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Preschool Family Tree Project
 Tuesday, November 7, 2017 
Trees provide a source of fuel. They provide oxygen, resources for shelter, and sources of nourishment. Trees provide a comfort that is literally a necessity for our lives. We often enjoy trees: walking through them, climbing them, being shielded by them and even exploring them.
In October, the Mama Jasiri Preschool at Ile Omode conducted a family tree project developed by instructors Mama Aisha and Mama Karla. One of the key goals of the project was to generate a special conversation between preschool students and their parents. The Family Tree Project hand out, received by parents and students, stated that the project "gives our students a chance to bond over where they come from."
Students and their parents were instructed to "use color, black and white, crayons, labels, construction paper and drawings to depict [their] family origins." The students and their families did a wonderful job at doing just that. Students and parents filled the poster boards with pictures, stories, drawings and names of family members and their relatives.
One family worked with their student [Malcolm] to pattern colors to represent the African ancestry of their roots. Ny'Lee's family created a garden; each with a portrait of a family member within a flower on their poster board to depict the the kinship of relatives.
Two of the projects represented families within drawings of apples with the embedded names of relatives. More than one project showed - what apparently were - solid tree trunks which connected to strong roots and branches. The projects themselves seemed to give families a preschool-level heirloom.
Beginning just two years ago, the family tree project has given students and their families an opportunity to converse about their own personal histories. The students took on the task and explained what they learned from those conversations during their presentations. Students received a certificate after completion "to commemorate their achievement."
From the preschool presentations, Mama Karla said, "I learned a lot. I thought it was interesting, educational, inspiring... You learn a lot about their family dynamics and history."
Mama Aisha reflected on the project's origin, "Two years ago, I decided or asked if students could do a family tree... because families extend pretty far."
Mama Aisha continued, "A year before we had a family in India who were descendants of Ghandi." One year ago, Mama Aisha said, "We had a family who could trace [the tree of their family roots] back to slavery.." and one more recent family tree [belonging to Dorian] has family relations that connect Morehouse and Spelman College graduates.
It was a fun project for staff as well as students and parents.
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