Homeschooling at Walt Disney World

It’s been a chilly start to 2010 here in Central FL so it was a pleasure to recently spend a few hours inside The Land Pavilion at EPCOT.  This school year my son has been taking a science class (through Science Partners in Orlando) and for the past several weeks has been learning about plants.  We love the “Living with the Land” attraction, especially the greenhouse, so we decided to supplement his learning about plants by attending the “Behind the Seeds” tour.

This tour gave us a chance to walk through the greenhouses and learn more about some innovative farming techniques that are being used around the world.   The tour started with a discussion of the natural pest control techniques used in the greenhouse and included a video showing how some pests can easily destroy plants, and how lady bugs can be used to keep them under control.   Our kids were each given a small jar of ladybugs to carry along during the tour.  When we arrived at the strawberry plants (about half way through the tour) the lady bugs were released and put to work!

If you take the “Living with the Land” boat tour you will see some very interesting plants – many of which you would probably never otherwise see in person.  Some of our favorites include bananas, cocoa, coffee, paprika and fluted melons.  Some of the unique plants you have an opportunity to see up close and personal on the tour include 9 pound lemons (yes, we actually got to hold it and it was big and heavy), Cinderella pumpkins (the inspiration for Cinderella’s carriage), and miracle fruit (according to our guide if you put it on your tongue everything you eat after it tastes sweet…my kids thought that would be a nice way to enhance the taste of veggies!).

The tour also demonstrates many interesting growing techniques.  Many plants are grown vertically either in containers that are stacked on top of each other or plants are trained to grow up and over trellises (the tomato tree is amazing!).  They also show examples of hydroponic growing which is a system that uses little or no soil.  The tour also touches on aquaculture which on this tour includes the farming of fish (tilapia and sturgeon), prawns and eels.  Our group had a chance to feed the tilapia and feeding time for so many hungry fish is quite a site to see!  There are also some “cute” baby American alligators to see on the tour.

The Behind the Seeds tour lasted for about an hour.  It moves along quickly but offers plenty of time for guests to ask questions.  It is a walking tour so be sure to wear comfy shoes.  The tour is open to all ages but I personally think it would be most interesting to kids over the age of about 6 years old.  You can register ahead of time by calling (407) WDW-TOUR or (407) 939-8687 or if you want to plan a last minute adventure you can visit the tour desk next to the entrance to Soarin.  If you have a Disney Visa or annual pass ask if you get a tour discount (I think you do, but I forgot to ask!!)

We really had a great time on the tour.  I’m not sure if the kids were more excited learning about the plants or with the idea of actually going behind the scenes of a WDW attraction.  Either way it was well worth our time and very educational!   And don’t forget — at the end be sure to stop by the Seasons Food Fair in The Land pavilion.  Some of the veggies grown in the greenhouse are served there.

The EPCOT Food & Wine Festival began a few weeks ago – it is one of our favorite annual events!  We were there on opening day and we’ve been back a few times since.  There is so much good food to try…we’ve hardly put a dent in our wish list.

My kids are not the most adventurous when it comes to trying new foods, but this annual festival is a great opportunity to get them to at least “take a bite and try it.”  Each country that is represented offers 3-4 traditional food choices and often one of those is a dessert.  We usually look at the map (in the festival guide) and figure out a plan.  The plan usually involves picking out a few favorite dessert ideas and working our way backward so we can eat a few entrée type options before we eat multiple desserts!

I’ve always thought that it’s a good idea to include a discussion about food along with any type of geography study.  You can talk about the different spices that are native to a country or the type of meat/fish that can easily be found in a country (therefore why those are common in traditional dishes). 

So far we’ve tried foods from Mexico, Australia, Germany, Austria, France, Greece, Ireland and New Orleans (USA).  Although we’ve enjoyed everything, the favorites so far have been the desserts – Crème Brule from France, Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Bailey’s Ganache from Ireland, Sacher Torte from Austria and Praline Bread Pudding from New Orleans. 

It’s been fun taking the kids and encouraging them to try new things.  They are willing to “take a bite” of most things and at least try something new, but they have already learned that if it is made of chocolate the “one bite” rule is out the window, instead they insist that we order a separate plate for everyone…and if I eat too slowly they try to take mine!

Yesterday we had an opportunity to try our hand at “The Great Piggy Bank Adventure” at Innoventions at EPCOT.  This exhibit is designed to introduce children to four basic financial planning concepts – goal setting, saving, inflation and diversification.

