Making Family Trees
 from The Berenstain Bears
Discussion:
1. Ask children: "What is a family?" and "Who makes up a family?" If available, read a story aloud about family diversity.
2. After listening to the story, encourage children to revisit their initial answers to the questions in #1. Do they have anything to add?
3. Share that:
• There are many different family types and make-ups (no one better than another.)
• The basic ingredient in each family is love and caring for each member.
• Families may consist of: one caregiver, two parents, close friends, children and/or grandparents, and so forth.
• Sometimes when parents don't live together, a child can even have two families.
Activity:
Make "Family Trees" on which "leaves" represent family members.
Draw your own leaves, or download from The Berenstain Bears See, Think, Do Activity Guide.
Encourage children to draw small pictures of their individual family members on each leaf.
Have child or adult cut out the leaves and paste them onto the child's tree. Help children label each drawing with the family member's name and relationship to them.
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There are many different kinds of families. Just look around your neighborhood or at your friend's families. This is the time of year when we celebrate mothers and fathers. Mother's Day is in May and Father's Day is in June. Whoever makes up your family, be sure to tell them you love and appreciate them (even brothers and sisters) and not just on their special days.