I am a dreamer.
I am one person no one else can be.
I am from another country.
I am of the Wolf clan.
I am German.
I am learning my past.
I am the future.
I am me.
I am kind to others.
I am part of my community.
I am a soccer player.
I am bilingual.
I am talented.
I am this and more.
>> Those are my parents.
That's my little brother.
My grandma is a very important
family member, too.
>> My youngest brother is Doua.
He's six years old.
We like to play cards together.
He usually wins.
>> My mom and my dad
have different religions.
But we always worship together.
They've taught me
to respect other people.
>> In my house,
there's me, my mom
and our two greyhounds,
Charlie and Angel.
>> My mom and my grandma
both take care of me
and my brother, Joey.
>> Sometimes, my family
speaks Spanish together.
>> We all have
our own interests.
But every summer, we love to go
to the lake together.
>> My mom and dad
taught me to be myself.
>> That's my family.
And I wouldn't trade them
for the world.
>> Thanks, Cezonne.
I know some of you
are still working
on your family portraits.
But these are great!
>> I didn't know we were
allowed to include pets.
>> I think we should include
whoever feels like family.
>> Yeah, and all families are
different!
>> That's right!
But one thing is the same
for all of us.
One of the first
and most important places
we can learn about ourselves
is in our families.
Lets check this out.
>> Hi, I'm Emma.
>> And I'm Bo.
And this is our family!
>> Hi!
>> My family does a lot of stuff
together.
We read together.
And my sister and me
help each other do our homework.
>> Repeat...
>> My brother and I
play piano together.
Dad picks a song for us
and helps us play it.
>> It's important for our family
to have time to share
activities, because it's what
life is about.
I want to hang out with them,
and have fun together
and learn from each other.
>> What I've learned
from my parents is,
we have a family motto.
It is, "Cooperation and
communication make us
a happy nation."
I think it's right.
...directions, north, south,
east and west...
I like my sister a lot,
but sometimes we have
differences.
But we always talk through them.
You need to express what you
feel about things, and you need
to cooperate with each other
to be a good family.
As a family, we help out
by one, doing all our chores.
>> I'm in charge of taking care
of Bradley.
I keep his water full
and I give him food.
>> We're very busy,
so everybody kind of helps out.
And that makes it possible
for us all to have some time
to have fun together, too.
>> Sometimes, we go over
and help at the cheese factory.
>> Say cheese!
>> I think that helping out
at the cheese factory is fun.
I just like doing
the things that I do.
>> The cheese factory
is an important part of my
family, because it's been
in my family for years.
>> Our house is located
just across the street
from our cheese factory.
What that means to the kids,
is that all they have to do
is go across the street
and see what their father does
every day, and what he produces
every day.
It's nice for them
to be part of that.
And now, they're beginning
to even work there and pitch in.
>> Family is important, because
a family, like, figures out
who you are.
And you can learn things
from your family.
>> Having a family unit--
A family can come in all sorts
of shapes and sizes--
But just people who care
about you,
people who listen to you,
people who think about
your needs, and allow you
to do the same for them.
It's how you learn
to be in the world.
>> Hey, that family
is a lot like mine.
I have chores to do at home,
but we have fun, too!
>> I sometimes don't get along
with my sister, just like those
kids.
>> Yeah, but I like their family
motto about cooperation and
communication!
>> That's a good point, Nick.
We're going to be thinking more
about family culture today.
Family culture includes things
like who does what job,
as well as what everyone does
for fun together.
Family members have their own
ways of working through
problems, and communicating
with each other
to make things happen.
And although most families
have things in common,
everyone's family is unique.
I'd like you to start to think
about the activities you share
with your families,
and start creating
family scrapbooks.
What photos or keepsakes
would you include?
>> This is me and my friends
in my neighborhood.
My parents chose to live
in a community with many races,
cultures and traditions.
I like how that helps me
meet and feel comfortable
around all sorts of people.
We think that's important.
>> I think sometimes
family culture comes from
what you feel on the inside.
>> My family makes me who I am
today, to help me become
a better person.
We give each other love,
support, happiness, friendship.
(laughs)
>> That's a life skill.
We're a family.
And everyone
cares for the others.
What's your plans this weekend?
>> Prom!
>> Prom?
That's right.
>> We talk about school.
We talk about track.
We talk about everything.
My grandpa lives with my family.
He's always telling
great stories from his past,
always making all of us laugh.
I have a great dog, Hershel.
I went to the pound
and helped pick him out.
He always sleeps with me
at night.
>> I think how we raised Rachel
has a lot to do
with how we were raised.
>> I think it was important
for my family to raise me Jewish
because it's been a tradition.
(praying in Hebrew)
>> To see Rachel
standing on the bimah
and reading her Haftarah
was just the proudest moment
of my life.
>> In our synagogue,
it's tradition to pass the Torah
from generation to generation.
So, at my Bat Mitzvah,
we passed it from my grandmother
to my mother and to me.
>> We read the Torah
in all Hebrew.
It's right to left.
We use a yad.
It's an instrument that we use
to basically follow along.
Your hand should never touch
the Torah.
The tallit, or the fringes,
that Jews wear is basically
a commandment from God.
Where God had said,
"You will wear fringes."
And it's a reminder for Jews
to follow God's mitzvot,
his commandments.
>> When I was 13
and Bat Mitzvah'd,
my aunt presented me
with this tallit.
It's handmade
and very contemporary.
There are the tvitzit, and it
represents the 613 commandments
of the first five books
of the Bible.
The special time that I get
to spend with my family
is during Shabbat.
We always eat dinner,
do prayers together.
Shabbat is the Sabbath.
