Educational Value of Disney

[sunsetdenise]

Help me make a list!!!!!! I have to fill out the form to get my son excused from school and they wanna know the educational merits of our trip!
The only thing I can think of is the Hall of Presidents.....what else????

Denise

 

[murcor]

That there is more in this world than your hometown, it teaches your kids to want to learn and discover what else is out there to experience.

 

[kimkarli]

Being introducted to the many different "countries" in Epcot, and learning something about the..culture, food, people,ect..of each!

 

[Sandi]

Lots of cultural and science experiences in Epcot and Animal Kingdom (in particular). One of my colleague's junior high school aged DD's science class went to WDW earlier this month to run a number of scientific experiements (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) all over the theme parks. WDW let them ride through SM with the lights on and then with the lights off to see how sight helps you interpret things. It's a huge edu-tainment venue.

Gotta agree with the poster ahead of me as well. You can make a walk down your neighborhood street educational, but it's more fun (and memorable) at WDW.

We take my DD out of school for a week each year and her teachers always say have a great time. I just love their attitude (Montessori). We recognize that it is work for the teacher as well and we try to help as much as possible.

 

[RumpleMom]

What grade is he? The answers will vary for different age groups.

World Showcase countries- meeting people from foreign countries, hear different languages, different food

Animal Kingdom- African culture, animals and their care, preservation of the environment

MK-and all of WDW- Walt Disney's dream of a place where parents and their children would enjoy spending time togerther. "If you can dream it, you can do it." American ingenuity, free enterprise

MGM- History of America's film past, and culture (Prime Time 50's restaurant)

But most importantly, spending 24/7 as a family, making memories that will last forever.

 

[2tinkersmom]

The World Showcase is huge - have him do a passport while there, he has to visit every country, the CM's will write to him in their languages, they can do his name in Japanese, he can hear them speaking different languages, take his pictures by each country - my daughters, especially my oldest, have learned so much there on our trips.

Animal Kingdom is great too - do the Rafiki's Planet Watch and he'll learn so much about wildlife preservation and care, the Safari Ride is a ride but so much information can be heard about each of the animals.

Epcot's Spaceship Earth is a ride filled with information too - takes you from the beginning of the Earth (with no particular viewpoint on how the earth came to be as far as evolution or creation, etc.) but shows the developments people have made, technology advances and it is just a very cool ride - my girls couldn't believe the view of the "stars" at the end.

My husband has become an avid Disney fact seeker on trips. There is so much neat information on Walt Disney himself and how DisneyWorld was built that is very educational. Take some time to just talk to CM's and have your son ask questions and he will find out a lot of neat facts.

I think a lot of people who have not been to Disney think "amusement park" and its just so much more than that!

 

[harmonium]

Go to http://www.allearsnet.com/ to search for attractions at all the parks.

Epcot (Most if not all of it)
Animal Kingdom (Different environments, animals, cultures, and Dinosaurs)

One thing I did with DD7 this year was I kept a list of english to spanish translations for names of animals and made a game of it while we were on safari or walking around the parks.

We also bring DD7 to Disney during the school year and so far we have not been asked to give educational merit to our vacation. How old is your child?

 

[sunsetdenise]

hes in 3rd grade

 

[wright1baby]

When filling out my kids "educational enhancement" form I also cited that the trip to Orlando can be educational. Budgeting, Navigational, as well as figuring out gas mileage. Possibilities are endless!

 

[harmonium]

hes in 3rd grade

I wonder if DD's school will expect this sort of thing when she is in 3rd grade. So far we have just had to collect the homework for the week.

One other thing we have done for the past few years is have DD keep a journal of her trip. It started off with just pictures, but now involves pictures along with a paragraph telling what happened.

