Disney Homeschool Days

My original title for this thread was "Disappointed in Disney", but I scrapped that and figured I'd let you all form your own opinions. So now that I haven't influenced you at all, here's what I received from Disney last week about their educational programs.

Disney Youth Education Series -  Individual Enrollment

This special program offers individual students and small groups the chance to participate in real-world learning experiences at Disney Theme Parks where they will discover newfound insights, skills and knowledge.

·         Available on select dates in January, February, June, July, & August 2011.  September and October dates will be released at a later time.

·         Students ages 5-18 are able to participate and special tickets are available for the entire family

·          Add-on dining at select locations by purchasing Meal Vouchers

·         For details on our Winter Programs, please click here.

·         For details on our Summer Programs, please click here. 

·         Register Today for the Winter Programs @ www.disneyurl.com/IndividualEnrollment

Disney Homeschool Days

Disney Homeschool Days at Walt Disney World® Resort gives students the opportunity to learn in the most magical way of all — Disney-style.  

·         Come “Explore Disney’s Wild Side” January 24 & 25, 2011 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park

·         Special Presentation on African Cats: January 24, 2011 at 10:00 am

·         Additional Disney Youth Education Series programs may be added on to your experience.

·         Add-on dining at select locations by purchasing Meal Vouchers

·         Register Today @ www.disneyurl.com/Homeschool2011 

·         Stay tuned for more information on a Fall Homeschool event in October 2011!

Now, let me just put it out there that we love Disney and all the opportunity that exists for learning in the parks. But right now, I'm just feeling a little jilted - because Disney obviously doesn't love us back.

Beginning in 2010, they stopped accepting annual passes for park admission on their official homeschool days and for Y.E.S (Youth Education Series) programs. So in addition to $1000 for annual passes and up to $50/person for a single educational program, we would now have to purchase a (discounted) ticket for park admission.

Noah and I attended at Y.E.S. program on How Things Move back in September 2010, and it was phenomenal for him to learn about different forces as they apply to some of his favorite rides. And now, just looking at the amazing program offerings - ranging from every type of science to American history to animation/production - makes me wish we could attend them all . . . and even more annoyed that Disney is making it financially impossible to do so.

While they seem to be catering to the out-of-towners on this one, they're certainly overlooking the fact that Florida homeschoolers are the ones spending money in their parks every month of the year. Not to mention that it certainly would be nice to give a little break (and it's not even a break - we've already shelled out for annual passes) to those of us who are directly funding our children's educations and often sacrificing a second income in order to homeschool.

Okay, that's my rant . . . what's yours? Am I way off base on this??? Or is Disney the one missing the mark? Please leave a comment and let me (and who knows - maybe even Disney) know how you feel about this.

EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

So can I really call a trip to EPCOT's food and wine festival "school"? Well since I'm the one in charge of our learning ventures, I suppose I can.

But while I'll readily admit this wasn't our most educational trip to EPCOT, we still placed bones and organs into a surgical patient, compared Egyptian hieroglyphics to Native American pictographs, learned about fire safety and sampled cuisine from Poland, Morocco, Canada, France and Greece.

Add in loads of character visits, a trip around the Test Track and cooling off at the splash pad and you have a fun-filled day that didn't feel all too much like blowing off school.

Disney Homeschool Days Info - January 2010

I just received information on the next homeschool event at Disney. We had such a great time there last month, that we will definitely plan to attend Disney Homeschool Days again in January!

However, in researching the ticket prices, I found a statement that I hope is not true:

"This is a hard ticket event. No Disney Annual Passes will be accepted for this event."

They proceed to provide ticket pricing that includes park admission (unlike the event last month, where there was a separate ticket option for passholders). I'm going to e-mail my contact there for details and will post updates here when I receive them. In the meantime, I'm posting event info below.

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On January 25 and 26, 2010, at the Magic Kingdom® Park, bring your students to see "Engineering the Magic". Science rocks in this one hour interactive presentation hosted by Disney Engineers. Everyday, this incredible team uses science to create the world famous attractions and tell the stories that transport Walt Disney World Park and Resort Guests into some really exciting places. Engineering the Magic is food for your brain as you discover the scientific principles that put the thrills, chills, and fun into the most magical place on earth. Jump on board and discover the engineer in you!

