A Day at An Amusement Park - Educational? Indeed!

I am a visiting teacher for a public charter school that supports families who educate their children at home. Students need to participate in learning activities every school day. Once in a while, a family wants to visit an amusement park on a school day. They aren't quite sure how to make all that fun count as learning. I've listed fifteen ideas of amusement park activities that are in fact learning activities, and when used as such, can certainly count for learning.

These ideas will spark ways for families to enjoy amusement parks on school days. Depending on the ages and interests of the students, a parent can adapt the focus and outcomes accordingly. Also, depending on social studies and science topics being studied at home, a parent can craft activities to pair with those themes. Some parents may even like to develop a unit study prior to visiting the park: history of the park, physics of roller coasters, simple machines and fun rides, costs involved, making charts to sort data after the visit, etc.

Don't get too ambitious. Just pick a handful. It is a fun, relaxing day as well.

Take time to reflect on good times with loved ones.

 

Fifteen Ideas for Learning Activities at Amusement Parks

1. SOCIAL STUDIES: Get the park map. Take a moment for the student look at/read the map and decide where to go first, or teach the child how to read the map and then let the child do so, using it throughout the day for directions and decisions.  
2. SOCIAL STUDIES: Have the student use the map to identify landmarks and use symbols on the map to find things like a certain ride, a restaurant, or the nearest restroom. Discuss the map key or legend with the child. Use a highlighter to trace your route. If you need a work sample to share with your visiting teacher, this will create one.  
3. MATH/LIFE SKILLS: Give the student a certain amount of spending money. Discuss their choices, and observe the decision-making process. At home, have the student tell about what they purchased and how the choice was made. If the child is old enough to write, encourage the student to write a paragraph on that. If the student is not a writer yet, have them draw a picture of what they chose. 
4. MATH: Time how long you wait in line for three or more rides. Write down the start time when you first got in line and the time you boarded the ride or got off. When you get home use the ride wait times for the student to compare and put in order...shortest to longest...or make a graph of some sort to compare.  
5. LANGUAGE ARTS & SOCIAL STUDIES: While in line, practice interview skills and talk to people. Where do they live? How far did they travel to get to the park? Perhaps you will meet someone from another state or country. List the locations. When you get home, look on a map, globe, or the Internet to locate the places people mentioned. Read a little about some of the places.  
6. LIFE SKILLS, LANGUAGE ARTS, & MATH: Get the park entertainment schedule for the day. Have the student (or help the student) determine times for a parade, show, or other event. Discuss plans for the day and how to use a schedule in planning. Use a discussion of telling and using time to plan what to do.  
7. LANGUAGE ARTS: Have the student pick three rides to ride and put them in order of importance/priority. This is good practice on decision-making skills and evaluation. Discuss the reasons for why the order was chosen.  
8. LANGUAGE ARTS: Have a younger student read as much as possible around the park in the art, posters, instructional signs, and even in the rides.  
9. SOCIAL STUDIES: Identify and discuss any visual links to world history, culture, or geography that you can identify together in the architecture, design, rides, and symbols. For example at Disneyland & California Adventure, you can find and identify influences from the Middle Ages, New Orleans, the state of California, etc. 
10. LIFE SKILLS & SOCIAL STUDIES: Practice manners and courtesy when ordering and eating meals, waiting in line, giving others in your group turns to choose, etc.  
11. MATH: Estimate how many steps it will take to get from where you are to a selected destination. Then count the steps to measure and determine who was closest to their guess. 
12. SCIENCE: Observe and discuss the plants and animals. List, describe in writing, or sketch what you saw.
13. LANGUAGE ARTS & SOCIAL STUDIES: Nominate and vote for the best dessert or treat in the park. You don’t have to eat it, but again observation, memory, evaluation and persuasion skills will probably be practiced. Learning to deal with disappointment might come into play as well. When you get home, the student can draw a picture or write about what was chosen or voted best in the park. This helps create understanding of democracy and elections, too.
14. SCIENCE: Discuss momentum, speed, velocity, energy, and various laws of physics and simple/complex machines. Identify examples of simple or complex machines and the laws of physics in action on the rides.
15. Enjoy the day!