Family Tree

by Mary Ellen Jolley

Family trees are fun to make! Draw one on poster paper or cardboard using magic markers, crayons, watercolors, or poster paints.

Begin by drawing the outline of a tree trunk with a pencil. At the bottom of the tree trunk, print the name of your grandfather and the maiden name (her name before she was married) of your grandmother. Print their marriage date under their names.

Next make the branches of the tree. Make one branch for each of the children of your grandparents. If they had six children, draw six large branches on the tree.

At the beginning of each branch print the name of each one of their children and also the name of the person each married. Be sure to print the maiden name of the wife. Do this until the name of each child has been printed on a branch.

Now you are ready for the leaves. Draw a leaf for each of the children born to the couple whose names are on the branch. Print the name of one child on each leaf. More leaves may be added to the tree as new children are born.

After you have finished the drawing in pencil, go over the outlines with color.

You might want to make your tree extra special by pasting small pictures of each individual by his name on the tree.