Homeschooling for Disney?

[jacksmomma]

Homeschoolers...come out, come out, where ever you are! Help a newbie!

I will be starting home school preschool for my 3 year old DS in a week and a half! I will be using unit studies. We are planning a trip to WDW in the spring. How have you incorporated the trip into your lessons? Obviously there are the different countries in Epcot and the animals in AK. Any suggestions? I think learning about Mickey with help us get through the long months of Jan. and Feb.

Please share what you have done!

 

[arielmomma]

One thing that we have done this summer is to study the countries of EPCOT through eating the cuisine of those countries. Each week we have a meal from each of the countries of the world showcase. We read a book about the particular country together and discuss the culture. Then, the children and I prepare the meal and we all enjoy it together when my husband comes home from work. Even my 2 year old gets to feel involved! The rule of thumb is that we all have to try a little of everything. It has been a really fun experience this summer. It is also counting us down to our September trip.

 

[chefgirl96]

I have never done this, but as a HSer myself, this sounds like so much fun!! Since you just have a preKer, this should be fairly easy to do. You could pick your favorite Disney movie & probably do an entire unit study on just that. If you picked, say, Cinderella, you could study mice, pumpkins, cleaning (LOL), sewing, having a good attitude while doing chores, colors, helpfulness, etc. Find Disney activities like puzzles, coloring books, workbooks, etc.

If you were sticking to Mickey, you could probably study the different 'lands' of MK. Look at the Disney maps & practice map skills. Counting skills with Disney dollars or something of the sort. Spelling with M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

Sounds like so much fun!

 

[williamson_ja]

I have older kids, so we have done it differently. When we went to WDW last year, each of the kids picked a country to do a written report about and also gave an oral presentation to the family about the country. They also studied all about WDW in their free time as this was our first trip. They studied the different guides and activities they wanted to do. It helped us a lot because when we got there, the kids knew so much about everything we were seeing and how to navigate each park as well!
They were also extra excited about visiting the countries that they had done reports on. We ended up spending 4 out of 7 days at Epcot because the kids were just so excited about seeing all the different countries!

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

I love these ideas, I am considering Homeschooling myself, don't like public schools telling me when I can go on trips and when I can't (well, this is only part of the reason, of course). I just feel I can do a better job educating my kids myself.

 

[livndisney]

I love these ideas, I am considering Homeschooling myself, don't like public schools telling me when I can go on trips and when I can't (well, this is only part of the reason, of course). I just feel I can do a better job educating my kids myself.

Where are you in Florida? I may be able to email you info about a Homeschool group in your area. They are usually very helpful in getting started.

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

Where are you in Florida? I may be able to email you info about a Homeschool group in your area. They are usually very helpful in getting started.

In the panhandle, and I would love the info. I also know about some homeschool support groups near where I live, but am always open to new info. Thanks!

 

[kalc12345]

I have older kids, so we have done it differently. When we went to WDW last year, each of the kids picked a country to do a written report about and also gave an oral presentation to the family about the country.

This is a great idea!! I think I will have my daughter do that

 

[jacksmomma]

This is a great idea!! I think I will have my daughter do that

To go along with that, when you get to Epcot find a CM from each country and ask him or her to sign your child's autograph book. All of the CMs we came across were more than happy to do this and they made GREAT souvenirs! I used them in my scrapbook and they really make the pages. It was especially neat to watch the CM in Morocco write her message because their style is so different from ours.

 

[jaycns]

This link will take you to a thread I started a few years ago about fun things to study before going to (and at) WDW.

I keep meaning to add more but time always seems to get away from me. Lots of them could be done at a higher or lower level than my kids were at the time. HTH

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1145853