October Review

Were you absent from Magical Mouse Schoolhouse in October? Check out what you missed:

We joined in the Dismarks Disney Blog Carnival this month. A big welcome to all our new friends! Magical Mouse Schoolhouse is a unique blog that plusses the homeschool experience and prompts home educators to think outside the textbook. We'd like you to know what we're all about, and we hope you'll take some time to explore the site.

The Earn Your E.A.R.S. Program continued this month as an academic incentive program. We are very proud of the more than 200 students who are actively participating in their education! A new lesson goes out soon. If you have not yet registered, a sign-up form will be available November 1-5.

Beauty and the Beast came out of the Disney vault this month. The Diamond Edition home entertainment video of the highly acclaimed 1991 animated feature film is available for a limited time in high definition Blu-ray disc and DVD combination. We read through several versions of this “tale as old as time” and did a storytelling exercise to understand how tales vary when recorded by different writers.

We took a virtual trip around this world this month, stopping first at Disneyland Resort Paris. The Walt Disney Company sprinkled its magic over Europe with the opening of Euro Disney on April 12, 1992. The Resort, consisting of two Parks (Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios), 14 hotels, three 9-hole golf courses, and an entertainment area (Disney Village), continues to grow. We used this handy conversion calculator to compare American dollar value to EuroDollars.

Tokyo Disney Resort offers Guests a timeless Disney experience right in the heart of this Japanese capitol city. Featuring two separate Parks, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, a shopping and entertainment venue called Ikspiari, and five Resort hotels, Tokyo Disney Resort appeals to locals as well as visitors to the greater Tokyo area. In two-part posts, we learned photography improvement techniques and we followed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 10-day Aquarius Reef Base mission.

Hong Kong Disneyland in China opened in September of 2005. A relatively small Park in comparison to its counterparts, the Resort is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike. It does not lack Disney magic. Fantasy, adventure, space, Americana…rides, Characters, shows, and fine dining…it’s all here! We made face paint and rag wigs in our home Boo-tique!

Adventures by Disney are professionally planned and guided international family vacations ranging in length from six to thirteen days. Our friend, Denise Stufflebeam, toured Italy this past summer via Adventures by Disney Viva Italia. After reading about her travels, you may want to book a trip too! In honor of one of her favorite memories, we made our own pasta.

During Walt Disney's service with the Red Cross at the end of World War I, he ran errands, shuttled workers back and forth, gathered commissary provisions, and chauffeured VIPs. He got to know Paris so well he became an in-demand tour guide for visiting dignitaries. It is no wonder that later in life, when he and his family took annual trips to Europe, he enjoyed driving them aimlessly through the French countryside, visiting those familiar bivouacs.When he and Lilly returned home after their first European vacation in 1935, he told columnist Louella Parsons, “I found that all over the world people want to laugh.” They say laughter is good medicine and that laughter is good for the heart, so we studied just how laughter works.

Today's Takeaway:
Take some time to check out any posts you missed. Don't forget that each one includes a suggested activity to expand the walls of your home classroom.

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