Creative Family Trees for adoptive foster blended families - Page 2
Resources and ideas for older kids and adultsEARLY GRADE-SCHOOL AGES
 | Rooted Tree:
Teachers or parents (or children) draw a tree with roots and branches. Children write their name, birth date, and adoption date on the trunk, and fill in the roots with names of birth parents, birth grandparents, birth siblings, foster parents (whomever they can think of). The branches are then filled with names of adoptive or step-parents, other parents, siblings, and other family members. |
Hedgerow:In a drawing, children represent each current family member as a bush in a row of bushes. Roots can be labeled as birth parents, grandparents, foster parents, different countries of origin, etc. The finished hedgerow shows the blended strength of many individual plants.
OLDER KIDS
Genogram:A
genogram is a tool for visualizing family relationships. Neutral symbols are used to represent different genders - square for male, circle for female - and straight lines connect parents to each other and to children. An 'X' over one of the boxes or circles means the person has died, and a diagonal line crossing over connecting lines between spouses means divorce. Households are enclosed in elliptical circles around the child's current family unit.
Genogram
| Line Drawing
|
Other Diagrams and Charts:Older children can use any number of diagrams, drawings, and charts.
Line drawings, wheels with sections for each family (birth, adoptive, foster, etc.), flow charts, are all possibilities, and children should be encouraged to use their creativity!
PARENTS/ADULTS
Parents or other adults who are considering making family trees for themselves, their children, or as gifts, may want to consider
pre-printed parchment forms available from online resources in a variety of layouts for adoptive, foster, single parent, and other non-traditional families. (
See sample)
FOR TEACHERS
In his
Teacher's Guide to Adoption, Robin Hillborn suggests turning the exercise into a
creative arts project, allowing children the freedom to present their unique family units in ways that may be quite different from the traditional. He says,
"The goals may be to introduce words and relationships; to learn your place in the family, and the family history; or to study where ancestors came from. You may have to seek other ways to achieve the same goals. Still, the family tree assignment need not be avoided--it's an opportunity for a lesson in how families grow."
GET CREATIVE
As you and your family discover ways to visualize your family tree, please join us
at the forum and share your ideas with others.
Here's a photo rendition of mine.> > Page
1,
2
Home
Add Your Comments!
We want to know what you think. Your comments are important to us and the other readers. You are what makes this site special.