This activity teaches kids about their ancestry as they plot their family tree. It’s a great opportunity for kids to spend time with an older relative as they research their family history. This activity encourages creativity and teaches kids that families come in all different shapes and sizes. Who knows, you might discover something new, too!
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Fun fact!
Did you know, your surname could tell you what your ancestors used to do for a living? For example, ‘Smith’ is short for blacksmith, a person who works with metal.
Equipment needed
- Paper
- Pencil
- Pen
- Ruler
- Scissors
About the activity
Kids should be in the centre of their family tree, so get kids to plot themselves in the middle at the bottom of a sheet of paper and plot their siblings (if any) with you. The first stage is to list your parents either side of you. Every entry can be accompanied by facts such as birthday and birth place, or you can just use names and concentrate on making it into an artistic masterpiece. Plot everything in pencil first until you get an idea of spacing and then ink it in, you might want a ruler to draw lines and arrows between the members of your family. You could get creative by using scissors to add your family members as leaf shapes on the tree.
For younger children, create a simpler chart. List their grandparents, on either side above their parents and from there, add great-grandparents.
All families are complex and very different so space the tree according to your needs, be creative and have fun with the design while discussing your unique family history.