Earth To Echo Movie opens this July 2 in all Theatres.

Field Trip Mom pre-screened the family movie Earth to Echo presented by Relativity Media. In this post you will find my personal movie review, my kids interviewing the cast and a very personal question and answer with the director Dave Green, producer Ryan Kavanaugh and Andrew Panay and writer Henry Gayden. I have also included the movie trailer. The movie has a PG rating.
Disclosure This is a sponsored post. I received free admission to a pre-screening. All thoughts and opinions are all my own. 

Earth to Echo opens in theaters this July 2nd, 2014 near you.  It will remind you that we may not be alone on this planet after all.  The story begins with three best friends, Tuck, Munch and Alex, all have to move in three days because the city has imposed eminent domain.  New highway construction is causing the fate of the entire neighborhood to be demolished.  All three of the boys feel helpless and sad by everything that is happening.  Two days before the big move, the boys start receiving cryptic signals on their cells phones which spark their adventureous curiousity.  They start to believe there is something behind these signals and all three boys agree to go on one last adventure to find out what is happening.  Without telling their parents they follow what has turned out to be a map on their phones.  The boys are lead to a location in which they find an extraterestrial that resembles an owl when strange things begin to happen.  As their adventure continues, they connect with their classmate and neighbor Emma, who helps them on their adventureous journey to save Echo the modern E.T. of 2014.  This movie made me realize just how smart, savvy and resourceful kids can be when they are given the opportunity.  This message continued when our family was invited to interview the young cast of the movie.  Please watch the interview of my two boys and Roman, from http://mizmeliz.com/ as they received a rare opportunity to be movie critics and media for a day.

Earth to Echo is a great family movie with lots of adventure.  Being reviewed as the modern day ET, Earth to Echo delivers an amazing family message.  The movie depicts true to life family struggles and engages audiences as a result.  In addition to the interviews with the cast, we got the opportunity to interview the producer, director and writter of the movie allowing for a well rounded movie experience.  The message is incredible from these gentlemen.  Listen below, you won't be disappointed.  If you enjoyed The Iron Giant and ET, go see Earth to Echo!

"You are never to little to make a difference!"

Cast: Teo Halm, Brian "Astro" Bradley, Reese Hartwig and Ella Linnea Wahlestedt

You can find more information and fun worksheets about the movie through social media and these links:
Official hashtag #EarthToEcho
Visit Official Site
Like Earth to Echo on Facebook
Follow on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr
Earth to Echo Scholastic worksheet for fun activities.
Grab your GPS and go Geocaching for the summer.

New York: https://labs.geocaching.com/goto/echogeocachingny

Los Angeles: https://labs.geocaching.com/goto/echogeocachingla

Chicago: https://labs.geocaching.com/goto/echogeocachingchi

Seattle: https://labs.geocaching.com/goto/echogeocachingsea

See you soon at the movies. Alma

Michaels' Craft store is hosting $2.00 Passport to Imagination

This summer get off the couch and run to Michaels' Craft Store to get your passport to imagination.  Passport to Imagination is their new arts and craft program for kids ages 6 and up. It is only $2.00 and they offer two hours of fun with art supplies!  Leaving the mess behind and bring the fun home is the best way to do arts and crafts.  Let me share with you the list of fun that you can not miss:

Check with your local Michaels Store

I will be attending the July and August events with my family to make great memories for this 2014 Summer! See you there and maybe we can catch up on summer field tripping!!!!

 

Disclaimer: This is a Media Sponsored post. This means that I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. I was offered one complimentary class to use for review only. All thoughts and opinions are all my own.

Knott's Berry Farm Camp Snoopy Improvements and the Re-opening of the Calico Mine Ride.

Knott' Berry Farm is celebrating 30 years of fun.  To celebrate, they have added 3 NEW rides in Camp Snoopy as well as added several improvements to the park.  Along with the Camp Snoopy improvements, the park is introducing the re-opening of The Calico Mine Ride.  The park looks refreshed and exciting with the educational spark still burning brightly. Keep reading to find pictures and information on the NEW Camp Snoopy attractions. Charlie Brown's Kite Flyer has a surprise, Pig Pen's Mud Buggies inspires and Linus Launcher re-creates  flying on a blanket.

A NEW ride at Camp Snoopy is the Charlie Brown Kite Flyer, which is a swing that goes up 18 feet.  As the guests ride in the air the kite, the eating tree reveals Charlie Brown upside down and all tied up in kite string.  If you are a fan of Charlie Brown, you know that he believed that it was impossible to tell a kite-eating tree from non-kite eating trees by sight.  It was only until your kite would catch in its branches that you truly knew.  He believed that such a tree would have a large smile on its face as it ate the kite.  The ride is inspired by comic strip PEANUTS.  Kids will love the swing and feeling the air brush past their face as they fly in their own kite.  The ride has a height requirement of 42 inches to ride alone or you can ride with a responsible companion. 
 

