Fairy Tales in Different Culture--Disney World's Cinderella

Well, I have been a bit quiet the past week because we traveled to Florida to go to Disney World and Sea World. I took the week to be with my family and was computer free. Since we just got back Friday night and I'm still settling back home, I thought I would share our Cinderella pictures from our trip. Yes, Hazel met almost all the princesses and several of them a few times. 

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We were not able to get a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table (the restaurant in Cinderella's Castle), however I did get us a reservation for the Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner at the 1900 Park Fare in  Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.

Originally my parents were going to go with us, however at somewhat last minute they canceled. We invited Hazel's best friend from school and his family. His mother and he were able to come with us and they stayed for a portion of the week. They really wanted to go to Epcot and I decided to take Hazel too and managed to get a reservation for the Storybook Princess Lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway of Epcot's World Showcase for Saturday, so the four of us enjoyed a lunch hosted by Belle and with Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, and Ariel at it. So on Saturday we had two chances to meet Cinderella. Then we did not see her until we went to the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday.

First a bit of history about Disney World. Disney World is an entertainment resort in Florida. It was opened October 1, 1971. Walt Disney wanted to give the Eastern United States a park similar to the one he opened in California in 1955. It originally was meant to be a supplement to Disneyland (in California). Walt Disney disliked the businesses that popped up around Disneyland and wanted to control more of the area. Market studies also showed that only 5% of the visitors to Disneyland came from the East coast where 75% of the population of the country lived. He chose the Orlando area since it had good roadways and an airport close by. Using dummy corporations he managed to purchase 27,443 acres of land. Many were happy to sell the swamp land they owned.  In 1965 the true owner was leaked to the Orlando Sentinel.  Disney held a press conference sharing his plans including the plans for EPCOT--a futuristic planned city. Walt Disney died of lung cancer in 1966.

In 1967 his business partner and brother, Roy O. Disney took over and eventually got the rights for a district that included a two towns. This area is now called Lake Buena Vista. The only places this land would be governed by the county and state was in property taxes and elevator inspections. 

The roads and drainage for the Magic Kingdom were built very quickly and several of the resorts were completed before the opening in 1971. The plans for the futuristic planned city were pushed aside after Walt Disney's death. However the idea evolved into the Epcot Center or Epcot. Also the town Celebration was later developed in 1994. (Source) We actually spent an afternoon in Celebration walking around the downtown area. It has 1950's feel to it and is beautiful and friendly.

Now onto our trip. We stayed at our time share, Vacation Village at the Parkway. The developer of the time share saw that someone was buying all the land around his and refused to sell. Now Disney is all around it. It is a wonderful place to stay without being in a Disney Resort. Our first Cinderella sighting was at the lunch in Epcot.

It was a quick visit, but a very fun lunch. Next Hazel and I took the monorail to the Grand Floridian and planned on meeting Daddy for dinner. Daddy however got lost driving to the Grand Floridian, so he got there very late. We however enjoyed seeing the characters of the story. The first thing we saw was a dance which Cinderella and Prince Charming did once or twice an hour. Sorry for the picture quality. The room was dark and we were a bit far away from the dance floor.

Then we waited for some characters to come before heading to the buffet. Cinderella came first and was closely followed by Prince Charming.

Hazel was actually not afraid of Prince Charming (unlike Aladdin). She posed for several pictures with him. Cinderella was also impressed with her dress having Cinderella's picture all over it. I made this dress for her. We had a short break so we headed to the buffet and got some food for Hazel and some strawberry soup for us to share. It was delicious!! Then Lady Tremaine came by. After a bit of confusion about Ducky and Daddy (don't ask), we had a nice conversation with her and got a picture and autograph.

During the dance we saw a bit of the personalities of the stepsisters and stepmother. The big question we had was are they going to be nice or mean. Anastasia seemed to still lack manners. She liked to shout in the restaurant, but was very fun. Drizella did not like children, but did pose for pictures and give autographs. Both stepsisters asked why her face was not on Hazel's dress. I believe it was Drizella who said everyone had trouble finding the fabric with her face on it since it always sells out so quickly.