When you go into Dinoland USA at the Animal Kingdom there is a life size replica of the bones of a T-Rex. I am not certain if they are real, but at certain times a CM will appear to give a lesson on the bones. There are plenty of areas like this throughout all the parks.
Animal Kingdom also has:
-Flights Of Wonder that teaches about different birds and conservation.
-Pangani Forest Exploration Trail takes you into a lush, tropical forest found in the heart of Africa where you can explore a variety of old and new animal friends.
-Maharajah Jungle Trek
-Etc. (All found on AllEarsNet.com)

 

[penguin087]

It is a shame that they make us go through all this to spend a little quality time with our families.
I agree with everyone else the educational value of epcot is endless. From Technology, culture, even space travel. The thing I found very interesting in Epcot was that most of the CMs are from the countries they are working in. We met a CM from the town in Italy our family came from three generations ago. She told us there is a bridge and a large winery and vinyard that still bears our name. My son used that information in a school report a year later. So yes he learned something they couldn't teach him in the classroom, remembered it, and applied it directly to his school report.
I am a little tired of the narrow mindedness of our schools believing that learning can only occur in the classroom. My son learned more on that trip without even trying than his classmates who sat in school that week!

 

[Tammi67]

On themouseforless there is a downloadable sample letter. Here is the link to it.

http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads/kids/SE.shtml

 

[rlovew]

You could also have him look at the storytelling aspect of any ride and even the park as a whole. In the magic kingdom the train station is the curtain for the park and the windows on main street tell the story of who made the park to begin with, their jobs are play on words from their actual jobs or positions in the company. But every ride has a beginning a middle and the end, I am sure he could write a beautiful story about the parts of any ride.

Also back at EPCOT I don't believe the Universe of Energy or Living Seas have been mentioned both chock full of info and their are even working solar panels that you can see on U of E.

Innoventions has many of the new technologies available, take a tour of the house of the future, study about conservation, learn about fire hazards.

On the other side I teach 3rd grade and my school would not allow this as an unexcused abense no matter what educational value you put on it. As a teacher if your trip was after our state exams I wouldn't worry much but if it was before them, I would definately be a little more difficult to work with and I love Disney and take frequent trips there through the year.

 

[TSM1993]

My son is in 6th grade and they ask that about his trip. Now his wasnt in WDW this past year it was in Outer Banks. I put lighthouses, history of flight. That was it mine didnt get into to much detail. But I will be taking him out in Oct for his birthday this year to go to WDW and I will put in that field he will learn about animals, cultures & Food from around the world, history, and film animation. My sons school doesnt need to much detail.

 

[minniebeth]

All the above mentioned ideas are awesome... I would definately also recommend keeping a journal or a "trip report" not only does that fulfull writing requirements, sequencing, etc. but also is a fun memento from the trip to look back on. Also, when you get back, perhaps your child's teacher will allow him to do a quick talk about what he did, saw, as a PUBLIC SPEAKING skill. This is what my DD's 3rd grade teacher
did with her when we did a DCL cruise in Jan. Then she allowed the kids to ask questions. It was great!

 

[makinorlando]

My DD is in third grade, and right now they are learning about plants, etc. I think something like the Behind the Seeds tour would be right up that alley....hmmmm - maybe I will use that as the excuse when I take her out of school in April when we have vistors coming and I want to take her out of school for a day!


Not that you need to be that specific, but it's all about LIFE EXPERIENCES which are just as important as "BOOK LEARNIN" in my book!

All the above mentioned ideas are awesome... I would definately also recommend keeping a journal or a "trip report" not only does that fulfull writing requirements, sequencing, etc. but also is a fun memento from the trip to look back on. Also, when you get back, perhaps your child's teacher will allow him to do a quick talk about what he did, saw, as a PUBLIC SPEAKING skill. This is what my DD's 3rd grade teacher
did with her when we did a DCL cruise in Jan. Then she allowed the kids to ask questions. It was great!

This is a great idea too. Give him a disposable camera and let him take photos too. Like minniebeth said, it would cover so many areas of "learning".