Sometimes I really struggle with coming up with family- and genealogy-related activities for the youngest children, those who are cannot yet read, write, or even talk very well yet. I picked up a bulletin board tree awhile back at a local teacher supply store and I decided to try to come up with another activity that can be enjoyed by all ages of children, from the youngest toddlers to school-age children.
This tree set cost $15 and is made by Teacher Created Resources. If you do not have an educational supply store near you, it can be ordered at this link. The set comes with a total of 78 pieces, and the tree height is adjustable all the way up to six feet high.
This tree set cost $15 and is made by Teacher Created Resources. If you do not have an educational supply store near you, it can be ordered at this link. The set comes with a total of 78 pieces, and the tree height is adjustable all the way up to six feet high.
After we punched out all of the pieces, I went to the computer and printed out small photos of individual family members, similar to the ones I printed out for our Easter Egg Family Faces activity this past spring. My daughter and I glued one individual photo on each leaf. We put my husband's side of the family on the polka-dotted leaves and my side of the family on the solid green leaves.
Next, I used clear packing tape to assemble the tree trunk and limbs before placing it on the wall. I kept the tree at a lower height so that my kids could reach the top. I used these 3M Command poster hanging strips to adhere the tree to the wall. You could also use painter's tape or Sticky Tack - anything that won't ruin the paint. Then, I used self-adhesive Velcro dots (similar to the ones used in this activity) to attach the leaves to the tree.
Here is the finished product! We put in on a wall in our basement, which serves as the main play area of our home. My daughter still had to get out her stool to reach the leaves at the top, but she loved it. (You would be able to make it even shorter for young toddlers.)
Toddlers will have fun simply pulling the leaves off and putting them back on the tree again. But, as they do so, you can help them identify the people in the photos. My daughter and I played a game in which I told her to switch person x with person y. She had fun searching for the correct people, and, since we do not live near family and do not get to see them as often as I would like, it helped her remember who was who. With older children, you can ask them to group people based on individual 'nuclear' families, or tell them to put the older people towards the trunk and younger people on the branches. For our tree, I've only included people who my children know personally, but, again, with older children, you can start introducing photos of ancestors who had passed away before they were born.
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder.
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder.