WALT DISNEY’S FANTASIA – PART ONE LESSON PLANS FOR YEAR 1: WEEK 3

ELEMENTS OF FUN LEARNING HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM

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The following lessons are to be used with Elements of Fun Learning Curriculum, Year 1: Week 3. Use these WALT DISNEY’S FANTASIA – PART ONE Lesson Plans to inspire, teach, engage and play with your child. Before beginning, make sure to access the Book List for Weeks 1-12. This will have the books used for Weeks 1-12. Also, make sure to see the Supply List for Weeks 1-12 to make sure you have the supplies for this unit on-hand. Finally, access the Appendix for this week where you will find additional book suggestions, games, recipes and more! 

WEEK 3: WALT DISNEY’S FANTASIA – PART ONE LESSON PLANS

To read Introductory Notes, Click Here!

Each day for three days we will watch one of the segments from Walt Disney’s Fantasia. On days four and five plan some field trips (if possible).

ADDITIONAL VIDEO SELECTIONS:

THE MAKING OF FANTASIA:

This film is approximately 50 minutes long and is a documentary. 

FANTASIA BEHIND THE SCENES:

Super short advertising clip (3 mins) for a video game that talks about the Making of Fantasia.

BIBLE:

BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE, AND ADVANCED: Work on Memorizing Bible Verse– ENTIRE WEEK. Verse of the Week is Proverbs 14:23 “All hard work brings profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”

Day 1 through 5: Work on memory verse each day. I selected this passage, because, in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Mickey Mouse is lazy. Instead of doing the work he is supposed to do, he tries to take the “easy” way out and creates a mess.

For younger children, write the verse on index cards, one word per card. Write the entire verse on a piece of paper and have them put the index cards in order. Continue to read from their children’s Bible.

INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED: Each day work on memorizing your verse.

Day 1: Read Genesis 15-17

Day 2: Read Genesis 18-20 

Day 3: Read Genesis 21-23

Day 4: Read Genesis 24-25

Day 5: Read Genesis 26-27

CHARACTER: Responsibility

DAY 1:

Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice does not show responsibility. He is supposed to do a job and tries to find a way to get out of it. 

Responsibility – Definition: Taking ownership of my thoughts, words, and actions.

ALL LEVELS:

Read Definition of responsibility. Chores are a great way to give a child a responsibility and have them follow-through on it. Make sure the chores you assign are age-appropriate and do not demand perfection. There are some excellent chore chart suggestions.

GEOGRAPHY/HISTORY: 

TIMELINE: Walt Disney’s Fantasia was released on November 13, 1940

BEGINNER:

Day 1: Talk about the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Mickey Mouse was an apprentice. What does that mean? Apprenticeships have been around for centuries, but modern apprenticeships are different than ones from centuries ago. This website will help you easily explain to your children. 

INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED:

Day 1: Talk about apprenticeships and how modern-day apprenticeships are an alternative to college. 

BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED: 

Day 1: Watch The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. You can opt to watch the entire film today.

Day 2: BEFORE WATCHING the Fantasia segment – Toccata and Fugue in D – have your child paint a picture while listening to the music. See ART: Day 2. After doing ART, watch the Fantasia segment.

Day 3: Watch Fantasia – The Nutcracker Suite. The music is by Tchaikovsky. Disney’s interpretation depicts the changing of the seasons. 

Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies is performed by tiny fairies who sprinkle dew on flowers and stems.
Chinese Dance is performed by mushrooms. They are dressed in Chinese robes and hats.
Dance of the Flutes is performed by blossoms.
Arab Dance is performed by goldfish.
Russian Dance is performed by Cossack thistles and orchids dressed like peasant girls.
Waltz of the Flowers is performed by fairies who color everything brown and gold and finally frost fairies touch everything with their frost wands and snowflakes fall.

Day 4: Watch Fantasia – the entire film or just watch this weeks segments. 

Talk about the Continental Drift – explanation here! It is believed that at one time all the continents formed one landmass. This site allows you to do a puzzle and put the landmasses back. Why don’t the pieces fit back together perfectly? Break a graham cracker and have your child try to put it back together.

