Build a Family Tree with the Family
If you’re looking for ways to do things with your family, to help build a family identity in your children or to leave helpful information for your loved ones, why not get together and build a family tree?
Young Children
Even though making a family tree can be serious, dry and boring, any project done with young children has an element of fun in it. For the youngsters, the lengthy multi-multi-generational charts are out of the question. A good rule of thumb is: the younger the child, the fewer the generations. Most children will be more than satisfied working with a list of his siblings, his parents and grandparents. Slightly older children will appreciate the addition of great-grandparents if only to discover that grandma used to be a little girl.
You can build a family tree with construction paper by cutting out the shape of a tree trunk and hanging a leaf for each family member. First names and the names that the child calls each person are sufficient, although it’s a good opportunity for the children to learn a little something about the older generations. You can also build a family tree from a tree twig anchored in clay with cut-outs of leaves, flowers, fruits etc. for the family members. Either one would make a great gift for the grandparents.
Teens
Teenagers are on a quest to find themselves and are very computer-savvy. They would benefit from an Internet search project to build a family tree in the traditional sense. Explorations of family history, what it was like to be a teen a generation or two ago, a sense of the history of the countries where the family originated are all wonderful gifts for the teen who is involved in genealogy. Online databases, genealogical societies and software make the historical search very current.
Health
Your extended family will be interested in helping you build a family tree based on health history. This kind of family tree looks similar to the traditional type but includes health information as well as birth places and dates. Come up with symbols to trace the pattern of family illnesses such as diabetes. Record chronic conditions as well as causes of death. The importance of this kind of record-keeping provides the excuse to ask questions that the older generation may have kept from the younger ones. After you create this family tree, make copies for everyone. This could help your family tree’s next growth of healthier branches.