Educational Opportunities

[Campbellchristy42]

We're pulling our kids out 8 days of school in September for WDW and like a lot of parents, I feel a little guilty about it. But due to the nature of my husband's job, we really don't have much choice. We'd also be able to afford a Disney vaca in the fall as opposed to peak season.

Ok now that I've explained myself a little, on to my question. I've been searching Pinterest for ideas on activities for the kids to do while en route to Disney (we have a 22 hour drive down and 22 hours back). I have printed off pages of each state we will travel through that has facts about that state; I printed a nice little Google map of our route so the kids can follow along; I created word searches and crossword puzzles that are related to different points on the trip; also lots of Disney themed color sheets and I also printed off a Disney trip journal for them to write in during the trip. I also bought them the Epcot passports to take through World Showcase and I have some fun science-type activities for our day at the beach.

Anyone have any other ideas on what I can put together for them? My two school age kids will be in 5th grade and 1st grade at the time of the trip.

 

[swebb0310]

I am a third grade teacher, and I've also taught 4th grade. I always send students with our class teddy bear when they are going to miss that much school. They take the bear with them and take pictures, and keep a journal of "the bears" trip. Also, the number one predictor of reading success and growth is time spent reading. I would say to bring books and make sure to have some down time to read. For math, estimating cost of purchases/meals, calculating mileage and time, using scheduled times for meals/fastpass/shows to backwards schedule the day. Play sorcerers of the magic kingdom and let the 1st grader find the locations on the map. thinking skills and problem solving are great skills.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

They'll probably have make up homework; they can do that in the car.

 

[JoanneDisFan]

Te Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot is educational. Also check out http://allears.net/pl/educ.htm

 

[MSSANDRA]

Doing their homework plus any extra project that they are asked to do will take most of the extra time, at least for the 5th grader. When my older one was in K & 1st the teachers did not give any make up work. After that they did but only 3rd grade was over the top, heavy load.
We did a few Epcot projects through the years to meet "excused" status. As far as education, we firmly believe travel is educational.
Beyond that we have read books on the drive down that relate to Disney stories or countries in Epcot. One year we read Tom Sawyer out loud. We Spend time in the WS and Inovations. We encourage conversation with CMs. We involved him in the budget and tip calculations.
We do not do homework at WDW, we tried and it was just not happening, so many trips we did homework during travel.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I think you have plenty of things. It's their vacation too. Don't forget, they have to make up any schoolwork their teachers give them as well as all of your activites. Are you bringing a laptop and doing extra Excel spreadsheets because you feel guilty about missing work? I doubt it. So let them do the activities you have planned, as most of them seem more like fun than work, but then let it go. It's not fair to give them "educational opportunities" because your husband's job and your budget don't allow you to go during school breaks.

Now stop overthinking and start enjoying your trip planning!

 

[Christen99]

We homeschool, so we had a lot of activities to do while preparing for the trip. I don't know how old your kids are, but my youngest is 8 and in 3rd grade. We spent a week learning about each of the countries in Epcot, the basic geography of the country, basic phrases, a cooking project, learning about major industries, and a brief history including major historical figures. My son read the book Who Was Walt Disney, and we talked about his life, and completed a brief timeline.

We also learned about Florida, as well as North Carolina (we had a layover). I had my son complete a mini lapbook for each state, and he learned about the state flag, history, bird, son, motto, etc. He also completed basic state map, filling in the major cities, capital, rivers, lakes, and oceans.

While we were there, my son got a passport and completed it. We also watched all the films in World Showcase, and went into each of the exhibits. We spent 3 of our 7 days at Epcot, because the bus preferred it over Magic Kingdom (they didn't really like MK much at all).

 

[cefcdana]

Seems like you are all set! My thoughts are don't do anything unless you want to and it would be enjoyable for everyone. 8 Days out of school is just a drop in the bucket. It won't make or break anything in their education. And as another poster said, travel in itself is educational. I think reading and homework in the car is a great way to pass the time. Reading aloud as a family is something we really enjoy doing together.

I am sure you are looking for things to do ON your trip, but a book I saw at our recent homeschool conference which caught my eye was Magical Mouse Schoolhouse. It has experiments and things you can do all based around WDW and various rides and attractions. I am tempted myself!

Have a great trip!

 

[swebb0310]

I need to look into the magical mouse schoolhouse book!! I had forgotten to mention the seed to plant tour! It's amazing!! I highly recommend it! If you talk to the teacher about the things they are doing already and what you plan for them, they will probably excuse the "busy" work make up work. I know I hate having to look at make up work that is turned in way later than what everyone else has done, and a lot of it they may have needed instruction on anyway. I would rather catch them up with the essentials when they get back than send busy work. Plus, to send a ton of work with them means having a plan for over a week out. A lot can change for my plans from one day to the next, and I like to plan on Sunday, so if they are not going to be at school on Monday, I don't know before the. What exactly to give for missed assignments. my biggest dream is that they make sure to have good reading time, and be able to have real world practice of thinking and problem solving for math. life experiences are just as vital as classroom time. As long as they don't miss school all the time!

