What's educational about Disney Cruise?

[evedein]

We are going on the Magic to Bermuda with my grandsons ages 7 & 11. To be allowed to take the time off, the school requires parents to explain what the kids will learn on the trip. Any ideas or past experience with this requirement? WDW is easy. Lots of "educational" stuff there. But a cruise & Bermuda. Not sure. "History of Bermuda shorts" doesn't count (my daughter's 1st suggestion- she was joking). I think, LOL.

 

[brewcrew]

Buoyancy, geography, latitude/longitude, anchors (weight), capacity, motion, time zones, etc

 

[Narnia_girl]

Geography
Cross-cultural experiences
History
Marine life
Nautical technology

 

[jdb in AZ]

Sociology -- how the guests and crew interact with each other.

 

[Numtini]

Not much really. Sorry if that makes me an odd girl out, but this isn't an educational experience. It's a vacation.

 

[cadien]

We book educational excursions rather than worrying about the cruise itself.

 

[FigmentSpark]

What about the history for piracy and the political aspects of it... how did it affect the eonomies? Why did men choose piracy?

Or how about address some of the "Bermuda Triangle" mysteries and what might have really happened?

Oh, sorry, those are probably too advanced for their ages. You could teach them about sensible choices and food groups for health. How about take the stairs several times for gym?

Or a report on Walt Disney and the success of the Disney brand throughout the years.

You could get a chance to talk to CMs or even an officer and learn about doing a job on a ship... what's it like?

How about interview your server or attendant about their country and what it's like there?

 

[Sepo]

“They will learn how to circumvent bureaucracy as evidenced by the writing of this letter”.

 

[Shanti]

We are going on the Magic to Bermuda with my grandsons ages 7 & 11. To be allowed to take the time off, the school requires parents to explain what the kids will learn on the trip. Any ideas or past experience with this requirement? WDW is easy. Lots of "educational" stuff there. But a cruise & Bermuda. Not sure. "History of Bermuda shorts" doesn't count (my daughter's 1st suggestion- she was joking). I think, LOL.

The cruise is a vacation, not an academically educational experience.

 

[evedein]

Sepo, love your response. I fully agree.
People, please keep suggestions coming. Very useful.

 

[southerngirl528]

We are going on the Magic to Bermuda with my grandsons ages 7 & 11. To be allowed to take the time off, the school requires parents to explain what the kids will learn on the trip. Any ideas or past experience with this requirement? WDW is easy. Lots of "educational" stuff there. But a cruise & Bermuda. Not sure. "History of Bermuda shorts" doesn't count (my daughter's 1st suggestion- she was joking). I think, LOL.

You know, as a mom of 3, without meaning to sound sappy I truly looked for every possible learning experience for my kids. Maybe it's because I am a very curious person and love to learn new stuff. When going on a trip, I taught them to read road maps and an atlas. I know those are still to be found! They had to figure out how many miles (how about learning the difference in a land mile and a nautical mile? Where the ship was made and some details about that?) it was to our destination(s). This involves some math as well as geography. If they do a report on Bermuda, that involves research, history, current events, creative writing, etc.

I love some of the ideas PP have suggested too! What about why Bermuda has pink sand? What kinds of animals are indigenous to Bermuda? Are there any?

You could get a chance to talk to CMs or even an officer and learn about doing a job on a ship... what's it like?

How about interview your server or attendant about their country and what it's like there?

I think these are great ideas!! Interview skills, listening skills, and more!

The way I see it, you can devote a little time each day to some of these that interest the kids. And learning happens all the time with kids! Whether we are thinking about them learning or not, kids are SPONGES, and see the world a little differently than we do as adults, and that by itself can be a learning activity if the adult is engaged!

I think the grands can have a blast with this! Go for it!!!

 

[DCLPrincess]

The ship has some really green practices when it comes to recycling and trash/waste. Also the ways they get water, desalination and condensation. It's really interesting science.