 Anastasia was told that the little boy at the table next to us considered her his favorite, so she asked him to marry her. He refused since he was too young.

Steve finally arrived to see Drizella. After we saw all of them, there was another dance. Lady Tremaine commented that it was good to see Daddy made it. We had a lovely time and Hazel was beside herself. Plus we loved the strawberry soup and will definitely have to try to find the recipe. I think this one will be our first try. Hazel managed to fill her first autograph book by this time. It did not have many pages since it was one of the ones you could put a picture on one side and they signed the other side. Plus we did a character breakfast as well.

On Sunday we went to Sea World and had a visit with a friend of mine from high school and his family. Monday we went to the Animal Kingdom. Tuesday we had breakfast with the time share and then spent time in the pool and headed to Celebration. Wednesday we went to the Magic Kingdom. This was Hazel's favorite! Our first stop was in Town Square Theater to visit the princesses. It was the only place you could see Rapunzel. Also there was Aurora and Cinderella. Both of which we had already seen twice, but she still wanted to see them again. Then we went off to see more and check out the castle. We spent the day checking out princesses. We managed to see Belle and Ariel (this time as a mermaid) as well as Tiana and Merida. Plus Hazel saw Mary Poppins. We also rode on Prince Charming's Regal Carousel (by this time we had been caught in the pouring rain and it showed).

Our plan for lunch was to go to Be Our Guest Restaurant which is at Belle and the Beast's castle. However the wait was two hours and we knew the rain was coming, so we did not want to waste our time. We did catch the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade at 3 p.m. There was a Cinderella float as well as some of the characters ahead of it.

Hazel was very excited to see the mice. We did not see the Fairy Godmother at the castle, but I got a picture of her on the float.

Hazel's goal had been to stay up for the fireworks, however we all got tired and wet, so we left around 8 p.m. The fireworks were at 10 with the electric parade at 9. Luckily we saw Dream-Along with Mickey Show that included some fireworks (as well as the princesses).  One of the major disappointments for me was that all the characters now have assigned places to meet people. Apparently some of the adults started tripping them when they walked around so they had to do this instead for the safety of the employees. How sad that adults would ruin something that is suppose to be fun for kids. I'll share more about our trip in the future! Our next Cinderella story will be on Sunday since next week is the Virtual Book Club for Kids week.

Sharing Saturday 13-22 Week 2

Due to my crazy schedule, this is a continuation of last week's Sharing Saturday. This week's features come from two weeks ago. If you have not checked out the amazing ideas shared two weeks ago, you really should go and be inspired. And of course, please check out all the wonderful ideas that were shared last week and already this week! Here are some of my features from two weeks ago. (I shared different features last week!)

Then there were a few themes from last two weeks ago. Last week I shared some the gardening themed posts. This week I am going to share some of the science themed posts. I should add that several went in both categories, but I picked one for them.

1) From Buggy and Buddy: Bubble Science

2) From Gummy Lump Toys: Taking a Look Inside of Our Bodies

3) From Schooltime Snippets: Making a Wind Vane

4) From The Usual Mayhem: Germs and Microbes Week 1

5) From For the Children: Nature Study: A Week at the Pond

6) From The Measured Mom: Make an X-Ray Light Box

Thank you to everyone who shared last week and two weeks ago!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here or earlier this week, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. 

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From Your Hostess: Another busy week but we shared a Minnie Mouse Dress, Why I Love Weeds, A Cinderella Story from India--Anklet for a Princess, and the Virtual Book Club for Kids June Author is Gail Gibbons.

 

Now for This Week's Party 
 
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A Minnie Mouse Dress

We are getting ready to take Hazel to Disney for the first time. We have reservations to have breakfast with Minnie Mouse our first day there. I thought it would be fun for Hazel to have a Minnie Mouse dress to wear to the breakfast. I found some smock fabric at Joann and it is so easy to make a simple sundress with it.