Another fun and NEW ride is Pig Pen’s Mud Buggies, an all-terrain vehicle for children to ride while Pig Pen looks on from the center of the ride.  Pig Pen is a Peanuts character who does not care what others think of him.  He is happy being himself with his dust cloud and dirt laidened body.  Charlie Brown loves that about him and sees his inner beauty.  This ride is about being happy and having unconditional love.  Kids who ride will spin, bounce and bump making them want to ride all day long.  You must be at least 36 inches to ride alone or have a responsible companion with you.  The ride is replaces the Log Peeler and is located in same location.  Among the NEW rides, there are a few more improvements that the park has added to make it sparkle. I will be sharing those improvements in a follow up post this coming July. 

Want to fly and go on a wild ride just like Snoopy? Then try the Linus Launcher ride. It will make you feel like you are a Super Hero flying around Camp Snoopy. First you lay down on your belly and hang on as the ride gradually begins to take off. A classic Snoopy Peanut's moment in which he takes a ride on Linus's Blanket and goes on a wild ride. I heard kids laughing and giggling as they took off.

The Calico Mine Ride is a favorite of my because of the hands-on educational value it offers to everyone.  One example is that California kids in the fourth grade will study the importance of the Gold Rush.  By the end of the year, those students will need to know how the Gold Rush changed California and what it meant to our economy.  A great way to learn about the past is through the hands on experiences that Knott’s Berry Farm offers through the Ghost Town, panning for Gold, the Calico Mine Ride and much more.   The ride depicts the conditions that miners back in 1848 might have worked under.   A great quote comes to mind, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin.  Knott’s Berry Farm offers many hands-on opportunities for young minds to engage in learning without feeling bored. The list of opportunities is very large so I will only offer a few for now.

• Butterfield Stage Coach – Kids learn first-hand about transportation in the 1800’s.
• Mystery Lodge – Native American lessons
• Western Trail Museum – Things farmers, miners and everyday people used in the past. 
• The Old School House – What an old school house used to look like in the 1800’s.
• Pony Express - A fun ride that brings up the subject about how mail was transported in the Olden Days.

I highly recommend that if your child will be learning about The Wild West, the Gold Rush, Olden Days and California history in general you should take them to Knott’s to experience it in a fun and memorable way.  Thank you for stopping by and remember to visit our Facebookpage for more ideas and fun stories.

Pretend City Children's Museum - Irvine, Ca

Pretend City Children's Museum is located in Irvine, CA. It is perfect for kids ages 18 months up to age 8 years old. The museum encourages play and learning. They have several hands-on activities throughout their space. These activities include art, reading, dancing, driving small cars, shopping with Pretend city money and just having an open space to play with other kids. It is a place to grow young creative minds. This month they are having a great exhibit that I highly recommend for school aged kids. The exhibit is the Ultimate Recycling Machine.

The museum is hosting a great hands-on educational activity called STEM( science, technology, engineering and mathematics) which combines creativity, collaboration and sustainability. The Ultimate Recycling Machine is designed for school aged kids. The materials used in this activity are items that are rescued from going into landfills.  They include a large selection of cardboard, plastic, fabric, trim, cardboard tubes and more.

The supplies come from Trash for Teaching which is a company that specializes in helping kids use their creative skills with rescued materials. Materials are rescued manufacturing overruns, discarded and castoff that would normally would be considered trash and end up in a landfill. These items are re-imaged and re-purposed by kids. The company has hosted other events at great schools and organizations like UCLA Lab School and El Rincon Elementary: Hands-on Engineering. This great program is here in Irvine and you can take part of it without having to drive far away. I want to encourage you to take advantage of this great opportunity and stop by Monday through Friday to play with recyclables and grow your brain. 

The kids and I along with Jennifer from Toddler Trails and her children were invited to try this activity and experience it first-hand. We were asked to build a mini-golf play area. We were given a small amount of time to create, build and share a functional golf play item. We all came up with so many ideas on how to make the golf ball move automatically. Jennifer had one of the best models and the fastest. My kids and I made one that fell apart two minutes after we built it. In the end, it was fun and we had an unforgettable moment. I really recommend you make it out to try it and experience STEM first-hand.

Address: 29 Hubble, Irvine, CA 92618 
Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 5pm and Monday 10am - 1pm.
Call: 949-428-3900

Disclaimer: We attended media day to experience the event for review. All thoughts and opinions are all my own.

How to train your dragon 2 the Movie by Dreamworks Animation / Apollo Technology

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I had the opportunity to preview the movie for review only.
It all started with a book titled "How to Train Your Dragon" by Cressida Cowell published in 2003. The story of a young Viking boy who struggles to fit in with his community in the Isle of Berk. He is not like the other Vikings and this is a problem for his father, who hopes to make Hiccup the leader of their village. As Hiccup escapes to find peace, he finds a rare dragon.  Hiccup becomes his friend and names him Toothless. Toothless is feared and hunted by all of the Vikings, except Hiccup.  Hiccup and Toothless keep their friendship a secret until they set off to change the minds of the Viking village and save lives.  In March of 2010, the movie based on the book was released for the world to see.  Moviegoers loved the story of Hiccup and the movie was a great success.  A year later,  Dreamworks decided to make How to Train Your Dragon 2 to help continue the story.  This June 13th, be prepared to wear your warrior dragon helmet and see Hiccup all grown-up. 

Photo:Courtesy of Dreamworks