Educational (yet fun) Disney Ideas

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Awesome thread, Jay!

 

[Bbgrizzle]

I don't have any ideas of my own to add, but I'll sure be using everyone else's! Thanks, Jay, for starting this neat thread!

 

[Brier Rose]

I have been thinking about this for so long now, but haven't actually put the work into finding all of the resources to put together and do it.

I wanted to get us in the mood for our upcoming trips, and what could make school more fun than Disney!!

We really love Magic Kingdom, so I was thinking of things based on each Land.

Maybe read some books, and do some projects dealing with space for Tomorrowland....

read a classic fairytale, maybe write one of our own, learn Hello and Goodbye in several languages all for Fantasyland....

there are tons of things to do with Liberty Square...things dealing with the Revolution, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere...maybe learn about the Liberty Bell, learn about the territories and have lunch at LTT (they announce what "territory you're from when they seat you)...

for Fronteirland you could read about Davey Crockett, the settling of the West and the gold rush, legend of Pecos Bill (and maybe watch Tall Tale), and of course cowboys and Indians!

For Adventureland maybe some things dealing with the jungle..native plants and animals, rivers, etc.. maybe read some about real pirates???

Of course there is also Main Street, and for that we could learn all about steam trains, and how people lived during the time period that Main Street is based on.

Oh, and almost forgot..Toontown! I guess maybe...learn about when and how the first cartoons were made, maybe have them do there own cartoon by drawing on a note pad, and then flipping through it really fast! ( I used to love to do this)

There are soooo many more things to do just with MK!
__________________

 

[jaycns]

I have been thinking about this for so long now, but haven't actually put the work into finding all of the resources to put together and do it.

I wanted to get us in the mood for our upcoming trips, and what could make school more fun than Disney!!

We really love Magic Kingdom, so I was thinking of things based on each Land.

Maybe read some books, and do some projects dealing with space for Tomorrowland....

read a classic fairytale, maybe write one of our own, learn Hello and Goodbye in several languages all for Fantasyland....

there are tons of things to do with Liberty Square...things dealing with the Revolution, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere...maybe learn about the Liberty Bell, learn about the territories and have lunch at LTT (they announce what "territory you're from when they seat you)...

for Fronteirland you could read about Davey Crockett, the settling of the West and the gold rush, legend of Pecos Bill (and maybe watch Tall Tale), and of course cowboys and Indians!

For Adventureland maybe some things dealing with the jungle..native plants and animals, rivers, etc.. maybe read some about real pirates???

Of course there is also Main Street, and for that we could learn all about steam trains, and how people lived during the time period that Main Street is based on.

Oh, and almost forgot..Toontown! I guess maybe...learn about when and how the first cartoons were made, maybe have them do there own cartoon by drawing on a note pad, and then flipping through it really fast! ( I used to love to do this)

There are soooo many more things to do just with MK!
__________________

You are my inspiration! It was reading this post of yours over on another thread that spurred me into action! THANKS!!! Keep the great ideas rolling!

 

[crisi]

We have our kids keep a journal. Each day they need to write about the thing they liked best, and one thing they learned. At Typhoon Lagoon it was how the big waves pull you back under.

Its interesting to discover what THEY learn. My daughter learned that the bottomless pit on Tom Sawyers Island isn't REALLY bottomless, but it looks it.

 

[jaycns]

We have our kids keep a journal. Each day they need to write about the thing they liked best, and one thing they learned. At Typhoon Lagoon it was how the big waves pull you back under.

Its interesting to discover what THEY learn. My daughter learned that the bottomless pit on Tom Sawyers Island isn't REALLY bottomless, but it looks it.

Awesome. I think we will keep a big family journal (will come in very handy for scrapbooking) and I will poll the family each night. By the end of the trip it will be a priceless item!! Looking back and seeing how much the kids' handwriting changes and the things we learned/loved will be a fun thing to do when I get the "I am not at Disney blues". Thanks for posting this great idea!

 

[jaycns]

Bumping in hopes of more good ideas! TIA!

 

[jaycns]

http://dep.disney.go.com/educational/classroom "For Your Classroom from Disney.com"

WOO HOO!! This is a great page FULL of ideas. I haven't had near enough time to explore properly, but it looked so good I thought I would share right away!

 

[Brier Rose]

http://dep.disney.go.com/educational/classroom "For Your Classroom from Disney.com"

WOO HOO!! This is a great page FULL of ideas. I haven't had near enough time to explore properly, but it looked so good I thought I would share right away!

OMG..soo COOL!!

Thanks!

 

[wewantmore]

Perfect. Thank you.

Subscribing.

 

[jaycns]

just a bump...I would love to see if anyone else has any ideas! Thanks!

Still hoping for more great ideas! Thanks!!

 

[jaycns]

Still hoping for more great ideas! Thanks!!

And still hoping!! I would love to see some more educational Disney related ideas!!

 

[jaycns]

Do I dare try one last bump?

 

[ilovepooh]

Has anyone mentioned using the park maps to review map skills?

Example: What is SE of the castle?

Write out a series of directions and have the person use the map of the park to figure out the end point, and then switch roles. This practices following directions, and also requires writing careful instructions using the compass rose. For younger kids, use basic N, S, E, W, and for older kids you can be more detailed with SE, SW, NE, NW.

 

[merrywether]

When I have students who are going to Disney, part of the work I assign to them is to study the epitaphs on the gravestones outside the Haunted Mansion and make 3 of their own, using themselves and members of their families. I give them an example using myself. For instance:

Here lies
dear old Mrs. S.
Slipped on a tater tot -
What a mess.

The kids usually get a kick out of it and sometimes their parents join in!

 

[toystoryduo]

Has anyone mentioned using the park maps to review map skills?

Example: What is SE of the castle?

Write out a series of directions and have the person use the map of the park to figure out the end point, and then switch roles. This practices following directions, and also requires writing careful instructions using the compass rose. For younger kids, use basic N, S, E, W, and for older kids you can be more detailed with SE, SW, NE, NW.

This is a great idea!

 

[REW91599]

I was thinking of a couple of things that are fun and (maybe ) educational:
- Hidden mickeys
- a Scavenger hunt
- In Epcot, the kids can make the masks and/or do a passport. My boys loved doing this because they were able to talk to people about their countries. They also had something in FW on the same idea.

Also, found this from another thread: http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads/kidsdownloads.shtml

 

[meandtheguys2]

When I have students who are going to Disney, part of the work I assign to them is to study the epitaphs on the gravestones outside the Haunted Mansion and make 3 of their own, using themselves and members of their families. I give them an example using myself. For instance:

Here lies
dear old Mrs. S.
Slipped on a tater tot -
What a mess.

The kids usually get a kick out of it and sometimes their parents join in!

Love this! I think we could pull in some limericks and funky haikus, too! Creative writing is big with me...not so much for my engineers!

 

[Disney_Angel]

subbing

 

[bear74]

lots of great ideas.