Mother's Day Family Tree

My Gran as a little girl with her parents and siblings.

Today is Mother's Day, a perfect time for talking and learning about family.  Let students think about who their mom's mom is and who her mom was, and soon enough you'll be mapping out an entire family tree.

 

Begin by reading Joan Sweeney's Me and My Family Tree; for a straightforward explanation of ancestry and how to organize family history in a tree graphic.

 Then let students begin writing out their own family's past using one of the free printable trees from Family Tree Templates.  Make sure no one feels left out with the Family Tree Kids! Junior Toolkit, which includes free templates for step-families, adopted families, and a cemetery transcription form (a great activity to help kids relate to family visits to the cemetery.)  Also check out their free digital tree-maker, which students can use to create their family tree using the computer.

Encourage kids to collect family photos to bring the bygone characters to life.

Then, try your hand at a 3D photo tree like this one from Stumbles & Stitches.