Family Members: Trace the Names

Five simple figures stand in a row like a family portrait: a father, a mother, a brother, a sister, and a baby sitting at the end. They are drawn at clearly different sizes, so the grown-ups are tallest and the baby is smallest. Each figure has its name in large dotted capitals underneath to trace, and the outlines are left open for coloring.

Between three and five, children are learning the words for the people around them and how those people relate to each other. Seeing the figures side by side invites comparison words like tall, short, big, and small. Tracing a whole word, rather than a single letter, shows that letters sit in order to make a name, even before a child can read it.

Before any tracing, point to each figure and ask who it could be in your own home. Children with a different family shape can rename or add people, which keeps the page about their own family.