Phineas and Ferb is one of the Disney Channel’s hottest shows. It’s perfect for this blog, because it’s obviously educational…it is, isn’t it? Alright, well, sort of! In case you’re unfamiliar, Phineas and Ferb are brothers who are trying to make the best of each day of summer vacation. These two don’t make anything simple, however, and big sister Candace is constantly trying to bust them. The problem is, whenever Candace finally gets her parents to look, the boys’ crazy creations mysteriously vanish, leaving Candace looking like a high-strung, albeit very imaginative, teenager.
Fun as it is on its own, the main story line is complemented by secondary action. The Flynn-Fletcher family’s pet platypus, Perry, (that’s a tongue-twister!) is a secret agent in disguise. He conveniently disappears through a hidden chute or trapdoor while the boys create away. They stop once in a while to wonder, “Hey, where’s Perry?” The answer? Perry is off to foil the plans of the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Dr. D’s daughter often tries to bust her dad and prove to her mother that he’s an evil genius. But, like Candace, she ends up frustrated each time Dr. D’s evil-inators manage to get destroyed before his ex-wife can witness his behavior.
While the 104 days of summer vacation wrap up for traditional schoolers, homeschoolers and our customized schedules can hang out with Phineas and Ferb a bit longer and try to work some of their ideas into our lesson plans. Ok, we might not build a ski resort in the backyard, but we can create crystals and examine their unique designs under microscopes. We might not build a theme park roller coaster, but we can experiment with contraptions and learn time-distance-rate relationships. And we might not race giant treehouse robots across town, but we have indeed built nanobots and studied electro-mechanical gadgetry. We can also build rockets, [pretend to] climb the Eifel Tower and write a title sequence. And the beauty of homeschooling is there’s no rush to “do it all,” because as Candace says, “Oh my gosh! The square root of soon is NEVER!”
If you haven’t seen Phineas and Ferb, watch an episode here.
Today’s Takeaway:
“I know what we’re going to do today!” Go to Disney XD to get some Phineas and Ferb character printouts and downloadable chain reaction blueprints. These are pretty basic, using books, balls and buckets to create a simple contraption. Replicate the ones shown in the videos or make some adjustments to the blueprints, rework the configuration and experiment with varying distances, slopes and speeds.
SCHOOL SUBJECT: Physics
SKILL LEVEL: Elementary (The skill level can be intensified by increasing the complexity of your contraption.)
Hmm, maybe Magical Mouse Schoolhouse needs a title sequence…
Join my family and hundreds of other homeschoolers at The Ultimate Field Trip 2012 at Walt Disney World® Resort this September! Magical Mouse Schoolhouse is an event sponsor, and I would love for you to be a part of the fun!
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