First they sell it by the inch. Measure your child's chest so you know how many inches to buy. I added one inch on just to have seam allowance. Then you sew the seam so it is a circle. I serged mine, but if I had used my regular sewing machine I would have zig-zagged the edges first. This smock fabric tends to be on the cheaply made side. 

To finish the dress I cut for equal pieces of grossgrain ribbon. I used pink with white polka dots since we are talking Minnie Mouse. Then it is complete and ready to meet Mickey and Minnie. What do you think?

I don't know what Hazel was doing in the pictures, but she was being a bit goofy.

Virtual Book Club for Kids June Author is Gail Gibbons

I am so excited for this month's Virtual Book Club for Kids! This month's author is Gail Gibbons. Have you discovered her books yet?

Gail Gibbons has written so many non-fiction books that explain things well in child friendly terms. This is a great month for all of you homeschoolers to join in. I know our biggest problem is choosing one book. We have about twenty out of the library and like them all. Her topics range from foods, plants, animals, space, weather, holidays and so much more!! There is literally some subject for everyone.

If you do not know what the Virtual Book Club for Kids is, I join a group of amazing bloggers each month and we choose a book by one author for the month. Then we do a craft or activity to go with the book. We blog about it and host a blog hop starting the third Monday of the month. Anyone with crafts or activities to go with a book by the author of the month is welcome to link up and they can be old posts.  The wonderful bloggers who host this blog hop are:

Toddler Approved - Rainy Day Mum - Adventures in Reading with Kids - 3 Dinosaurs - Royal Baloo - The Educators' Spin On It - Inspiration Laboratories - Pleasantest Thing - Edventures with Kids - Two Big Two Little - Playing With Words 365 - Kitchen Counter Chronicles - Outlaw Mom - Mommy and Me Book Club - Crafty Moms Share - No Twiddle Twaddle - The Good Long Road - Ready. Set. Read 2 Me - Reading Confetti - Mama Smiles - Juggling with Kids- Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas - Creekside Learning - Creative Family Fun - The Usual Mayhem - Teach Preschool - PlayDrMom - CraftoArt - Here Come the Girls - Being a Conscious Parent - Smiling like Sunshine - Crayon Freckles - Train Up a Child - Smile Play Learn - Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - Coffee Cups and Crayons - Having Fun at Chelle's House- Love, Play, Learn - Juggling With Kids - Motherhood on a Dime - Growing Book By Book

- This Reading Mama - Fantastic Fun and Learning

So I hope you will check out a book or two by Gail Gibbons and come back and share with us on June 17th or just come back and be inspired by all the ideas shared on the blog hop! 

Why I Love Weeds...

This year the weeds in our yard are abundant. There are times when I hate weeding the garden. In fact this year, Steve put some garden edging/fencing in hopes to keep the weeds at bay a bit more. However, there are also some reasons to keep those weeds. Here are a few I love.

Wildlife Visitors!

Hazel loves having the rabbits in the yard. One morning we actually had three. Our back yard has a few large clover patches and the rabbits love it. They have also discovered my baby lettuce plants and have eaten one almost completely, but luckily they seem to be leaving the others alone and going for the clover.

Child Picked Flower Bouquets!

We almost always have a vase or a cup of wild flowers on our kitchen table this time of year. Hazel knows she can pick the violets and dandelions to her heart's content. She is also allowed to pick her pansies since she planted them, so those have been added in here. An interesting thing we have discovered: if you leave dandelions in water long enough they will turn to seeds so you can blow on them. In the beginning of the spring I was telling her to leave some unpicked so she could blow on them, but now she doesn't have to.

Weed Flower Crafts!

Whether it is using the flowers to paint or smashing them with a rolling pin (or hammer) to make art, I do not care when she is using dandelions, violets and buttercups. It gives her the freedom to use them however she wants and to truly explore nature. They also make good additions to mud pies and sand cakes. We decorate with them all the time when we are playing in her garden or sandbox. 