To begin, each team must set a financial goal – bedroom makeover, college education, family vacation or retirement.  After a goal is chosen your team receives it’s very own pink piggy bank.  The piggy bank introduces each financial planning concept and collects your money.

There are three stops along the way.  The first is savings – making wise decisions about where to spend your money.  The next is inflation – understanding that the value of your money will change over time.  And finally, diversification – reducing your overall risk by investing your money is a variety of places (and hoping the sneaky wolf doesn’t steal your money!).

For our first attempt our goals was a college education.  We did well, but we didn’t quite reach our goal.  My younger son played the game a second time with a friend.  Their goal was a bedroom makeover (with a really cool bunk bed slide) and they met their goal.  It was interesting because my older son made the comment – “They did really well on the second game, but since a bedroom makeover doesn’t cost as much as college tuition the goal for their game was lower.”  I was glad to see that he is starting to understand the overall value of different things, particularly large projects/purchases, and I had to give him credit for a response that sounded a little better than sour grapes (since a 6 & 7 year old met their goal and we didn’t!).

At the end of the game you are given the option to send your results to your home email address.  The email you receive includes a link to the T. Rowe Price Family Center webpage where you can review the concepts covered in the game as well as play an online version of The Great Piggy Bank Adventure.  Although the concepts are covered very quickly in the exhibit, it is a fun way to initiate conversations with children about savings.  I’m not sure it will be enough to convince your kids to save their money rather buy a cool new toy at Mouse Gears…but at least you might be able to remind them of the pig when you start saving for your next vacation to visit the mouse!

One of our family’s favorite annual events at WDW is the Candlelight Processional.  This amazing, inspirational show brings together more than 400 singers (including cast members, youth choirs and the Voices of Liberty), a 50 piece orchestra and a celebrity narrator to tell the story of Christmas.

You don’t need a special ticket for this event (just your regular park admission).  The show is performed 3 times nightly, from the end of November through the end of December, in the American Garden amphitheater.

We have, however, opted to include the dining package for our visits.  With the package you can enjoy dinner at a restaurant in EPCOT (there is a list of 11 restaurants to choose from — The Garden Grill is one of our favorites).  After your dinner you are given a ticket for preferred seating to the Candlelight Processional event.  We use this as family time to enjoy a meal together and share the joy of the holiday season.

If you choose to make dining reservations, you can do so 90 days ahead (I just booked our package this morning with no troubles) by calling Disney Dining (407-939-3463).

For the past couple of years the children in our homeschool group have performed a Christmas Nativity play for family and friends.  It is very sweet and the kids do a wonderful job.  The first time my youngest son saw the Candlelight Processional his eyes were huge as watched the choir on stage.  At one point, he turned and whispered to me and said, “We might not have all of those great singers, but I think we got the rest right…”  I had to agree, no matter how big or how small the presentation, it is the spirit of the holiday, and taking time to share it with those close to you, that matters most!

PATRIOT DAY AND NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE, 2009

We were honored to spend the day at the American Adventure with our homeschool friends.

We spend many great days at WDW learning and having fun, but on Labor Day we set out on a laid back day of family fun.  Even though we didn’t go away for an end of summer holiday we decided to just spend the day pretending we were on vacation!

We parked at the resorts, walked around on the beaches, and then took the monorail over to EPCOT.  I know, I know…another day at EPCOT?!  My kids decided Dad hadn’t been there for a while so that’s where they wanted to play.

The crowds were very light so we opted for our traditional ride on Spaceship Earth and the beginning of our day.  We followed that with a stroll through Innoventions and a stop at the IBM THINKPlace (be sure to do this sometime – your family takes pictures running, jumping and dancing, then your photos are incorporated into a personalized video game!  You can even email your video game to your home computer so you can play the game over and over.  So funny!)

Ice cream and frozen cokes were the next stop of the day, while sitting and watching and listening to the fountain show.  We headed back to the World Showcase, paused for a few minutes to catch a few songs from Off Kilter (in the Canada pavilion) and finally made our way back to the toy shop in Japan.  Now we understood why the kids were so interested in EPCOT…they had some money to spend on new Transformers at Mitsukoshi.  As we wondered through the store we found a table where cast members from Japan were making origami animals.  My son was thrilled with the origami rabbit they made for him.