"Engineering The Magic"
(Limited capacity. Please reserve your space early)
Disney Story Theater, Magic Kingdom® Park
Janary 25 & 26, 2010, 10:00 AM

On January 24, 25, and 26, several Disney Youth Education Series (Y.E.S.) programs will be available (for an additional fee/limited capacity) for your students. These programs will take them further inside the science and magic of the theme parks.

PROGRAMS AVAILABLE:

January 24, 2010
Epcot®
Dymanics of Technology: 6—12th Grade, 7:45 AM
Making Waves With A Marine Career: 9—12th Grade, 1:00 PM
Millennium Cultures: 4—9th Grade, 8:45 AM
Disney's Ocean Discoveries: 3—9th Grade, 8:30 AM

Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Disney's Wild By Nature: 2—9th Grade, 8:30 AM

January 25, 2010
Magic Kingdom® Park
Disney's World of Physics: Properties of Motion: 3—12th Grade, 7:15 AM
Disney's World of Physics: Energy and Waves: 3—12th, 9:00 AM and 11:30AM
How Things Move: K—2nd Grade, 8:15 AM

Epcot®
Everyday Chemistry: 4—9th Grade, 8:45 AM and 12:45 PM
Synergy In Science: 1—5th Grade, 8:45 AM and 12:45 PM
Disney's Ocean Discoveries: 3—9th Grade, 8:30 AM and 12:45 PM

Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Disney's Wild By Nature: 2—9th Grade, 8:30 AM

January 26, 2010
Magic Kingdom® Park
Disney's World of Physics: Properties of Motion: 3—12th Grade, 7:15 AM
Disney's World of Physics: Energy and Waves: 3—12th Grade, 9:00 AM and 11:30 AM
How Things Move: K—2nd Grade, 8:15 AM

Epcot®
Everyday Chemistry: 4—9th Grade, 8:45 AM and 12:45 PM
Synergy In Science: 1—5th Grade, 8:45 AM and 12:45 PM
Disney's Ocean Discoveries: 3—9th Grade, 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM

Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Disney's Wild By Nature: 2—9th Grade, 8:30 AM

Additional Open Enrollment programs available: January 11, 18, and 19, 2010.

New Disney Homeschool Days Announced for 2010

We had such a great time at Disney's homeschool days last month that I was eager to find out when we could do it again!

The next homeschool days will be January 25th and 26th, 2010 with YES (Youth Education Services) programs offered on January 24th, 25th and 26th, 2010.

More information will be available on their website soon.

Homeschooling in Orlando - Disney HS Day

Notice anything interesting about this photo? Yes, I know it's Cinderella's castle. But did you notice that there's nobody in front of it? Except for us, that is. This was our view this morning as we were granted early admission to the park for Disney Homeschool Days!

I'd known about this event for quite a while, but for some reason, we were unable to participate last year. This year, I really wanted to try it, so I set a "school date" with Noah. I wanted to be able to really focus on him for the day, so I arranged for Jim to work from home to watch Ava.

Now I have to tell you, navigating the event website was not easy. Disney does so many things really well, but websites do not seem to be one of them. Since I had a hard time finding info, I'll break it down for you here.

• Day 1 (yesterday) included a speaker series featuring international cast members. Students learned about countries from around the World Showcase, and participated in a Q&A session with cast members. They were also provided materials for a self-guided educational tour around the World Showcase. The cost for this part of the program was $16/student (plus park admission). Several YES programs (see below) were offered in the afternoon. We were unable to attend on this day due to the plants / gardening co-op, but we hope to catch this part next time.

• Day 2 (today) offered a variety of classes through the YES (Youth Education Series) program. The K-2 topic was "How Things Move" while older age groups learned about "The American Story", "Millennium Cultures", "Disney's Ocean Discoveries" and "Disney's Leadership Excellence". The cost for each YES program was $25 each for both parents and children, and classes were 2 1/2 to 3 hours in length.

When we arrived at the park this morning, we were greeted by a YES cast member and taken into the park. The main street area appeared to be open to resort guests, but as we made our way to Fantasyland, we were taken behind the ropes and asked to put away our cameras until the park opened at 9AM (lest we capture something "less than magical" as cast members prepared for the day).