Do You Love Butter? Test

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Do you remember having fun as a child, holding buttercups under friends' chins to see if they love butter? I do and I want Hazel to find the same joy in simple nature. Of course if you want a science lesson on the buttercup game check out the science behind it here.

Another simple joy in nature is whistling with grass. Did you do that as a child? If you do not know what I am talking about, you can check out this tutorial.

There are other benefits to weeds. Some are edible like the dandelion and violet. Many also have healing benefits. I know my mother is very into holistic medicine and often discusses the herbs that many people consider weeds as hard to find because people do not want weeds. Plus there are benefits to your soil for keeping some weeds. The weeds will grow in poor soil, but will often replace the nutrients into the soil for a better balance. For more information on the soil benefit read here. Finally I read recently (and cannot remember where) that some animals are having issues because people are not growing the native plants for their areas. The insects and other animals are losing their food, habitats and more. 

So these are some of the reasons why I love weeds and have not minded the large number we have growing in our yard. I see each one as a toy/learning tool for Hazel. She is discovering the world with them and also enjoying some flowers of her own.  Of course the bigger problem right now for us in our yard is the grub infestation in the front yard, but our landscaper is going to deal with that problem for us.

What fun activities do you have for your weeds?

Fairy Tales in Different Cultures: Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India

Today we are going to explore a Cinderella story from India called Anklet for a Princess by Lila Mehta and adapted by Meredith Brucker. First of course we will learn a bit about India. 

Source

India is a country in Southern Asia. It is the seventh largest country in land and the second most populous country in the world. It has over 1.2 billion people living in it. It is the most populous democratic country. Having had historic trade routes as well as the ancient Indus Valley Civilization it has a long history. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are four world religions that began in India. 

Source

From the mid-nineteenth century until 1947 India was under Great Britain rule. In 1947 the country gained its independence from the United Kingdom. The struggle for independence was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi. In 1991 India became one of the fastest growing economies, however it still faces challenges of poverty, corruption, illiteracy, malnutrition, and terrorism. It has the third largest standing army and is a nuclear state.

Traditional Indian Society had a hierarchy called castes. In 1947 India declared untouchability illegal and has since enacted other anti-discriminatory laws. However in rural India many of the castes still exist. In urban society however they are not considered important. Family values are very important in India and a majority of Indian residents have arranged marriages which they have consented to. (Source)

Now onto our wonderful story!! According to the author's note, Ancient Indian societies believed the underwater world was ruled by snakes and dragons. These creatures were known to reward people who made offerings to them or that they took pity on. The snake itself was a symbol of strength and might. It also was a symbol for wealth, prosperity and royalty. Many East Indian dances contain movements inspired by the snake movements and reflect its importance to the culture.

In this story, it was a time when men had more than one wife since a large family was needed to work the farms. A man had two wives who each had a daughter.  Cinduri was one of the daughters. Shortly after her birth both of her parents died during a cholera epidemic. She was left with the other wife and daughter. They did not like farm work, so Cinduri had to do it all while they went on carriage rides and to visit friends. 

One day while Cinduri was at the pond getting fresh water, a large white snake with a red gem on its forehead sprayed water on her and spoke to her. The snake was upset when he heard she did all the work and was given little to eat and rags to wear. He magically made a plate of food appear for her and fed her and then said he would be her godfather and make her life easier from this point on.  He taught her a song to call him when she came to the pond and he would feed her and get her the best water from the deepest part of the pond and would help her in any other way he could.

The stepmother got curious as to why Cinduri looked like she was eating more and came back from the pond happy. She had her daughter, Lata, follow her. The snake scared Lata, but she stayed and watched and then ran home to report about the snake to her mother.

