Swiss Family Robinson Feast

For a summer read aloud with my son, I chose the unabridged Swiss Family Robinson. I LOVE this book. The unabridged version includes so many amazing details that abridged versions omit. It is packed full of inspiring adventure and countless character-building lessons. I’d need a week of posts to cover them all!

We read this with my girls one summer when they were younger and concluded the reading with an island party that included a seafood feast, oceans crafts, silly lobster hats, and watching the Disney Swiss Family Robinson movie.

We’ve held such fond memories of that summer read aloud with our girls, that I knew I wanted to read it again with my son. Of course, we repeated the island feast as well. Anyway I can incorporate a special family meal into our learning, I will! We didn’t get around to the ocean crafts and lobster hats this time, but we sure had a lot of fun throwing out words and phrases all summer like “hitherto” and “Capital, my boy!”, and also finding every opportunity in our back yard and woods to play out favorite scenes.

For our meal, I really hadn’t even planned to set the table because we were going to eat while watching the movie. But as all the food was coming out of the oven and off the stove and grill, I decided this was not a meal for juggling in the den. So I quickly set the kitchen table with flowers I already had on hand, a tablecloth my friend recently gave me, some brass candlesticks, and lemons and coconuts. My favorite tables are usually the ones I throw together at the last minute without a plan.
(My oldest daughter got called in to work and had to miss the meal, so that’s why the table is only set for four of us. She got to enjoy the leftovers with us the next day.)

Without a doubt, one of my favorite memories with my children will always be our read alouds! ….and the feasts that follow them!