One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is tying everything in together with fun activities. Even though it’s summer that doesn’t mean that we take a break from “secret” lessons anywhere I can! I love musicals so much and am so excited to share this post with you! Today I’m sharing my favorite musical movie and a fun homeschool activity with you. This is a musical I grew up watching and it made me fall in love with a young Christian Bale–Newsies. I’ve included a free printable for a Newsies homeschool lesson too!
Newsies
Although fiction, Disney’s Newsies is based (loosely) on the New York City newsboy strike of 1899. It came out in 1992 and features great musical numbers with fun dance sequences. Christian Bale plays Jack Kelly, a young newsboy who dreams of Santa Fe and being more than he is. Almost by accident he finds himself leading a strike amongst the newsboys of New York City when they realize they’re being treated unfairly. There’s action, comedy, history, and best of all, lots of impressive musical numbers. I could go on and on but if you haven’t seen it yet I don’t want to give too much away. Newsies was also made into a Broadway musical in 2012 and you can see it on Disney+.
| Read: Family Movie Marathons to Watch on Disney+ |
Disney’s Newsies homeschool lesson ideas:
- have your child make a collage out of old newspapers (art)
- talk about unions and Labor Day (history and social studies)
- have your child pick a topic from 1899 and write a short report on it (ELA and history)
- compare and contrast the way similar news stories are presented by different newspapers (literature and social studies)
- learn some of the dances (PE)
- make a Venn diagram comparing the differences between New York City and Santa Fe, New Mexico (geography and social studies)
- have your child make their own newspaper (ELA and art), I’ve even included a free printable for you to use!