A family tree is an interesting option for children's creativity. At first sight, kids keep their normal routine: they draw, cut, and glue stuff together. And at the same time, they are studying an important topic - their family. This will make them feel like a part of something bigger and learn more about their relatives.
Most families have very little knowledge of the history of their family. Today we mostly communicate only with close relatives, so the child most often grows up in a narrow family circle. While you are little, the family is your whole world, which has a huge impact on the formation of one’s personality and worldview. Making up the first family tree, the child will better understand what the word family means. Let's dive in.
Prepare a List of Relatives
While making the list of your loved ones, do not limit yourself to only names and dates. Add some information about your relatives’ occupations or notable achievements. Surprisingly, family history gives kids self-confidence. From 5-6 years old, the child is interested in how he was born, what his dad and mom were like when they were little. So it’s a great idea to pay a visit to your older relatives and find out what they know about the generations before them.
Make a Sketch
Now it’s time to draw a chart where all your forebears would be connected by relation. A family tree can be made for interior decoration and painted at home on the wall. If you want to make a small family tree, you can draw it or simply print it out using family tree templates.
Get Your Photos Ready
Using the family archive and the photos collected in it, you can make your family tree interesting and easy to follow. We understand that not all photos can be kept in perfect condition. Important and memorable photos of your relatives can be restored. Someone does it with their own hands, someone asks specialists for help, but there is another option. You can use special old photo restoration software. You’ll be able to remove all nasty imprints of time from your photos - scratches, rips, stains, and dust. Moreover, such software allows you to colour a black and white photo - kids are gonna love it.
Create Your Family Tree
Now it’s time to make your family tree. Let’s get rolling!
1. Find a background image that will go well with the image of the tree you have chosen. You can make a simple family tree and still learn more about relatives. Explain that the tree is a symbol of family, all branches are connected and each of us is part of such a tree.
2. Print out the family tree template, cut it out with scissors, and glue it to the background image.
3. Scan and cut out pictures of your loved ones. Glue them to the tree in a certain order. When you add a photo of another great-grandfather or great-grandmother, you can accompany this with a short story about this person, so the information will be better absorbed. For kids, it will be more interesting to listen to the tale during the process.
Pay attention! The sizes of photos in the family tree must be the same. The images should be small enough to fit on the tree.
4. Make interesting frames out of paper and glue them to the photos.
5. Sign all the photos: indicate people’s family names, first names and who they are in relation to you.
6. It's time to decorate the family tree. Draw or glue flowers, the sun, clouds, animals - everything that your fantasy tells you.
Hooray! The family tree is ready to delight the eyes of your loved ones. Once you are through, make sure to show your project to your older relatives. Put it in a frame on your desktop and your family will always be with you.
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