Nowadays, children are way too involved in their electronic games and social media. The concept of tracing their family’s origin would probably be nowhere on their priority list. Parents might tell old family tales to give them a sense of belonging and pride in their past.
However, helping them draw a family tree is the most fun way to get them to discover their roots. That is something that many schools in Abu Dhabi and all over the world use as a means to educate children about their own identities.
What is Called a Family Tree?
A family tree is a chart that shows how several generations of families are interlinked over the years. It may be a simple one that includes only close family members or it could span generations giving them a better idea about one’s ancestors in terms of how one is related to them.
It is a beautiful way to engage Montessori Nursery students and students of primary school to understand the pedigree of their ancestors.
How Do You Explain a Family Tree to a Child?
A child’s mind is a blank slate as well as a sponge that can take in all manner of information that helps it grow as a person. There’s nothing more important to an individual than a sense of his or her identity.
By explaining the concept of a family tree to a child, parents and teachers can help children find their place in the world.
Being the imaginative individuals that they are, they will be able to understand the analogy of the various leaves of a tree and how they impart strength to it like family members impart strength to every member of a family.
7 Simple Family Tree Ideas for Kids
1. Peek-A-Boo Family Tree
A peek-a-boo family tree is something that little kids take to nicely. One can create a family tree with the help of flip flop lids bearing the names of close relatives like grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents.
It will be great fun for the kids to lift the lids and see their relatives’ pictures and thereby get to know them.
2. Grandparents’ Family Tree
Kids can use crafts to create a grandparents’ family tree. This can easily be created as a poster and will not only help the little ones visually identify their family member, but also make a great gift for one’s grandparents.
It could also be hung on a wall in the children’s room to help reinforce the connection with their grandparents.
3. Circular Family Tree
A circular family tree in the shape of concentric circles with the child’s name at the center, the parent’s name in the next circle, the grandparents’ name in the next circle and the great grandparents’ name in the outermost circle will give the child a very good idea of their family over three generations.
4. Dot Family Tree
This is another fun rendition of a family tree for kids. It comprises a tree complete with branches bearing printed circles on which kids can paste pictures of their close family members.
5. Potted Plant Family Tree
Conceptually similar to the dot family tree, except for the fact that in this case there will be rectangular boxes to be filled in with the names of the kid’s relatives. The children will love the floral twist given to a family tree.
6. Galactic Family Tree
This is one family tree any kid would love. The child could be denoted as the sun at the center surrounded by various planetary bodies depicting all the relatives.
7. Balloon Family Tree
One can have a family tree comprising many colorful balloons depicting the many members of the family. Makes for a great gift to one’s grandparents.
How Do You Make a Family Tree With Kids Step By Step?
1. Collect all the Information About Your Family
This is the first and the most important step in making a family tree. Make a note of the information you have and ask the family members for any additional information. Make sure to get all the pictures. It’s great fun if the parents and kids work together on this.
2. Create a Family Tree Outline
Create a family tree outline using all the information you have gathered. Start from the child to the oldest ancestor or vice versa.
3. Add Information to Every Leaf
Every member of the family is denoted by a shape joined by lines to highlight relationships. It could be a box, a rectangle or any other which represents the leaves in the family tree. You can insert pictures, important dates and any other important aspect you need to mention.
Benefits of a Family Tree
Having a family tree is the best way of having a great sense of one’s own worth and it is a great idea to let children make one of their own. There are a number of benefits that accrue from creating a family tree. These are:
1. Provides You With a Strong Sense of Identity
A family tree gives you a stronger sense of your identity and place in the world than anything else.
2. Makes You More Confident
Nothing prepares you better for the ups and downs of life than knowing that there are other members of the family in the past who have come through tough times. A family tree makes you feel resilient.
3. It Helps Forge a Connection With Other Members of the Family
A family tree reminds you of your family bonds and makes you connect better with the members of the family.
4. It Makes a Better Person Out of You
A family tree lets you know that you are not all by yourself but belong to something larger and have certain ideals and principles to live by. It gives you a purpose as well as direction in life and makes a better person you.
Conclusion
In these fraught and uncertain times where the world has disconnected from one another and retreated into the virtual world a simple thing like a family tree can serve as a wake-up call.
It connects you with who you really are and gives you an identity and a greater purpose in life. There cannot be a better gift to give a family member, especially a child than a family tree.
It will give them a real sense of their identity that is far removed from the fake social media universe that takes them away from all that is truly important to them.
All of us are connected to our earliest ancestors who lived in caves and jungles and it is fascinating how mankind has come such a long distance in tens of thousands of years. A family tree helps retrace a few of those steps. It gives you a sense of how you are but one link in a chain going back millennia.
