Creative Family Tree Project for Kids: A Lesson in Art, Geography & Science

Engage your child with this creative, hands-on family tree project. Our complete lesson plan combines art, geography with Google Maps, and basic science to make learning about ancestry fun and memorable.

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Milly's Amazing Family Tree: A Journey Through Time and Place

Materials Needed:

  • Large sheet of paper or poster board
  • Markers, crayons, and colored pencils
  • Family photos (or printouts) of parents, grandparents, and Milly
  • Scissors and glue stick
  • A list of family members (parents, grandparents) with their birth years and birthplaces (city/state/country)
  • Computer or tablet with internet access (for Google Maps)
  • A notebook or a simple worksheet for the "Science of Me" activity
  • Optional: Yarn, stickers, old magazines for collage, colored beads/buttons

Lesson Plan

Part 1: The Hook - A Story Through Time (10 minutes)

  1. Start with a Question: Ask Milly, "Did you know that our family has a story that stretches back in time, even before you were born? A family tree helps us see that whole story at once."
  2. Introduce Ancestors: Explain that our parents, grandparents, and their parents are our "ancestors." Talk about how they lived in a different time. Ask, "What do you think it was like when Grandma was 8 years old? Did she have video games or tablets?" This sparks curiosity about history.

Part 2: The Main Adventure - Creating the Tree (1 hour 30 minutes)

This part is broken into three creative missions that blend different subjects.

Mission 1: The Geographer - Mapping Our Roots (30 minutes)

  • Objective: To connect family members to real places on a map.
  • Steps:
    1. Take out the list of family members and their birthplaces.
    2. Using Google Maps on a computer or tablet, look up the birthplace of each person, starting with grandparents.
    3. Explore each location using Street View. Say things like, "This is the town where Grandpa was born! Look how different/similar it is to where we live."
    4. Talk about the distance. "Wow, Grandma was born all the way across the country/ocean!"
    5. For each location, you can print a small screenshot of the map to use on the art project later.

Mission 2: The Artist - Building the Tree (45 minutes)

  • Objective: To create a beautiful and personal visual representation of the family.
  • Steps:
    1. On the large paper, have Milly draw a big, strong tree with a trunk and plenty of branches. Encourage her to be creative—it can be any kind of tree she wants!
    2. Place Milly at the bottom of the tree or on the main trunk. Have her glue her picture there and write her name.
    3. On the branches just above her, create spots for her parents. Glue their photos and write their names.
    4. On the branches above the parents, create spots for the grandparents. Help her place the correct parents above their child.
    5. Now, make it a mixed-media masterpiece! Use markers to draw leaves. Cut out shapes from construction paper for "fruit" to put the pictures on. Glue the small maps from Mission 1 next to the correct person. Use magazine cutouts to represent a hobby for each person (e.g., a picture of a book for someone who loves to read, a flower for a gardener).

Mission 3: The Scientist - The "Recipe For Milly" (15 minutes)

  • Objective: To understand how family traits are passed down in a simple, fun way.
  • Steps:
    1. Introduction to Traits: Explain, "You are a special mix of your whole family! You get little instructions, called genes, from your mom and dad that decide things like your eye color and hair color. Let's see if we can spot some family traits."
    2. Trait Treasure Hunt: In a notebook, make a simple chart with traits like "Eye Color," "Hair Color," and "Can Roll Tongue?". Go through each family member on the tree and fill it out.
    3. Find the Connection: Look at the completed chart. Ask Milly, "You have brown eyes. Who else in our family has brown eyes? It looks like you got that trait from Mom's side of the family!"
    4. (Optional) Bead Game: Use colored beads to represent a trait, like blue beads for blue eyes and brown beads for brown eyes. Show how Mom gives one bead and Dad gives one bead to "create" Milly's eye color. This is a great visual for how traits are inherited from both sides.

Part 3: The Grand Finale - Curator of the Family Museum (10 minutes)

  1. The Presentation: Have Milly stand next to her finished family tree and present it like she is a tour guide in a museum. She can point out each person, where they were from, and one fun fact or trait about them.
  2. Reflection Questions:
    • What was the most surprising thing you learned today?
    • If you could visit one of the places on our family map, which one would it be and why?
    • What is your favorite family trait that you have?
  3. Display with Pride: Hang the finished family tree somewhere in the house where everyone can see and admire it.

Ideas for Extension (For an Extra Challenge)

  • Junior Historian: Choose one ancestor from the tree. Research a major world event that happened during their childhood (e.g., the first moon landing, the invention of the television). Draw a picture of the ancestor experiencing that event.
  • Go Further Back: If information is available, add great-grandparents to the tree, expanding the history and geography even more.