so if you are asking for a bunch of worksheets ahead of time that may mess up the teacher's allotment for that week. Just a thought!

 

[squirrel]

My niece had to draw a picture each day of something she saw at WDW (that's what her teacher asked). I also kept a journal of the things we did and saw.

She really liked the Seas and Living with the Land at EPCOT. She also made paper in Innoventions and decorated a velcro frog. She also visited most of the Kidcot stops in EPCOT.

Animal Kingdom she spent some time looking for bugs at one of the kid stations. She also saw the show at Rafiki's about a turtle and an owl.

There are a lot of things for your child to learn about.

 

[NiniMorris]

This may not work for Kinder...but then I am using it for my 1st and 5th graders...(we home school). Check out Vacation Education. They have great books on EPCOT, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom with a bit of Hollywood Studios in each book.

You can make it as detailed as you want. It can be used before the trip to learn about what they will see, during the trip if they have a specific question, and after the trip to reinforce concepts and catch up on what they missed!

We love it! My kids look forward to "Disney School' each day.

Nini

 

[Tiffany_PartyOf7]

We plan to "Disney School" when we move back to Ocoee in a year. Currently we only make it down once a month or so. My kids learn more at Disney in 1 day than they do anywhere else in a week LOL. Almost everything at Disney is a learning opportunity.

 

[BostonRob]

I'm all for finding fun, creative ways to teach and to learn. But I feel like it is a bit disingenuous to try to justify a vacation like that. And if the schools are asking parents to do that, then they're being disingenuous. Either you allow unexcused absences, or you do not.
All that said, WDW is a great place for kids of all ages to learn stuff. But I think one of the best parts of it is that it is fun, unstructured learning. Put too much structure into it and it might stop being fun.

 

[mmtska]

I see AK and EP as pretty educational, and in a fun way. They work on shapes and colors and letters in Kinder-PLENTY of oppurtunities for that at WDW! And like someone else said-the first few weeks aren't terribly packed full. Heck even the lines at Disney are helpful-single file, not cutting, not touching the person in front of you. Great practice for the Kinder line!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I don't expect everything and don't think it is to much to receive the nightly math sheets. My DD has 2 preprinted math sheets a night. How hard is that to copy a week early? If she goes a little ahead good for her.

The comments about cheating don't deserve a response. Do you change the test every period? Of course not. There is always option to cheat if there is the will.

The books being lost also seems extreme. We all take multiple books for plane rides, before bed etc and haven't ever lost one.

Please do read my earlier post outlining LOTS of ways that I feel WDW is educational. I don't have any problem with parents who decide to take kids out of school for a trip to WDW. I think there are ery real ways to make it a meaningful experience.

All I was saying is that prepping work for kids can be time consuming. It probably matters quite a bit that I teach high school (And previously middle school). I did a long term sub once at the elementary level and it is quite a different experience. I also know every school is different in terms of supplies, etc. Different teachers also have different methodology. Teaching straight from premade worksheets is very different than creating a unit from scratch. One unit I've done I bring in personal copies of artwork prints. For another unit I have a single set of anthologies that I'm not allowed to let kids sign out - they are only for classroom use. Other times, I use copies of current periodicals that feature current events.

Yes, there is always the opportunity to cheat, but when a classmate gets a test ahead of the class, it tends to invite trouble. Students tend to think that a single test will make or break their grade. (worksheets aren't nearly so much of a temptation).

Actually, yes, I do give different classes different tests. I teach different ability levels and different grades. I can't say the tests aren't similar (among those at teh same ability level), but I generally vary my tests. Giving two different classes different tests is very different from giving one class two different tests, and students are aware of the difference. They feel a sense of injustice. Perhaps I should have clarified better that I meant two tests within one class. High school kids are very in tune to their perception of justice. Again, I think we are thinking of different grade levels. Most first graders are not as sophisitcated in their cheating methodology as high school students.

But the main point of my comment on cheating was simply that it is better for me to have one student to a make up test after they return rather than giving it to him before a vacation. When students ask for work ahead of a vacation - they sometimes don't think to ALSO come for make up work upon their return even though I pretty much give a quiz or test every week. Perhpas my inital post was unclear. I was trying for brevity, and failed.

If you have always kept track of school books then I applaud you. In my experience, school books from absentee work don't often make it back. That doesn't mean the parent/student loses the book on vacation. Much can happen between the book going out and the book coming back to me: work my be turned in to the front office instead of being given to me, students may stuff it in their locker, leave it on the bus, drop it in the hallway....We lose about 10% of EVERY text we give out, but the loss rate is much higher for make up work, especially when it involves a suspension.

Last, I have also worked in two schools where our allotment of copy paper was minimal. In the first, I also had almost no materials at all! I was given a single set of 30 workbooks, and one of my classes had 33 students! I know, it's hard to think that could happen in America. At another, all teachers were given a mere two packages per week, and only if you personally got in line and signed for it! Lucky for me, I was teaching with computers at the time. Most of the other teachers in the building had to buy paper.

 

[tigger813]

The district I used to teach in had a rule in the handbook that stated that no work will be given prior to a child going away on vacation. Students would be given an opportunity to make up the work upon returning. Anytime a parent would ask we would send a copy of that page of the handbook to remind them of the policy. All students and parents are required to sign that they have read and understood all of the rules in the handbook but it never fails that they ask. I have had parents say when I refused that other teachers had always given them work. We discussed it at staff meetings but there are some teachers that still gave in. The only thing I would tell students and parents was that they should continue reading what book we had been reading or continue in the social studies or math books. I would keep a folder on their desk for all papers handed out or put it in their mailboxes. They had a week to make things up.

I agree that work should not be given out ahead of the trip. Sometimes lessons take longer than planned or there's an unexpected day off due to the weather. I liked our school's policy and when we occasionally take my daughter out for a few days we let the teacher know she will be away and we will get her caught up upon her return. It is our responsibility to make sure she gets caught up as we are the ones who took her out. We also have her do an extra project that she shares with the class. (I posted earlier about the project she did in October).

 

[frannn]

Just wanted to pipe in and say that in addition to all of the wonderful things previously mentioned, my DD learned to walk in while in WDW (chasing a large ball in Epcot). Her teacher has been the same for the past two years, and has been extremely supportive of our family time. Last year, she gave my daughter a folder marked "Disney Work", with all dittos for her to complete during our down time. We thought it was so cute that once DD was finished, we took one of the dittos to our breakfast with Mickey & Stitch at Ohana, and took a picture of Mickey signing her HW. We handed it in, and the teacher got a big kick out of it (plus the HUGE princess lolly we gave her)!

 

[WALTSAGOD]

KG really shouldn't be a problem.