Creating “Our Class is a Family Tree” activities are a great way to build a strong class community at the beginning of the year. Each family activity helps every student feel like they belong and are an important part of the classroom. A class family tree can be introduced as part of your lesson plans or as a fun project on the first day of school. It works wonderfully as an anchor chart that you can refer to throughout the year, reminding students that your class is a family and everyone has a special place.
Print the family activities or classroom activities and display it wherever you go!
Our Class is a Family Activities
1. Class Family Tree
Activity: Create a large tree on a bulletin board. Each student decorates a leaf or apple with their name and something special about themselves. Add all the leaves/apples to the tree to show how everyone is part of the class family. This is a great activity to do at the beginning of the school year.
2. Family Compliment Chain
Activity: Sit in a circle. Each student gives a compliment to the person on their right, focusing on something positive they’ve noticed. Continue until everyone has received and given a compliment.
3. Class Family Agreements
Activity: Work together to create a list of “family rules” or agreements for your classroom. These should focus on kindness, respect, helping each other, and working together.
4. All About Me Bags
Activity: Have students bring in a bag with 3-5 items that represent them or their family. Share the bags with the class to learn more about each other.
5. Class Family Portrait
Activity: Each student draws a self-portrait. Combine all the portraits into a big “class family” poster to display in the room.
6. Kindness Jar
Activity: Start a jar where students can write down acts of kindness they see in the classroom. Read them out loud at the end of the week to celebrate your class family’s caring actions.
7. “We Are Alike and Different” Venn Diagram
Activity: As a class, create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast things students have in common and things that make them unique.
8. Family Circle Time
Activity: Regularly hold circle time where students can share something good that happened, something they need help with, or something they’re proud of—just like a family meeting.
9. Class Family Song or Chant
Activity: Create a class chant or song together about being a classroom family. Perform it during morning meetings or special occasions.
10. Buddy Reading or Pair Projects
Activity: Pair students up as “class siblings” for reading or projects. Rotate pairs so everyone gets to work with different “family members” throughout the year.
11. Class Family Recipe Book
Activity: Each student brings in a favorite family recipe (or draws a picture of a favorite food). Compile them into a class recipe book. This celebrates diversity and gives everyone a taste of each other’s family traditions.
12. Classroom Jobs as Family Roles
Activity: Assign classroom jobs with family-themed names (e.g., “Line Leader” as “Big Brother/Sister,” “Messenger” as “Family Messenger”). Rotate jobs weekly so everyone gets to try different roles.
13. Family Quilt Craft
Activity: Give each student a square of paper or fabric to decorate with symbols or drawings that represent themselves or their family. Put the squares together to make a big “class family quilt” to display or you could make it into their own class family album.
14. Birthday Celebrations
Activity: Celebrate student birthdays with a special class tradition, like singing a unique class birthday song or making a birthday card from the whole class family. Even check out a few birthday jokes too.
15. “We Care” Posters
Activity: Create posters as a class about how you care for each other. Include handprints, drawings, or photos of students helping one another. This is a fun way to get to know each other better.
16. Class Family Storybook
Activity: Write a collaborative story as a class, with each student adding a sentence or page. Illustrate it together and read your “family story” read-aloud activities.
17. Secret Pal Week
Activity: Assign each student a “secret pal” for a week. They do kind things or write notes for their pal, revealing their identity at the end of the week.
18. Family Traditions Show-and-Tell
Activity: Invite students to share a tradition their family celebrates—this could be a holiday, a weekly routine, or a special saying.
19. Class Family Song Playlist
Activity: Ask each student to suggest a favorite (school-appropriate) song. Make a class playlist to play during work time or celebrations.
20. Our Class Family Time Capsule
Activity: Have students contribute a drawing, letter, or small item to a class time capsule. Open it at the end of the year to reflect on how your class family has grown.
Other ideas to go along with the Activity list for a classroom
To launch this activity, consider reading a great book like “Our Class is a Family” by Shannon Olsen or another wonderful book that celebrates classroom togetherness. These favorite books make perfect school read aloud activities and can spark meaningful discussions about what it means to be a classroom family. You can keep these new books in your classroom library as book companions for students to revisit during independent reading time.
After the read-aloud, invite each student to create a leaf or apple with their name and a drawing or sentence about themselves. Add these to your family tree anchor chart. This not only creates a visual sense of community but can also be extended into the writing center as students write about their “family” at school. As the year goes on, you can add more to the tree, such as new students or classroom milestones, making it a living part of your class.
I hope you’ve found a simple enough craft for the whole class or whole family to participate in! These activities build a strong classroom community and are perfect school activities, especially for the first week of school.