After learning about different ways things move - and the different power sources behind the motion - they were made Imaginears for the day and asked to observe what made several rides move as they rode them - Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, It's a Small World and Goofy's Barnstormer. After the rides, they sat back down and compared their observations to the power sources they saw in the beginning - for example, how the pinwheel they moved with wind in the beginning was similar to the pinwheels on the Dumbo ride.

They also learned about magnets, attraction and gravity, drew their own designs for a new Disney attraction and worked as a team to assemble a "ride" (a miniature car zooming through a series of connected tubes).

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and we'll definitely participate again. Disney hosts homeschool days every September and January. (Limited) details are available on their website.

School is in Session!

I have to admit, I've been seeing everyone's first-day photos on Facebook for over a month and feeling like a slacker for extending our summer break. But in my mind, school starts after Labor Day so that's what we did. Plus, it worked out better with our trip last week. But being "behind" did put on some pressure for coming up with a really great first day. I'm happy to say . . . mission accomplished!

We began our day in the classroom with reading time. Since we're doing a unit study on the United States this fall, I picked a new book, George Washington. Ava picked Little Black, A Pony, and Noah (as expected) went for non-fiction with The Flip Flap Body Book. After reading, the kids did their "life skills" while I made breakfast. Today, this consisted of cleaning their rooms and taking out the recycling, but we'll mix it up each day according to what needs to be done.

With chores complete and the kids fed and dressed, we went back into the classroom for the juggling portion of the show - trying to work on curriculum with Noah and guiding Ava through activities at the same time. Truth be told, this act needs a lot of work.

Since our Rosetta Stone software isn't functional at the moment, Noah only had Language Arts, project time and computer time on the schedule today. He completed his project (combo art and writing) first, then we moved on to Language Arts. This is our first time tackling this subject with actual curriculum, and I chose Language Smarts by the Critical Thinking Company. He loves mind benders and brain teasers, and I love that this book uses those fun activities to teach language arts skills.

While he worked on that, Ava was in the family room on Starfall. She is just figuring out how to use the mouse on my laptop, so she still needs a lot of help. Due to battery issues, my laptop isn't easily portable right now, so I spent a lot of time bouncing back and forth between the two rooms. Whew!

Moving on, Noah chose IXL (math) for his computer time today. As we plugged away at first grade activities, Ava suddenly felt the need to do IXL as well. She sat with us the whole time, and I think she got a little frustrated when she didn't pick the correct answers. Fortunately, we had time for her to work at her level before we closed the classroom for the day.

I'm incredibly excited to see her interest in learning explode, but it actually makes things a little trickier since she often wants to do exactly what Noah is doing (which, of course, she can't). I'm trying to find the right balance so she doesn't get frustrated, and I'm hoping that once we all get into a routine, they'll both be able to work a little more independently on certain activities. Seriously though, I have no idea how homeschooling moms with big families do it!

So, with classroom time complete, we made a quick check of the garden before heading out for the day. We stopped at Ethos (best school lunch ever!) on our way down to EPCOT, where we headed straight for the American pavilion. We kicked of our USA unit study by seeing the American Adventure show, listening to the Voices of Liberty choir and enjoying a performance by the fife & drum corp.

Looking back, I can't believe we fit all that into one day . . . and we certainly won't attempt to on an ongoing basis. But we all had a great time together (Noah nicknamed us the "Threeway Advanture Club"), and it was a great start to what were all expecting to be an amazing year!

Mexico

Hola amigos! We continued our study of Mexico yesterday with a trip to EPCOT, where we explored the Mexican pavilion, browsed the local market, enjoyed lunch with friends - and of course, got our passport stamped. The Disney parks, EPCOT in particular, are a homeschooler's paradise! We've been going once a month to enhance our geography studies, and it amazes me that we can spend a full day just in one country!

Noah loves science and has a particular fascination with a recycling activity currently set up in Innoventions and an anatomy game at the end of Spaceship Earth. It seems like we rarely have time for these activities, so we're planning to add an additional EPCOT day to our monthly calendar just to study science. In addition to the area at the end of Spaceship Earth, there are two Innoventions areas with hands-on science activities, as well as Ellen's Energy Adventure ride.