Activities

Ask family members to provide pictures or take pictures of themselves with their child during greeting/departure. Create picture matching cards, one of the family member and one of the child. Have the children match the cards.

Provide sidewalk chalk during outdoor time. Encourage the children to trace each other's outlines and then fill in the details of the outlines Pretend that the outlines are members of their families.

Have the children bring in pictures of their family members when they were young to put in a photo album.

Create a book of family photos. Have the children show each other their families and name the people in the pictures. Hold up the family pictures for a small group. Have the children verbally acknowledge their family when they see the correct photo.

Attach photos of each child's family on a wall or back of a shelf so that they can be seen at the child's eye level. Sit and talk with the children about their families and what they are doing in the pictures.

Ask families to bring in small pictures of the infant's close family members. Laminate the pictures and place them on the sides of a small tissue box. Secure the pictures with clear tape.

Set up a family living center in the dramatic play area with dress-up clothes for men, women, children and grandparents. Have the children act out family roles.

Provide various puppets that represent family members. Encourage the children in the reading center to put on a puppet show about what his/her family likes to do together.

Provide multicultural puzzles in various learning areas like the math center, reading center, or even the art center. You may also make your own puzzles from pictures of the children and their families.

Read The Berenstain Bears' Family Reunion by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Have the children draw a picture and dictate who would come to their house for a family gathering.

Set up a family living center in the dramatic play area with dress-up clothes for men, women, children and grandparents. Have the children act out family roles.

Invite families of the children to come in to speak with the class or send in photos or items that represent the family. Let each child tell why his/ her family is special.

During outdoor time, play a version of “Simon Says” using family characteristics. Base your directions on what you know about the children in your classroom. You might say “If you have a brother, jump three times.

Place a tape recorder and tapes in the reading center and have the children record a story about something special he/she has done with his/her family. This could include a vacation, a special custom or an everyday story.

Provide an opportunity for each child to bring in a family treasure box, a shoebox filled with examples of favorite things, family artifacts and family celebrations. Turn the dramatic play area into a museum to store the boxes.

Send a preprinted family tree home with the children. Encourage family members to help the children fill out the names of grandparents, great-grandparents and so on as well as their places of birth. The children can then share these with the class.

Ask the children to bring in a photo from a recent family trip or gathering. Provide an opportunity for the children to explain what is happening in their pictures.

You will need the book, Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood and Bruce Wood, fish templates and pom- poms or other items of your choice for the children to decorate the fish.

Tune: “Polly Wolly Doodle”
Fare thee well, fare thee well,

Fare thee well, good friends today

For our busy day is done, 

Let's go home and have some fun

Sing polly wolly doodle all the way!

Put prices on the fruit and vegetables in your dramatic play area. Remember that young children are generally able to recognize numerals to 10 or 20, so keep your prices low.