 

[livsmom04]

I am a third grade teacher, and I've also taught 4th grade. I always send students with our class teddy bear when they are going to miss that much school. They take the bear with them and take pictures, and keep a journal of "the bears" trip. Also, the number one predictor of reading success and growth is time spent reading. I would say to bring books and make sure to have some down time to read. For math, estimating cost of purchases/meals, calculating mileage and time, using scheduled times for meals/fastpass/shows to backwards schedule the day. Play sorcerers of the magic kingdom and let the 1st grader find the locations on the map. thinking skills and problem solving are great skills.

That's a great idea!

 

[bartleby1]

I always print out a map of the United States for each kid and they use it to play the license plate game. When they find a state, they color it in. They also earn a dollar per state and this becomes their souvenir money.

 

[Timandalicia]

I think you have plenty of things. It's their vacation too. Don't forget, they have to make up any schoolwork their teachers give them as well as all of your activites. Are you bringing a laptop and doing extra Excel spreadsheets because you feel guilty about missing work? I doubt it. So let them do the activities you have planned, as most of them seem more like fun than work, but then let it go. It's not fair to give them "educational opportunities" because your husband's job and your budget don't allow you to go during school breaks.

Now stop overthinking and start enjoying your trip planning!

Hear hear!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

What about trivia on early explorers who traveled your route? Just as an example, you're basically retracing Lewis & Clark as you cross Missouri.

 

[cush1]

I need to look into the magical mouse schoolhouse book!! I had forgotten to mention the seed to plant tour! It's amazing!! I highly recommend it! If you talk to the teacher about the things they are doing already and what you plan for them, they will probably excuse the "busy" work make up work. I know I hate having to look at make up work that is turned in way later than what everyone else has done, and a lot of it they may have needed instruction on anyway. I would rather catch them up with the essentials when they get back than send busy work. Plus, to send a ton of work with them means having a plan for over a week out. A lot can change for my plans from one day to the next, and I like to plan on Sunday, so if they are not going to be at school on Monday, I don't know before the. What exactly to give for missed assignments. my biggest dream is that they make sure to have good reading time, and be able to have real world practice of thinking and problem solving for math. life experiences are just as vital as classroom time. As long as they don't miss school all the time!

great tips!

 

[swebb0310]

great tips!

Thanks of course I also usually try to convince my students going to Disney to try to pack me in their suitcase so I can go too.

 

[cheer25mom]

I wouldn't worry too much aobut it. Just have them do the assigned homework. I thin ktht making sure they understand the material they will be missing while they are gone is more important than throwing in a lot of etra things. 8 days is going to be a fiar chunk of curriculium for th 5th grader so I would make sure I went over the work with him/her and that they understood everything they are doing. When we pulled our 3rd grade DD out for a week in Nov. she had a good bit of work to do and had to take all of th tests she missed the first day back so we had to have her prepared for that.

 

[shelby101301]

What first came to mind is the opportunity to talk directly with so many people from other countries. before we adopted our daughter from China, we spent quite a bit of time talking with those cast members.

You could have them ask about traditions, dress, food...even architecture. Never knew the round building was actually a replica of the real Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

But it is vacation....so relax and enjoy. Don't feel guilty. Life is built around many experiences, not just school work!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

There are several books on amazon that have "lesson plans" and/or workbook-type layouts. We've used several over the years.

 

[letsgoreds]

Not helpful for the drive down but...

Consider signing up for a YES (Youth Education Services) program! The tickets for the kids attending are discounted (around 35% off), and our first experience this past Jan was wonderful! If you are trying Sept. free dining, probably won't work, since you have to buy tickets through YES vs. package qualification for free dining.

Homeschool days are in early October (WDW, 9th) and later in November (Carolina group, but open to all), so unless you can bump a week, not helpful, but know that you do not need to homeschool to take advantage of these educational opportunities. They are marketed to homeschool groups, but open to all children (per WDW rep). Discounts are around 40%, and apply to all. For example, the Carolina group is offering 7 day hopper tickets WP&M for $245 (for all party members).

 

[Mom22girls56]

We're pulling our kids out 8 days of school in September for WDW and like a lot of parents, I feel a little guilty about it. But due to the nature of my husband's job, we really don't have much choice. We'd also be able to afford a Disney vaca in the fall as opposed to peak season.

Ok now that I've explained myself a little, on to my question. I've been searching Pinterest for ideas on activities for the kids to do while en route to Disney (we have a 22 hour drive down and 22 hours back). I have printed off pages of each state we will travel through that has facts about that state; I printed a nice little Google map of our route so the kids can follow along; I created word searches and crossword puzzles that are related to different points on the trip; also lots of Disney themed color sheets and I also printed off a Disney trip journal for them to write in during the trip. I also bought them the Epcot passports to take through World Showcase and I have some fun science-type activities for our day at the beach.

Anyone have any other ideas on what I can put together for them? My two school age kids will be in 5th grade and 1st grade at the time of the trip.

Where did you buy the passports?