Homeschoolers, what to study/learn before going to Disney?

[worm761]

We have a trip planned to Disney World the last week of September this year. DD will begin Kindergarten this summer/fall and we do plan to homeschool her. I am currently working on our schedule for next year and I want to incorporate some form of unit studies each month. For instance, we will visit a farm for hayrides and pumpkin picking this October so I plan to have a unit on farms/farm animals before we go.

For Disney, I am thinking one on rocks/geodes as I have a geode we broke at T Rex in DTD and she keeps asking questions about it. I don't need to/want to do anything with the animals at AK. She loves animals of all kinds and knows more about them then the average 5 year old. So, any suggestions for me? I am drawing a blank here.

 

[blackpearl77]

(I'm not a homeschooler so not sure if you have to follow certain lesson plans but I thought of a few things)

Maybe something with epcot? You could do lesson plans on countries - so much to do with that (lessons on flags/colors, hello and goodbye in each country's language, where each country is on a globe or map, you could do crafts for each country when you get there at the epcot kidcot stations, different types of food from each country, writing the name of each country). Then with the technology party of epcot you could do science lessons - look up what exhibits they have and model after those. Definitely do the passports so she can get it stamped and I think the cast members will still write in it their language which is pretty cool.

Magic Kingdom - you could do Liberty Square and do lessons on colonial america, our flag, the presidents names and showing a picture of them and showing that who's on what coins. Maybe something with tommorrowland? Something about space and planets?

 

[andiraye]

(I'm not a homeschooler so not sure if you have to follow certain lesson plans but I thought of a few things)

Maybe something with epcot? You could do lesson plans on countries - so much to do with that (lessons on flags/colors, hello and goodbye in each country's language, where each country is on a globe or map, you could do crafts for each country when you get there at the epcot kidcot stations, different types of food from each country, writing the name of each country). Then with the technology party of epcot you could do science lessons - look up what exhibits they have and model after those. Definitely do the passports so she can get it stamped and I think the cast members will still write in it their language which is pretty cool.

Magic Kingdom - you could do Liberty Square and do lessons on colonial america, our flag, the presidents names and showing a picture of them and showing that who's on what coins. Maybe something with tommorrowland? Something about space and planets?

I'm not a homeschooler either, but I love the idea of teaching kids about the different countries before going to Epcot. We are going at the end of the summer and I'm going to try to do that!

 

[Thing 1]

Tons of fun ways to learn at WDW. The countries at WS, facts and landmarks of California for Soaring, History of Communication for Spaceship Earth, Space for mission Space, gardening for Living with the Land. At MK, the Presidents, Read Tom Sawyer for TS island, Changes in Technology for Carousel of Progress. In Animal Kingdom, dinosaurs, puppetry for Finding Nemo, Insects for It's a Bugs Life, and in DS, maybe theater basics, or art, . Math is everywhere as they keep up with spending and a budget. Talk to CM's from all over the world as find where they live on a map. Remember that she is 5, EVERYTHING is educational and she will learn more that you ever dreamed.

 

[Dgh1973]

The above posters have excellent suggestions. We are homeschoolers and have studied the countries prior to Epcot. It really brings the studies to life. My kids love the building that houses the garbage truck that rolls around. I'm drawing a blank on what that building is called, but it focuses on recycling and the environment. Those are a few other things you could add in. Finding the hidden Mickeys throughout the parks was a fun challenge for my kids as well. Most of all, have fun!

 

[bhartman]

We're not homeschoolers, but we like to add an educational component to most of our trips. Leading up to our last Disney trip, we studied one of the 11 Epcot countries each week. I had flag coloring pages printed for the kids to color, we located the countries on a globe and looked at maps of those countries, we did a cooking project for each country, and we learned to say "hello" in each language. Our kids were pretty young, so we kept it light and easy, but you could add more for an older child. I feel like they enjoyed World Showcase more than they would have if we hadn't learned about the countries.

 

[melindae10]

I home school my kids and we went when my daughter was 5. I wanted to make sure she knew all the movies and characters that she was going to encounter so every Friday, which is our Friday fun day, we would watch a new Disney movie and then do a science project or craft afterwards that went with the movie. Mary Poppins we made a kite, Snow White we made an apple pie, Cars we made a homemade marble run, etc. Once we got to DW she knew them all! Some days we even invited her other home schooled friends over to the house to have fun with us. The trip we go on next year she will be 8 years old and I think it will be a perfect age to learn about all the countries at Epcot! But, we may still have to go through the movies again for my 5 year old son and just for fun!