On her way back, Cinduri saw a messenger from the king. She ran home to tell her stepmother and half-sister.  The crown prince would be at their village for the ninth night of the Navarati Festival. The Navarati Festival is where the young people gather at harvest time in an outdoor pavilion to meet their friends and dance for nine evenings. Many of the young people hope to meet their future spouse there. Stepmother would not allow Cinduri to attend the festival. Cinduri watched as her half sister and stepmother dug through the trunks of family treasures for finery to wear and headed out on the ninth night to meet the prince. 

Cinduri did her chores, but then ran toward the lake to talk to her Godfather Snake. She told him about the festival and how she wanted to go. He gave her his red gem and showed her how to move and when she finished she was dressed more beautifully than she had ever seen anyone dressed including two beautiful anklets. Before she left he warned her the magic would end at midnight so she had to leave before then.

When she arrived at the festival she turned many heads and the prince came over and asked her to dance for him. She used the moves her godfather snake had shown her. They spent the evening together until he said it was almost midnight and he needed to light the aarti for the ceremony and asked her to accompany him. She ran off saying she must leave but in doing so she lost one of her anklets which the prince picked up.

The prince told his father about the beautiful woman he fell in love with and said he would marry no one but her. The search was on to find who could fit into the small anklet. The prince traveled to each village with the anklet and asked the young woman to come try on the anklet at a pavilion. Cinduri asked to go with her stepmother and half sister, but they said she could not go until all her chores were done and they gave her more than usual. She knew the prince would not still be there. Then she remembered she still had the magic gem of her godfathers. She held it and moved like he had taught her and all of her chores were magically done and her dirty dress had become clean without a patch on it. Off she ran to the pavilion. Just as she arrived the king said it was time to move on to the next village, but the prince caught sight of Cinduri and said just one more. He reached for her to come forward and try on the anklet. She did and pulled the other one out of her pocket and put it on. They were soon married and the king had a palace built for them. Cinduri told the prince about her special godfather and he had a pond built next to their palace so she could bring him to live with them and keep blessing them. 

When her stepmother and half sister had to do all the work for themselves, the farm fell into disarray. The animals wandered off and eventually they went and wandered the countryside begging.

For this story we made some egg carton snakes to represent Godfather Snake. We had big plans to make anklets, but never quite got them done. I also had planned to make a Cinduri peg doll, but alas, she did not get done either.  For our snakes, we painted an egg carton white and connected them with a pipe cleaner. We then added a tongue for the snake and glued the red "jewels" onto their heads.

Sharing Saturday 13-22

I have a crazy day and a crazy week scheduled this coming week, so I am starting Sharing Saturday early and it will last two weeks! That way I will have two weeks to try to get the visiting done--especially since I cannot imagine getting much done the first week. There will be some features from last week this week as well as next week, so make sure you come back to see if you were featured. If you have not checked out the amazing ideas shared last week, you really should go and be inspired. Here are my features.

First I cannot let one of the farm playmats made from the swap I ran go by without featuring it. Look how great this one came out. (I still have a little more to do on Hazel's, but it is coming along.) This one is from My Rhythm and Rhyme in Motherhood.

Then there were a few themes from last week's shared posts. Today I am going to share some of the gardening themed posts.

1) From The Gift of Curiosity: Dissecting a Flower (I should note she also shared dyeing flowers last week too)

2) From Carrots Are Orange: Introducing Parts of a Seed to Preschoolers

3) From Fit Kids Clubhouse: Garden Math (I love that they are learning in the garden!! It is truly the best way to learn instead of cards and books.)

4) From Trillium Montessori: Flower Activities

5) From Making Boys Men: 5 Tips for Gardening with Kids

6) From Domestic Bliss Squared: Growing Potatoes in a Garbage Pail

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here or earlier this week, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. 

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From Your Hostess: Another busy week but we shared an American South Cinderella--The Talking Eggs, our small world jungle playscape and a Minnie Mouse outfit.

 

Now for This Week's Party 
 
A Few Simple Guidelines:
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