Do any homeschool moms know of some printables for planning that I can use for the kids? Someone suggested having them use map skills and math skills etc to help with the DW planning....and of course it would be a great way to teach them!
I'm not a homeschooler, I'm a high school math teacher. But I do like to lurk on this thread occasionally. I don't have any printables, but here are some options off the top of my head. I'm not sure of the ages of your kids, so this will be stream of consciousness for kids of assorted ages. And I keep coming back and adding more-- this is fun.
If they can do percents, you could take a look at the current discounts, and have them apply those discounts to the cost of various resorts, to price out the assorted options.
In NY, many people double the 8.625% sales tax as a way to approximate a tip-- what are some other ways? Can people in FL use the sales tax (Is there one? What is sales tax anyway?) to determine a typical tip?
You could have them price out the difference between staying onsite and staying offsite (possibly including a home rental?) -- possibly including a rental car if you drive-- and then make a case for one or the other.
You could have them take a look at the menus, choose restaurants, and price out the meal plans-- deciding whether or not the meal plans would make sense for your family.
Depending on where you're from, you could look at transportation options-- price out the cost of driving as opposed to flying as opposed to the autotrain.
Work with time zones--" if you leave CA at 9 am, what's the local time when you arrive at Orlando" types of problems. And what's a time zone anyway? Why do we have them? What's the International Date Line? How or where is it possible to leave home on Monday and arrive at WDW on Sunday?
You could take a look at the countries represented in the World Showcase, and have each research-- and present to the others-- a little of what's behind the Epcot presentation. So, for example, what's in the Canada exhibit, how well and why those things are representative of Canada.
You could teach them about passports-- what they are and why they're necessary. Take a look at what's necessary to get a US passport (possibly even apply for them?). Then make up your own version of a passport and have it stamped at the kidcot stations.
(If you really wanted to follow this one up, you could discuss citizenship, and how an immigrant to the US becomes a citizen. You could talk about international adoptees, and the Child Citizenship Act of 2000...)
You could teach them to say something basic-- "hello" and "good bye" and "Thank you" and "have a good day" in each of the languages represented in the World Showcase, to illustrate that we all say the same things, we just don't say them the same way. I bet the CMs they meet there would get a kick out of it. Have them decide which foreign language they're going to learn, and begin the process now.
You can also teach about the currencies of the nations in the World Showcase. You could talk about the EU, Brexit, why different countries had their own currencies, what a "strong dollar is" and how it effects us as a nation in terms of imports and exports. How will Brexit effect the number of British visitors likely to be in WDW? Will it effect the global economy?
You could have them mapquest a trip to Cape Canaveral, determine the costs involved, and learn about why the Cape represents an important chunk of US history.
You could have them each research a US President-- or 2 or 3-- and come up with a brief synopsis of why that person was elected, what he did right and wrong-- and then take your kids to see the Hall of Presidents.
You could do a little research on what's changed in each of the time periods represented by the Carousel of Progress, and see how many of those changes are represented on the ride-- and then write their own ideas on what will change in the next 20 years. You may want to save that one, and see how many of their predictions come true.
You could have them research the habits of some of the animals on the AK Safari, and once there point out how those habitats have been re-created in Orlando.
Spaceship Earth basically outlines the history of communication from cavemen to computers. You could have your kids research that same history, see which events they find most important, and see how their choices line up with Disney's.
Test Track does a spiel on auto safety. You could do a lesson on that-- on all the technology that helps make current cars safer, on the science of why, say, driving on a wet or snowy road is different from driving on a dry road.
You could look up the history of Walt Disney's quest to build WDW, and discuss the need to buy land under different names to get the best price... do a whole lesson or unit on the basic economics of Supply and Demand. Then you could look at all that was necessary to transform swampland into WDW.
With all the recent talk of the danger of alligators, you could do a lesson on the what sort of dangers are present in Orlando-- and on the ones present in your own home town. How does each area deal with the dangers present in their region?
This one's probably a stretch, but if you're traveling in hurricane season, you could look at the science of hurricanes, how and why they form, how FL handles hurricane warnings/watches and why Disney isn't one of the worst places to be should a hurricane arrive. How do people prepare for hurricanes? How and why are people ordered to evacuate? The Weather Channel might be of some help to you here.
Take a look at some of the YES classes Disney offers. Even if you don't opt to have your kids take them (and they're WONDERFUL classes!!!) you could certainly use some of their ideas.
http://www.disneyyouth.com/our-prog...ion-series/#categories-youth-education-series
You could teach your kids how to write a business letter, and have them come up with one change they would propose to WDW management. Have them send a cogent, well written proposal, and have them do an internet search of the person to whom to send the letter. It could be on anything-- a proposal for a new idea, a way of dealing with an ongoing problem, a question about something mundane, like trash removal or where they put the monorails at night. You could talk about the difference between snail mail and email, why sometimes one is more appropriate than another, and determine which is the more appropriate for this letter.
You could talk about travel agents-- what they are, what services they provide, how they're paid, the pros and cons of using one. Have your kids research some of the agents out there, and determine which would offer services that would best benefit your family should you choose to use a
travel agent.
Speaking of the monorail, you could do a unit on transportation. Look into the WDW transportation options, and compare those needs with the needs of a small city-- how well does WDW handle the transportation needs of the thousands of people it moves daily, and how many of those ideas would work on a local basis?
If your kids are older, you could look into the Physics behind roller coasters. Why is 7DMT cutting edge-- what about it is different, and how does the Physics support rides like Rockin Roller coaster or Everest?
You could look into all the accommodations WDW makes for disabilities, and teach your kids about the ADA.