We decided to end the day at the American Adventure.  Even though my kids and I have been there many times before, we realized my husband had never seen the show.  We went in about 20 minutes before the Voices of Liberty singers were to perform and spent time looking at the displays.  We found a comfy bench and decided to wait for the performance.  The next thing we know a cast member, who had been mingling with the crowd, walked over and asked if we would like to be the “First Family” for the next performance.  What a surprise!  As the first family we were ushered upstairs to the balcony and were seated on beautiful chairs near the railing with a perfect view of the Voices of Liberty singers.  As usual the musical selections were touching and beautiful.  Next we were lead into the theatre and given first choice of seats.  After the brief introduction to the show by the cast member she welcomed us and introduced us to everyone as the performances’ “First Family”.  As the audience applauded we told our boys to stand up and wave (it was so cute, they thought they were so special).

To end our day we headed back to the Polynesian for once last stroll on the beach before heading home.

It was the perfect family day together, full of the magic and fun only Disney can provide.  Since we live so close to the parks, and visit frequently, people often ask if we get tired of the rides or if it gets to be routine.  My answer, at least for our family, is definitely not!  These are the happy family memories we will be able to share for years to come.

Yes, I admit it, as a family we spend most of our time learning and having fun at EPCOT.  My children love science, history and geography so it’s a perfect fit for us.

Even though we spend so much time at EPCOT one thing remains a constant…we have to end every visit with a ride on Spaceship Earth.  It may not be the most exciting ride for some people but for my kids it’s become a comfortable tradition, maybe it’s more like a history review lesson.

As part of our homeschool history study we’ve been using The Story of the World Series by Susan Wise Bauer.  Over the past few years we’ve studied history chronologically with the help of her stories and activities.  A few years ago, when we first rode Spaceship Earth, my kids thought some of the scenes were interesting, but as we’ve studied the different time periods they’ve been better able to appreciate many of the significant contributions people from these classic periods of world history have made in the areas of communication and technology.   

Some of our favorite scenes include the Egyptian making papyrus, the Greeks discussing math and philosophy, the monks diligently copying manuscripts (or sleeping on them!) and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.  Last year Spaceship Earth enjoyed an update that now includes scenes of a giant computer room and a garage in California where modern computers got their start.  I like the addition of these scenes, but unfortunately I personally remember these scenes all too well and my kids think of these events as “ancient history”!

Their favorite part is at the end of the ride where they get a glimpse of life in the future.  They love seeing their faces on cartoon bodies that are flying in spaceships and watching robots clean their houses.

Oh, and there is a reason why we make this the traditional way to end our days…the lines are much shorter at the end of the day since most people go on this ride in the morning, as soon as they enter the park.  Use it as a nice way to unwind after a fun day and see how many details your kids can notice in their journey through history.

Mariachi Cobre

This fall our Disney Homeschool group is “Travelling the Globe”.  Each week we visit a different pavilion in the EPCOT World Showcase and our most recent travels took us to Mexico.

Right away we knew we were totally getting into the spirit of things…it was 90+ degrees and humid at 10:30am!  The pavilions in World Showcase open at 11am and there to greet everyone was the Mariachi Cobre, an amazing live band.

To start our adventure we brought some activities for the kids to work on.  We gave them information about the flag of Mexico and an outline of the Mexican flag to color.  We also gave them directions for drawing an Aztec temple like one used as the model for the façade of the Mexico pavilion (the pavilion is modeled after the Aztec temple of Quetzalzoatl in the ancient city of Teotihuacan).

By this time everyone was hungry so we decided to try some authentic food from Cantina De San Angel.  The kids enjoyed a variety of dishes including yummy churros for dessert.  After we finished eating we were just in time for the next performance of Mariachi Cobre.  After their enthusiastic performance they were kind enough to talk with us about the music and they even allowed our children to play some of their instruments! 

After the show the heat was getting to us so it was time to move the learning inside the pavilion.  The first stop, for a little fun, was Donald’s “Gran Fiesta Tour.”  After our “tour” we strolled through the markets checking out the blankets, sombreros and other musical instruments.  The Kidcot table was a fun place to make a mask, chat with the cast members, and get our passports stamped. 

We were even fortunate enough to have a short lesson from the artists creating the Oaxacan (pronounced Wa-Haw-Ken) wood carvings.  Each figure is hand carved from Copal wood and hand painted.  All of the pieces on display were created onsite and were incredibly detailed and absolutely beautiful.

It was another great day of traveling and learning with friends.  Can’t wait to see where we are off to next week (let’s hope its some place cooler!)