 

[cefcdana]

We homeschool too. The passport for Epcot was a fun experience. I'd definitely recommend it. We went the summer right before doing geography though- wish we got to do it at the end of that year instead. Disney does things so well and accurately and detailed that if you studied some of the Epcot countries, you'd be able to pick up on so much when visiting those countries. We tried the disney science imagineering dvds but my kids were too young to comprehend any of it-- age 6, 7, & 8. Here is a fun book, originally written for homeschoolers that you might want to check out: http://www.amazon.com/MAGICAL-MOUSE...480&sr=8-1&keywords=magical+mouse+schoolhouse Also, I love learning about all the details that go into the parks and found this book to really be fun: http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Magic-...r=8-1&keywords=hidden+secrets+of+disney+world An example from that would be that the sidewalks in Liberty Square are brownish to represent the sewage that would have been around in the streets during that time period. There are so many details to observe. Also, last summer we did an Amanda Bennet unit study on roller coasters-- that would be a fun one to do. Hands of a Child has a DisneyLAND lapbook which might have some WDW overlap. Learning about Walt Disney (read a biography) and how animation works (make a flip book, watch youtube videos of the making of frozen and various disney movies) would be fun-- then follow it up at hte parks with either Animation Hall at HS or a children's art lesson at Art of Animation resort. Some kids can get frustrated by this though, especially the one at HS. You can also do some lifeskills and money stuff with planning your trip together-- how to pack, meal plans, etc. as well as plan out a budget. You could also make some culinary arts and make Disney recipes ahead of time, especially at restaurants you might go to. They have a lot of the authentic recipes online. An example that we did was make Tonga Toast from the Polynesian Resort. Have a great time! There are so many ways you can go with it!

 

[tina.tina]

I totally agree about the countries in Epcot.

Since she is so interested in animals, I would actually work with that. Kids are more interested in learning when it's something that appeals to them and you could start out with a bang to gain her interest in learning in general. DS loves animals and said he didn't have to know math to be a zookeeper. I asked how he was going to calculate how much food to buy an elephant or how he could figure out how big the elephant's enclosure needed to be for his zoo. There is the conservation station where she could see them caring for animals at AK. I would especially do it since you could contrast zoo type animals at AK with farm animals the next month.

 

[glassslippergirl]

The idea for studying countries is a good one. You can bring in literature, too, and with that, incorporate rides from other parks. When studying England, you can introduce "Mary Poppins," "Alice in Wonderland," or "Peter Pan." Then, when you ride Peter Pan, you can make connections, especially when flying over London.

It's also a good opportunity to introduce map studies. Show her the countries on world maps. You can introduce places as being closer or farther from your home or from WDW. Then, in World Showcase, let her try to find a country using the guide map. Show her on a world map how the US touches Mexico and Canada, and in WS, these countries are the first ones you visit on either side.

 

[keelyhealthnut]

I just love these ideas!! I have been thinking of what to incorporate into our homeschool and I've gotten lots of ideas.

 

[MandiC]

Another mom who isn't a homeschooler but as a public school educator loves to incorporate learning into our home life

I really liked the Passport books I printed for my girls that had the basic phrases for each of the countries in Epcot, it also had capitol cities and population. So we talked a bit about how many people that was and where it was int he world. Basic phrases included hello/goodbye, please and thank you.

5 is a little young for learning too much about presidents but you could touch on it since there will be a little bit of that both in Epcot and Liberty Square in MK.

Carousel of Progress shows a bit of how family life has changed over the years, it might be a neat thing to talk about.

Hollywood Studios, you could do a week of learning about Walt Disney himself! His life and all of that fun, he is such a great example for kids and a wonderful man so definitely someone worth teaching your kids about. You could also talk about animation and art. There is an Animation Academy in HS that my oldest just loved where you learn to draw a character (we did Minnie).

Animal Kingdom you could talk more about the continents of Asia/Africa than the animals, they have good theming, you could even touch on dinosaurs.

The potential for learning opportunities really is endless

 

[cjparker0110]

A lot of the above ideas are good...especially looking at studying the Epcot countries. You might also look at sustainable living off of the land. Maybe look at something on flight for kids for the Soarin' ride. (perhaps you could use a paper airplane or a feather?).

Certainly look at history for the Liberty Square in MK and the America part of Epcot.

Maybe a brief lesson on who Walt Disney was would be great!

Another thought would be to teach her about various vehicles: steam engine trains, steam powered boats, street cars, etc. She could see some of these in operation!