Sask Gen Web for Kids
Family Genealogy Crafts and Games

My Family Tree

Use a small flower pot or decorate a empty clean soup can.
Make patterns of decorated paper/wallpaper the same dimensions as a soup can, height of can plus diameter of can. Glue this onto the can, and let dry
Stick a small bare branch into an empty clean soup can, flower pot weighted with sand, pebbles, or play-dough.
Trim the tree with portraits made of various members of the family. Hang these portraits from strings, ribbons or thread onto the family tree.
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Make photo frames by cutting various shapes, oval, square, rectangular and circular out of decorative wrapping paper, construction paper, wall paper. Cut two of each pattern chosen. Glue the two together, so that the front and back of the frame shows a decorative designed paper. (If this is done for a large class you may wish to make the patterns on a photocopier to show the patterns to cut out. If you are doing this on your own you may wish to have shapes to trace around.)
Now make the same pattern a bit smaller on plain white paper. Draw a portrait of one family member inside the pattern on white paper, and color it in. Repeat to make many portraits and decorative frames for many family members for your family tree.

Family Photo Album

Use the same size paper for each page in the family photo album. Collect glue, different colors of construction paper, paper doilies, foil paper, tissue paper, lace, ribbon, old greeting cards, magazines, etc. Create colorfaul and fancy pages in the photo album, and then on the top of each page, glue on a portrait drawn of each family member, so that the portrait is framed by the fancy page. Optional make all pages fancy with decorative pages, or just make the top and bottom cover of the family picture album decorative, and have portraits drawn on pages inside the book. Take all the pages of the family photo album and sew or staple the pages together along one side to make a book.

Family Collage

Select people from magazines that could represent different members of the family tree. Cut the pictures out and paste them on paper to form a family collage.

My Grandparent's Trunk

Players: 2 or more
When immigrants travelled to Saskatchewan, they often carried their personal belongings with them in a trunk. In this game, these grandparents take a trip, and in their trunk they carried bubble gum, basket balls, bananas, and bacon. Other grandparents taking a trip had in their trunk, a doctor, a dinosaur, a dog, and unusually even dresses! To play, the first player starts by mentioning one item which grandmother or grandfather packed in their trunk. The next player repeats this item, and adds another item which starts with the same letter. This keeps going, with each player saying out loud the entire list and then adding a new item. The list must be repeated in the same order by each player on their turn. Eventually the list of items packed in the trunk will get too long to remember. To make this game more challenging, pack anything at all, and the items packed in the trunk do not have to begin with the same letter.

My family tree is special

Players: 2 or more
In this game, everyone takes turns having a special member (Aunt, Uncle, Grandmother, Grandfather) in their family tree. It starts out by the first player,
for example Joe, says,
"My Aunt is very special.
She loves Crows but hates Budgies"
Someone can ask a question to get more information:
"Does she like broccoli?"
"Yes", says Joe, "but she hates Peas"
"Does she like elephants?"
"No", says Joe, "but she loves cats."

Joe's secret is that his Aunt loves anything that does not have the letter "E" in it's name.

Once someone guesses the secret combination, it is someone else's turn. Now, each player can choose a different way to make his family member special. It could be that they love anything that starts with a word that has a double letter in it. Loving Buttons, Bubbles, Puppies, Kittens, Trees, Books, School and hating pictures, cups, mice, horses, and flowers. The secret combination that makes his family tree member special could be many things, 3 letter words, one syllable words, anything not alive, anything with four legs.

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Please remember to include your Name, Address, Age, and School.