Students explore the questions:
What is a family?
Who is in a family?
What is special about different members of our families?
How is everyone included in a family?
This video does a wonderful job of addressing the beautiful diversity of families.
There are so many resources for primary students that address the topic of family. It is important to choose carefully so students are learning how to accept that family is unique and different for every person. Here are a few resources that support an inclusive definition of family.
Todd Parr brings lighthearted fun to his book about families.
Jack Hartmann sings about the love found in a family.
A true story about two male penguins who become fathers to Tango.
Families change over time as new family members are added.
Some Read Alouds that promote an inclusive and diverse lens of families:
He Came with the Couch
by David Slonim
This book explores the idea of who belongs in your family in a very lighthearted way. It is a good conversation starter for the characteristics that belong to those we consider to be family.
The Family Book
by Todd Parr
The Family Book celebrates the love we feel for our families and all the different varieties they come in. Whether you have two moms or two dads, a big family or a small family, a clean family or a messy one, Todd Parr assures readers that no matter what kind of family you have, every family is special in its own unique way.
We Belong Together
by Todd Parr
This book explores the ways that people can choose to come together to make a family by showing one perspective on the adoption experience.
Stella Brings the Family
by Miriam B. Schiffer
Stella’s class is having a Mother’s Day celebration, but what’s a girl with two daddies to do? Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem.
Families
by Kerry Mccluskey & Jesse Unaapik Mike
Talittuq is excited to start his first day of grade two. He notices that a lot of his friends’ families are very different from his own. Some have one mom and one dad. Some kids live with their grandparents. Some live with two dads or two moms. As Talittuq hears about all the fun his friends have had with their families, he learns that families come in many different shapes and sizes, and what holds them all together is love!
Still a Family: A Story About Homelessness
by Brenda Reeves Sturgis
A girl and her parents have lost their home and must live in a homeless shelter. Even worse, due to a common shelter policy, her dad must live in a men’s shelter, separated from her and her mom. The family still finds time to meet at the park to play hide-and-seek, slide on slides, and pet puppies. While the young girl wishes for better days when her family is together again under a roof of their very own, she reminds herself that they’re still a family even in times of separation.
And Tango Makes Three
by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell
At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family was the same. And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo got the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own.
