This past weekend, my kids and I got out our stash of Play Doh, because I had an idea for a genealogy-related kids acitivity. Full disclosure: Play Doh rarely comes out at my house; I am not a neat freak by any means, but there is just something about having to clean up Play Doh that frustrates me. So, needless to say, they were excited about it.
We created a simple pedigree chart out of Play Doh balls and toothpicks. A pedigree chart is basically a diagram that depicts ancestors and their descendants. Most pedigree charts are simply a bunch of names and dates connected by lines to indicate blood relations. In other words, they aren't very exciting for kids to look at, and it's hard for them to understand, especially if they cannot yet read.
First, I had to decide for which branch of the family we would make a chart. My kids are fortunate to know one set of great-grandparents, so we decided to try to make a pedigree chart for that side of the family, which is my father-in-law's side.
I got out four different colors of Play Doh, because I wanted each generation to be a different color. We started out with great-grandma and great-grandpa at the top. I asked the kids, "Who do you know that is great-grandma and great-grandpa's son?" My 6yo figured it out, and said 'Grandpa S,' but then I asked him if he knew how many siblings grandpa had. He didn't, so I told him that Grandpa S. has five sisters. Then, I asked him how many kids that would be all together (5+1), and, we had a quick little math lesson. As we were making the little balls of Play Doh to represent people, the kids also had fun putting little 'faces' on them, and got a little silly with that, too.
We created a simple pedigree chart out of Play Doh balls and toothpicks. A pedigree chart is basically a diagram that depicts ancestors and their descendants. Most pedigree charts are simply a bunch of names and dates connected by lines to indicate blood relations. In other words, they aren't very exciting for kids to look at, and it's hard for them to understand, especially if they cannot yet read.
First, I had to decide for which branch of the family we would make a chart. My kids are fortunate to know one set of great-grandparents, so we decided to try to make a pedigree chart for that side of the family, which is my father-in-law's side.
I got out four different colors of Play Doh, because I wanted each generation to be a different color. We started out with great-grandma and great-grandpa at the top. I asked the kids, "Who do you know that is great-grandma and great-grandpa's son?" My 6yo figured it out, and said 'Grandpa S,' but then I asked him if he knew how many siblings grandpa had. He didn't, so I told him that Grandpa S. has five sisters. Then, I asked him how many kids that would be all together (5+1), and, we had a quick little math lesson. As we were making the little balls of Play Doh to represent people, the kids also had fun putting little 'faces' on them, and got a little silly with that, too.
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When we were done with Grandpa and his siblings, I asked the kids to pick one of the pink siblings to be Grandpa. I asked them how many kids Grandpa and Grandma S. have. (We did not add spouses past the great-grandparents; it would have been a little too confusing and I wanted to keep it simple.) The kids did not get this one immediately, either, but I asked them who were 'Daddy's brothers and sisters.' Again, my 6yo figured it out pretty quickly, and my 3.5yo repeated everything he said, so I think she picked up on it, too.
They wanted to add ALL of their cousins, which I thought was very cute, so we went through each family, named all of their cousins, and made little 'heads' for them. They had fun deciding which one was them and then making their own 'face.' Here is our finished 'pedigree:'
They wanted to add ALL of their cousins, which I thought was very cute, so we went through each family, named all of their cousins, and made little 'heads' for them. They had fun deciding which one was them and then making their own 'face.' Here is our finished 'pedigree:'
Play Doh Pedigree Chart
I tried to explain to them what a generation was, by basically telling them that it is a group of people born around the same time who are about the same age. (In genealogy research, people of the same generation are sometimes very different ages, but we need to keep it simple for kids. From a social perspective, a generation IS just how I explained it.) By color-coding each generation on the chart, I think it helped them understand that word better, at least in the context of their own family.
Hopefully, this activity also helped to visually reinforce how family members are related to each other - that Grandpa's mom and dad are great-grandma and great-grandpa or that Grandpa is daddy's dad, but ALSO Uncle Scott, Uncle Brian and Aunt Kara's dad, too. You can also talk about what a cousin is and/or what a grand-aunt/uncle is. My kids' attention spans had waned before I could bring up those discussions, but older children may be more curious and may want to know more.
©2014, Emily Kowalski Schroeder. All rights reserved.
Hopefully, this activity also helped to visually reinforce how family members are related to each other - that Grandpa's mom and dad are great-grandma and great-grandpa or that Grandpa is daddy's dad, but ALSO Uncle Scott, Uncle Brian and Aunt Kara's dad, too. You can also talk about what a cousin is and/or what a grand-aunt/uncle is. My kids' attention spans had waned before I could bring up those discussions, but older children may be more curious and may want to know more.
©2014, Emily Kowalski Schroeder. All rights reserved.