 

[southerngirl528]

The ship has some really green practices when it comes to recycling and trash/waste. Also the ways they get water, desalination and condensation. It's really interesting science.

This is true! We had an officer join our large table one night a long time ago on a 7 night DCL cruise, and he was over the desalination plant. He shared some fascinating facts about this!

 

[bumbershoot]

“They will learn how to circumvent bureaucracy as evidenced by the writing of this letter”.

Possibly the most important thing to learn!

The cruise is a vacation, not an academically educational experience.

Disagree. Almost everything has educational opportunities. We all can learn things every day.



If there are any tours that the family can take, take those!
Do unit studies on the places you're going.

Basically treat it like you're a homeschooling family (like mine) and the educational opportunities will leap out at you.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Not much really. Sorry if that makes me an odd girl out, but this isn't an educational experience. It's a vacation.

You might want to let people enrolled in various programs in the Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and maritime academies, not only in the US but around the world that there is nothing educational in what they are studying. I guess the licensing boards like U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) along with United States Coast Guard (USCG) as well as United States Merchant Marines probably aren't anything either. That is just the aspect of the ship operations, not to mention the historical, zoological, social, business operations and other educational opportunities.

It seems like it would be easy to pick a few key themes and then do a few daily lessons.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The cruise is a vacation, not an academically educational experience.

Totally. I don't understand how the "We've got to take the kids out of school for vacation, because that's the only time we can go" mentality meshes with the "How can I make this vacation educational?" mentality.

I agree, there are learning experiences all around us, in many places, but why subject kids to the "let's take a vacation, by the way, you have to do a report on XXX for school when we get back" situation. A vacation should be just that... a vacation.

 

[Sepo]

We are going on the Magic to Bermuda with my grandsons ages 7 & 11. To be allowed to take the time off, the school requires parents to explain what the kids will learn on the trip. Any ideas or past experience with this requirement? WDW is easy. Lots of "educational" stuff there. But a cruise & Bermuda. Not sure. "History of Bermuda shorts" doesn't count (my daughter's 1st suggestion- she was joking). I think, LOL.

I just remembered reading somewhere a few years ago that some schools in some states get funded per student and vacationers do not count, but that educational time away does. I wonder if that has anything to do with this requirement, as opposed to a hassle-minded deterrent.

 

[tlprice]

I am a teacher and I take myself and my daughter out of school at times to vacation. Traveling and seeing new parts of the world is very educational. It gives kids a perspective on where things are in the world, makes them see outside of their tiny little sphere, and lets them experience the cultures of other places. I teach social studies, so maybe this is why I feel this way. Most of my students have never been anywhere and thus have absolutely no sense of the world and why it is important to learn about it. My daughter loves learning about the world because she has experienced quite a bit of it. I am absolutely fine with my students missing school to experience the world as long as their academics don't suffer as a result of it. Some things just can't be learned in a classroom.

 

[Stratus22]

Endless learning experiences on a cruise. Interaction brings out the Sociology and Psychology of it all....and guess what, you're less likely to have an electronic device in your hands. Try and grab a Sting Ray excursion and you'll get the Science aspect out of it. And like others have said, Longitude and Latitude will get you the Geography. Social Studies...the culture alone in Nassau or even on the ship. The crew love to talk about their Country. My kids usually have to write about their trip and that's basically what I have them write about. Oh and Include the fun as well.

 

[mousefan73]

Not much really. Sorry if that makes me an odd girl out, but this isn't an educational experience. It's a vacation.

I agree. Just a BS requirement. Either you let kids miss school and classowork or you don’t. Life itself is “educational”. We went to a musuem recently. Didnt report it to our school that my kids had an “educational” experience.

IMO have the kids read a book and write a book report. A real book report. As a former teacher one can not read enough and this needs to be practiced. Have them read Moby Dick if the school requires even more BS.

Enjoy your VACATION.