Swiss Family Robinson Learning Experience

Although school has started for most kiddos by now (or if it hasn’t yet it will this week!) the weather is still warm and there is plenty of adventure to be had outside. If you’re looking for activities to keep your kiddos busy on the weekends, look no further! This time we turn to the 1961 Disney+ film Swiss Family Robinson.

There are so many movies to choose from- why did I pick the old Swiss Family Robinson, you might ask? I was going for something that screams action and adventure, plus create opportunities for things to do outside in this beautiful weather.

I loved this movie so much as a kid. It wasn’t until I went on Disney+ to find it that I saw it was a remake of the 1940 film. The 1940 film was based on the novel from 1812! Yes, I said that right- 1812! Swiss Family Robinson is ranked as one of the 100 highest grossing films of all time (when you account for inflation). Read here to learn more about it. The article also delves into what I talk about next.

An Important Note: Stories Matter

When deciding whether or not to do this film, I remembered that something felt unsettling about this film that I would need to address and I was trying to remember what it was. As soon as I started the movie, I was quickly reminded. Disney+ has a content advisory for some of its films now to make viewers aware that depictions of certain cultures or peoples was (and is) inappropriate. You can learn more about this at Stories Matter. I encourage you to take a look.

The Robinson family is white while the pirates (aka bad guys) are all “people of color”, or more accurately, some are wearing make up (brown and yellow face) to look like “people of color”. When the movie starts and that warning displays, read it to your children. Tell them what it means. Disney, it’s time for a remake! So many movies are remade; let’s add this family action/adventure one to the list!

With that being said, let’s get started!

Materials

-crayons or colored pencils

-paper or cardstock

-cups

-sugar and salt

-household items to make a boat/sea craft (cups, plates, bottles, coffee filter, aluminum foil, tape, string, craft sticks- whatever you have lying around)

-Fort building materials (blankets, tarps, string, rubber bands, chairs- anything you would use to make a fort)

The Hook: Shipwrecked!

Ask your kids if they know what it means to be shipwrecked. Tell your kiddos to imagine being shipwrecked on an island! If they could only bring a few items from the ship, what would they bring? My six year old said she’d bring rope, water, food, sticks, and a blanket. My nine year old said she’d add books!

Some Quick Notes on Swords and Guns

Another quick note: this movie does feature swords and guns. If you do not want your child seeing the use of weapons, I recommend fast forwarding through these parts:

-At 55:50 the pirates begin to stab another pirate who bends down to pick up something. Not much is shown, but it is implied.

-At 1:14:21 Fritz and Ernst have an argument over who is going to carry the gun.

-At 1:28:00 (Spoiler Alert!) they use dynamite to blow up their ship.

-At 1:36:28 Fritz “teaches” Roberta how to fire a gun.

-At 1:50:00 the pirates come and for the next several minutes it’s an all out battle with traps, guns, swords, etc.

Now that you know all of that, you are ready to watch The Swiss Family Robinson

Will It Float or Sink? Make a Raft That Floats!

Put out a bunch of household materials and encourage your children to build a vessel that floats. You can be super creative with your materials. I put out paper cups, plastic bottles, craft sticks, coffee filters, aluminum foil, toothpicks, plastic silverware—anything that I thought might inspire them to build something that floats. This is what my kiddos came up with:

At bath time we popped them in the tub to see if they floated. They did! Success! Unfortunately we did learn that hot glue does not hold up in the tub. They played with their boats for a while, but then they came apart when the hot glue got wet.

You can suggest your children add or make changes to their craft or build another craft using materials if theirs fall apart like ours did. Just follow their interests. Some kids will be fine making one water craft, others will want to make several.

Science Experiment- Evaporation

Grab two cups and some salt and sugar. Place water in both cups—I used warm water to help dissolve the salt and sugar. Then place some sugar in one cup, salt in the other, and stir until each substance is completely dissolved. Label the cups so you know which is which. You can have your kiddos sketch the experiment, label it, and make a hypothesis. Then put it out in the sun for a couple of days! My eight year old said that the salt and sugar would be too heavy and would be left behind; the water would evaporate, but the sugar and salt wouldn’t. And, completely developmentally appropriate, my six year old’s hypothesis is that a bird would come by and drink it. In reality, the water did evaporate leaving the minerals behind, plus we found out that ants really liked the sugar water!

Animal Research

Francis loves animals in this movie! My youngest loves animals, too, and at times was super stressed out when animals seemed to be in danger. Like the part where Fritz was battling the snake in the water? I think she was more concerned about the snake than Fritz!

Ask your child what their favorite animal is, or an animal they’d like to research. National Geographic Kids is a great resource for animal research. The World Wildlife Fund is a great resource for older children. Finally the San Diego Zoo is another great resource. Have your child use one of these sites to find an animal to research. Encourage children to draw pictures of their favorite animals, label them, and write interesting facts. They could make a book, a brochure, a poster, or a commercial—whatever is most interesting to them. I would encourage trying a poster for younger kids. Is your child not really into writing? Have them type it or make a Google Slides or PowerPoint presentation. Be creative—the goal is to get them to write! My 9 year old opted for writing a report.

Create a Treehouse or Fort

I think the unveiling of the treehouse is my favorite part of the movie Swiss Family Robinson. I remember wishing that I could live in a place like that! Encourage your child to make their own treehouse or fort. This activity could incorporate a tree or not! You could even do it inside using tables and chairs. Let your children’s imagination run wild! See how they design their place and what types of inventions they might include in their house.

Here is one of my kiddos washing dishes.

This is a contraption they made to hold their snacks.

It’s a Trap!

Francis was all about catching his tiger and he finally did! Have your child make a plan to trap an animal. This isn’t really about trapping an actual animal; it’s just about the design and the idea of an invention. Encourage your child to draw a picture of their design for trapping an animal. Have them make a list of the materials they will need. Then you can gather the materials and have them go at it! If, in the process of making it, they change their design, have them note it on their original blueprint. My six year old LOVES animals and was adamant that we not really try to trap one because it could get hurt. So she decided to just draw her invention. It’s called “The Trap Cat”. A cat comes and walks on a blanket, then the machine picks up the blanket and traps the cat. Then, voila! You have a new pet!

My older daughter made a teeny-tiny slingshot for hunting. I’m not sure what she’ll catch with that itty-bitty thing!

Dear Diary

Ask your children to imagine what it would be like to be marooned on an island. How would they feel? What would a typical day be like? Have your child write a journal entry describing a day on the island.

That’s it for now! I hope this gives you some exciting outdoor activities to do with your kiddos while the weather is still nice!

~Nicole