How to Create a Family Tree for Kids

A family tree gives a child greater respect for the family.

Family trees show the members of a family and how they relate to each other. Parents can use a family tree to teach a children about their ancestry. To build the tree, you'll use brown paper for a trunk, then draw branches on poster board, and add green paper leaves for each relative on the branch that represents the generation to which they belong.

Adding a small amount of information to each relative's name will help your child understand who the person was. For young children keep the information short, but keep your own records of all the information you find. Then, when your child is an adult, you can pass along an in-depth version of the family tree.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Family member information
• Markers
• Poster board
• Green construction paper
• Scissors
• All-purpose glue
• Brown Craft Paper Roll
• Tape

1. Gather the Information. Talk to other family members to gather information on your relatives. You will want to know things like the relative's name, relation to your children, birth/death dates, and any interesting facts known about them. Libraries and the Internet offer genealogy resources if you need additional information.

2. Make the branches. Turn the poster board so that the larger side is now the width. Use a marker to draw a vertical line from the top center of the poster board to the bottom. Starting about six inches from the top draw horizontal lines every six inches intersecting the center line. Each line will represent a generation in your family. Draw as many lines as needed.

3. Cut out leaves. Use scissors to cut out five-inch ovals from green construction paper. You will need one leaf for each family member you wish to list and about 20 extras. Do not forget to include your children.

4. Personalize the tree. Use the information you gathered to make one leaf per family member. Write the person's name the way it is familiar to your child. A grandmother called Nana should have Nana written on her leaf. Include birth and death dates or any other information you feel you want your child to know. The leaf should also include one interesting fact about the person.

5. Add your children. Starting on the left side, glue your oldest child's leaf on the top branch. Continue to add your children in chronological order.

6. Add parents, aunts and uncles. On the left side glue the Mom leaf. Glue all of Mom's siblings next on the same branch. Do the same on the right side with Dad's leaf and leaves for his siblings.

7. Add more generations. Glue one set of maternal grandparents together at the bottom of the leaf to form a V. Do this with each set of grandparents. Glue the grandparents on their respective sides. Add great aunts and great uncles next to the grandparents. Continue to follow this pattern until you run out of generations. Fill in any bare spots on your branches with the extra leaves.

8. Hang the poster board on a wall. Use the tape to hang the tree branches at eye level for your child.

9. Use markers to draw a tree trunk on the craft paper. Make the trunk large enough to go from the floor to the bottom of the branches. Cut out the trunk and use the tape to secure it to the wall.

Tips & Warnings

• If possible, add pictures to each leaf.

• Write fun family information on the blank leaves.

• The family tree can be altered to show only one side of the family. Spread out the leaves so that the one side takes up the entire tree.

References

• PBS Kids Go: Grow a Tree
• I Love India: Making Family Tree

Resources

• Genealogy: How To Articles