READING/CREATIVE WRITING: 

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a symphonic poem by French composer, Paul Dukas. It was originally a poem by Goethe. Mickey (as the apprentice) tries his hand at magic without being ready for the task. Here is the original poem by Goethe. If possible, get the book by Wanda Gag, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

BEGINNER:

Day 1: Read Usborne’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Chapter 1

Day 2: Read The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Chapter 2

Day 3: Read The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Chapter 3

Day 4: Read The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Chapter 4

Day 5: Read The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Chapter 5

INTERMEDIATE:

Day 1-5: If you finished your version of Around the World in Eighty Days, feel free to select another book from the Appendix. If you are still reading Around the World in Eighty Days, continue until finished.

ADVANCED:

Day 1-5: Continue reading Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. If you have finished, select another book from the Appendix.

CREATIVE WRITING:

Day 2: Depending on the skill level of the child, write a paragraph about your favorite color and how it makes you feel.

SCIENCE:

Consider letting Intermediate and Advanced watch the following YouTube Video about an experiment with music and mice. It had a fascinating outcome.

BEGINNER AND INTERMEDIATE:

Day 1: Make a Water Wheel p. 94 – Usborne 365 Science Experiments.

Day 2: Read a Tree for All Seasons 

Day 3: Watch the Youtube video – Why Do We Have the Seasons?

 ADVANCED:

Day 1: Read Astronomy p. 23-24

Day 2: Read Astronomy p. 24-27 (Self-Test on page 28-29)

Day 3: Read Astronomy p. 31-31

Day 4: Read Astronomy p. 34-37

Day 5: Read Astronomy p. 38-41

PHYSICAL EDUCATION:

ALL LEVELS:

Day 1: March up and down steps in time to the music. Do a repetitive chore to the music such as sweeping or folding laundry.

Day 3:  Patterns in movement – Walk 3 steps, hop 3 steps, repeat. Have older children call out instructions to the younger children.

MUSIC/ART:

ART: ALL LEVELS:

Day 2: Paint a picture while listening to the music below.

Day 3: Make a 4-panel picture depicting each season, or make 4 pictures of the same scene, one for each season.

Put up a Christmas tree and decorate it for each season (or select a tree outside to decorate for each season). If you select one outside and decorate it as the season’s change, your child will see the same tree in different stages. This will help teach how things change over time. If you continue this for years, they can see the tree grow as they grow (plus kids love “traditions” that you carry on each year. You will find that they keep some of those same traditions with their children).

MUSIC: BEGINNER AND INTERMEDIATE:

Day 1: Read The Story of the Orchestra and listen to the CD.

 ALL LEVELS:

DAY 2:

MATH:

ALL LEVELS:

Day 1:

I have assigned this to all levels because all levels of children (and adults) love food! When Mickey tries to get rid of the broom, it splits in two, and then each of those split in two. Using some food item (M&M’s, marshmallows, cheese crackers, pretzel sticks) or toothpicks, place a number of them (easy for your child to understand) in a small dixie cup. Example: 12 fish – if they split into 2 cups (6 in each cup), and then those cups split into two more cups (3 in each cup). If you use pretzel sticks, you can have a bundle of sticks like the mop and then those split into two mops, and so on.

Day 2: 

Lines and Geometric shapes – flat shapes versus solid shapes, i.e. cones versus triangles. Make pictures using geometric shapes. This is an activity that all ages and skill levels can do. For smaller children, keep it simple, but for the older child, they can create complex patterns using geometric shapes.

Day 3:

Study patterns. For younger grades, patterns can be as simple as using M&M’s and doing red, yellow, red, yellow, red – finish the pattern. Counting by 2’s, 5’s, 10s.
For an older child, study the Fibonacci numbers. This website explains Fibonacci numbers and has great resources to consider.

Use a Spirograph.

SNACKS:

ALL LEVELS:

Day 1: 

Brooms made with string cheese and pretzel sticks.
Brooms made with shredded phyllo dough and pretzel sticks.

Day 2: Cut and arrange slices of cheese, fruit, and vegetables in abstract patterns.

Day 3: 

Blow bubbles in chocolate milk.
Make snowflakes using miniature marshmallows and toothpicks.

TO ACCESS WEEK 4,  RETURN TO THE MASTER LIST HERE FOR WEEKS 1-12