It's been a long winter - too long. If your kids are like mine, they are probably suffering from cabin fever and longing for more physical activity. This activity combines some physical activity (jumping) with family member identification and is appropriate for children ages one and up.
For this activity, you will need family photos, clear packing tape, and some sheets of craft foam. You can try to use construction paper, but I've found that it doesn't hold up to the jumping nearly as well as craft foam.
Since St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, we used some foam shamrocks that I had left over from a party from last year. You can find inexpensive, colorful sheets of craft foam at any craft store or even at Wal-Mart. (The shamrocks, by the way, can be purchased at OrientalTrading.com.)
For this activity, you will need family photos, clear packing tape, and some sheets of craft foam. You can try to use construction paper, but I've found that it doesn't hold up to the jumping nearly as well as craft foam.
Since St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, we used some foam shamrocks that I had left over from a party from last year. You can find inexpensive, colorful sheets of craft foam at any craft store or even at Wal-Mart. (The shamrocks, by the way, can be purchased at OrientalTrading.com.)
I printed out some family photos - individual head shots - and then used clear packing tape to adhere each photo to its shamrock. And that's it! My daughter spread them out on the floor. I called out the name of a family member, and she looked for that person and jumped to them! Caretakers, get off of the couch!: Have the child call out a family member and YOU jump on that person. Kids love it when adults join in!
My daughter then arranged the shamrocks in a circle. She stood in the middle and I asked her to jump to someone who is 'Daddy's sister.' Then, I told her to find 'Grandpa Schroeder's mom' and after that, 'Mommy's mom.' This variation is just another way to reinforce just HOW different people in our family are related to each other.
As I've written before, teaching young children about family history MUST begin with teaching them about current family members and relationships. Doing simple family member recognition games help kids establish that foundation which you can later build upon with stories and facts. For older children, this particular activity can also be done with ancestor photos to make it more challenging.
©2015, Emily Kowalski Schroeder
As I've written before, teaching young children about family history MUST begin with teaching them about current family members and relationships. Doing simple family member recognition games help kids establish that foundation which you can later build upon with stories and facts. For older children, this particular activity can also be done with ancestor photos to make it more challenging.
©2015, Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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