Printable family tree for kids (3 generations)

Before you hand it out

Young children rarely know their grandparents' full names, so send it home with a note, or let first names and nicknames count. Not every family fits the labels: for a child with step-parents, two moms or dads, or who lives with grandparents, cross out the label and write the right word, or use the version without labels. Print on plain paper for markers and card stock if it is going on a classroom wall.

What is on this template

• 7 labeled boxes: me, mom and dad, four grandparents
• Big boxes with writing lines, easy for small hands
• Leafy tree design that children can color
• Title "My Family Tree" at the top

It has room for 7 people: you, your parents, grandparents.

How to fill it in

1. Print at 100% ("Actual size"). A plain-paper draft first saves spoiling the good copy.
2. Write your own name first, then your parents, then each earlier generation. Fathers go on the left of each pair and mothers on the right.
3. Add the years of birth and death under each name, like 1931–2005.

Prefer typing? Open this template in the family tree maker, type the names and print a clean copy.

How to explain a family tree to a child

Start with the child and go up one step at a time: "This box is you. Above you are your mom and dad. Above them are their mom and dad: those are your grandparents." Everyone on the tree has two boxes above them, which is why it grows wider at the top. Photos help a lot: put a picture next to each name and young children will remember who is who much faster than from names alone.

For preschoolers, a full tree is often too abstract. A "my family" page with the people they live with and see often works better at that age, and the tree can come a year or two later.

Family tree project ideas for school

• Photo tree: print the template on card stock and glue a small photo, cut to about an inch wide, beside each name.
• Handprint tree: trace the child's hand and arm as the trunk and branches on a big sheet, and write a name on each fingertip leaf.
• Poster board: print the PDF at 11 × 17 in (Tabloid) at a copy shop, or tape two sheets together, and decorate the edges.
• Interview a grandparent: ask where they grew up, what school was like and what games they played, and write one fact under each name.
• Older kids: move up to the 4-generation tree with birth years, or make a family tree online and print it.

When a family does not fit the boxes

Many children have families that look different from a mom-and-dad tree, and a family tree project should never make them feel left out. A few ways to handle it:

• Adoption: most adopted children fill in the family they live with. Some families like to add the birth family too; that is the family's choice, not the school's.
• Step-families and blended families: write the step-parent next to the parent, or use the unlabeled tree with branches so there is room to draw more boxes.
• Two moms or two dads: cross out "Dad" or "Mom" and write the right word, or print the version without labels.
• Grandparents, foster or kinship care: let the child fill in the people who look after them. A "people who love me" tree is a good alternative a teacher can offer the whole class.
• A parent who has died: they still belong on the tree. Writing the years under the name is a gentle way to show it.

Questions