Cracking coconuts with rocks and making bowls of the shells. Chewing out the sweetness of a piece of sugar cane. Building a rough shelter with branches, vines, and leaves. Such were the hands-on experiences that were part of a unit on Johann Wyss' "The Swiss Family Robinson" for middle-schoolers at Hershey Christian Academy.
Although written in the early 1800s, the survival classic is timeless for its celebration of family resourcefulness, reverence for God, love for adventure, and meticulous descriptions of plant and animal species.
As part of the unit, students made rope baskets, built balsa wood treehouses, and learned about unfamiliar things like cochineal beetles, land crabs, and cassava bread. Everyone picked a favorite character and wrote point-of-view essays about goal setting and achievement. They watched instructional videos about experiences like tapping rubber trees, irrigating with bamboo, and the pigeon post. As one of the final activities of the unit, students watched the 1960 Disney movie; the students unanimously decided that they preferred the book.
Located at 99 Valley Road, Hummelstown, Hershey Christian Academy is in its second year of offering instruction for 4-year-old kindergartners through 10th-grade students. For more information, including midyear enrollment, readers may contact the school office at 717-312-7595 or email info@hersheychristianacademy.org.
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