This school year, I wanted to add something unique, fun, and educational to our homeschool studies. So I was pretty delighted to learn about Imagineering in a Box, a free online program for kids.
What is Imagineering in a Box?
Walt Disney and Khan Academy have partnered to bring this unique learning opportunity to your home or school classroom. The program is a series of lessons made up of a combination of videos and exercises to help your children learn how to create their own theme park.
Real-Life Scenarios
In the videos, you hear from Disney professionals including artists, engineers, construction, management and more. It is a real life example of how much effort it takes from many different people in different fields of work to create something for the public.
They tell you about all the planning that goes into creating a theme park and how each of them has to work together with a team to make the parks come to life. It's an incredibly thorough unit that has been well thought out.
So far, my son has learned about how to create a story as the basis for your land, how to develop a theme, what goes into a layout, and what goes into building design. And there's so much more for him to learn. I love that this unit makes children think about the "big picture" as well as all the small details of what goes into such a big project.
Here's a peek at the introduction. Watch it and see if you think it might be a good fit for your child.
Other Project-Based Activities for Kids
PBL (Project-Based Learning) really is a phenomenal way to teach kids. Years ago I wrote about The Power of Hands-On Learning. And I still firmly believe that there is power in doing.
TeachThought.com has a great list of 50 ideas for project-based learning. But if you are looking for something a little more directed and concrete, here are some other activity based learning projects that come in a kit for you to consider.
The 3-D Home Kit lets you experience some of the work and rewards of being an architect, as you design and construct a detailed, three-dimensional model of your own house design.