>> The service
is basically thanking God
for what he has given us.
The candles
for lighting our path.
(family praying)
Our wine for our fruit.
The challah for our bread.
>> Judaism is a way of life.
It's a culture.
It's belief.
It's faith.
It's everything to us.
>> I really enjoyed learning
more about Jewish culture!
>> It's cool to see
that family culture
isn't just about activities.
>> Yeah, it has to do with
things you can't always see,
like beliefs, values
and religious faith.
>> Even family rules, like
what time you have to go to bed.
>> You're right!
But remember, family culture
is always growing and changing.
One of the best ways
you can learn more about
your family culture is to
interview your family members.
And the first step in preparing
for an interview is deciding
what you want to learn.
What do you want to know
about your family?
Hey, let's invite some of your
family members to join us.
>> Yeah!
>> That'd be cool!
>> Where's your grandmother's
cottage?
>> Right there.
What about my other Grandma?
Your Abulita was born
on the island of Vieques,
Puerto Rico.
>> Hey, grandma,
what was school like for you?
>> Well, when we were kids,
we went to a one-room
schoolhouse.
We had to walk there
one mile each way.
>> He worked in the Air Force,
working with radar,
helping planes land in and out.
When he was in Europe,
he met grandma, my mom,
in Germany.
>> Hey, mom, wasn't that
Guillo's birthday
in Puerto Rico?
>> Yes, this was
in Titi Marisol's house.
>> Do you remember
how old he was in that birthday?
I can't remember.
>> What kind of spices
are these?
>> Oh, these are beetle nuts,
anise, candy, clove
and cordamom.
>> What did you learn
from your interviews?
>> We talked about my family
coming to the United States.
>> I liked hearing stories
from my grandfather.
>> In many cultures, people give
older adults special honor
and respect.
>> Yeah, because of their
knowledge and experience.
>> That's true
for Native Americans.
(drumming and singing)
>> I always remember the elders
always singing all the time.
And we were always dancing.
When I was nine years old,
that's when I was
put on the drum.
My father taught me.
>> I can remember being at my
grandpa and grandfather's house.
And my uncle's back then, they
were probably my age back then.
They use to sing and dance
around the house.
My mother and my aunts, and
them, would dance around
the basement, just like
we are doing now.
Pretty much the same thing.
Waubeno started showing us how.
And you could never
go right up to it and sit down.
You had to earn your way
up to the drum
to sit there and sing.
You were supposed to dance
before you were allowed.
And I did.
I danced when I was younger.
Same thing with Michael, here.
That's what I taught him
when he got old enough
and he wanted to sing.
And I said, "Well, okay.
you're going to have to
earn your way to the drum
like we all had to."
(singing and drumming)
>> The drum itself represents
the heartbeat of the people.
The common prophecy of that is
that if the heartbeat stops,
then we'll no longer be here.
This is why we encourage
all of our children to continue
using the drum.
The values, the traditions,
the culture, and of course,
our religion, that was passed on
by our parents.
>> We don't learn from one
person, we learn from everybody,
the whole family.
That's why it's such a big deal
for us to get together
and spend time together.
(all laugh)
A lot of our family has moved
to different parts of Wisconsin.
Whereas, when we were smaller,
we were all fairly close
in this area.
And we could get together
within a couple hours.
Where now, it would take
a half a day, or to a day,
to get everybody in one spot.
But we've always been
a tight-knit family.
(singing and drumming)
Both my boys, they love it
that we all come together
and we're so tight, all of us--
even the distant cousins,
the aunts, the uncles.
He's very close with all them,
as we all are.
I treat my uncles
like they're my dad,
and my aunts
like their my mother.
He gives them
the same respect, as well.
>> We are family.
We have to be together.
We have to show our children.
If we don't continue
the family values, our children
are not going to grow up
as we did.
And we want to pass that on.
I talk to my children,
my grandchildren.
I tell them the cycle of life.
Some of the younger ones, it's
kind of hard to understand that
a cycle has to be completed.
The elders go, and then
others have to take over.
Eventually, we're all
going to go.
And they'll have to take over,
their children.
They'll look at their children
and talk to them.
I can rest assured my children,
my youngest children,
are going to carry on,
no matter what.
I may not be around here
100 years from now,
but my family will.
And they will still carry on
this way.
And that's something
I know is going to happen,
and it makes me feel good.
>> Wow, I liked how Waubeno
described his family.
>> Yeah, and it's neat to see
how they pass traditions along.
(singing and drumming
ncontinue)
>> We've seen all kinds
of families today.
>> In some ways, the families
we saw have a lot in common.
>> Yeah, they did
everyday stuff together.
>> They had special traditions,
too.
And they shared
some important beliefs.
Still, every family
really is unique!
>> You've got it!
Remember, our family members
are the first people to teach us
about our own culture.
Conflict and cooperation
are a natural part
of everyone's family life.
And our family culture
is always growing and changing.
>> I really enjoyed learning
more about my family culture!
>> My grandmother
was born in India.
And she taught me an Indian song
that you can clap to.
Want to learn?
>> Yeah!
(singing in Hindi)
>> Everybody wants to try it?
>> Yeah!
(all singing in Hindi)
>> Some of the stories
we read together,
my grandpa's actually written.
He's probably wrote
500-something pages.
Some of the stories
are about us.
But some are about things
that he and my grandma did.
>> My true name, Waubeno,
means "It comes from the east."
Blake's true name
means "White Cloud."
And Bitsy,
her name means "Day Woman."
>> I started reading Hebrew
when I was in kindergarten.
There's sound that you've never
even thought of.
It's very hard to learn.