1. About Family History
2. My Family Tree
3. Group Fun and Games
4. My Memories
5. Family History Stories
6. Service
7. For Latter-day Saints
Family
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Youth |
Index
Kids Corner
Have fun with family history!
5. Family History Stories
In his book, The Secrets of a Happy Family (quoted here), Bruce Feiler records a conversation he had with Marshall Duke, a professor at Emory University who researched American families. According to Professor Duke, "The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger the sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the more successfully they believed their families functioned." The Kids Corner of The Family History Guide is a place where children can go to discover and experience the joys of family history.
Read more in this blog post: Six Tips for Involving Children In Family History And Helping Them To Love It
More helpful links:
- Obituaries Help: Ways to Get Kids Interested in Genealogy
- Youth Genealogists' Association
- Archives.com article
- Independent Study Course from BYU (helping children love family history; free registration)
- Genwriters: Genealogy for Children
- Genealogy Gems Podcast 162
- Family Tree Magazine for Kids—Teachers and Parents
- Kid Genealogists: Inspiring the Next Generation
- The Genealogy Kids
- Family Genealogy
Here are some additional coaching and motivation tips:
- Know the interests and limitations of the children you are working with.
- Choose age-appropriate activities for learning. If you have mixed ages in a group, design different levels for the activity if needed.
- Keep the activity time brief so the attention doesn't wander. Activities can be continued in a later session.
- Be flexible. If a particular activity isn't working well, change the approach or switch to another one.
- Be attentive. Stay involved, to answer questions and watch for potential issues.
- Be positive and encouraging. Children need to know their efforts are appreciated and valued.
This is your place for family history fun!
* Learn about your family tree, your parents' and grandparents' lives, and about other ancestors.
* Play cool games and discover some great activities for family history.
* Try this page out, and share the ideas and activities with your siblings, cousins, and friends!
* You can find more activities in the Family, Individuals, and Youth pages of The Family History Guide. When you need help, be sure to ask your parents, a leader, or a family member you know.
5. Family History Stories
Parents and LeadersThis FamilySearch article states: "Tell stories about your life and the lives of your ancestors. Young people need more than facts and dates. They need the facts and dates packaged in interesting, meaningful, and memorable ways. The best way to create an interest in family history is by telling young people stories about real people. Fill your stories with interesting information, humorous details, and unusual facts that will capture a young imagination. Sharing family stories doesn’t have to be a big event; make it a common occurrence around the dinner table, in the car, or at bedtime."
Helpful links:- Teaching Children the Art of Storytelling
- How To Turn Family Stories Into Family Storybooks
- Family History Activities: I Do and I Understand
- All Your Stories In One Place
Activities marked by an asterisk (*) take little or no prep time.
*K5-01: Discover Your Family StoriesFamily stories are everywhere! Watch the video above to see how important they are. Search for stories on your family tree on FamilySearch (on your account if you have one, or on the account of a family member). Ask your parents and grandparents to tell you stories, or read them from FamilySearch memories, scrapbooks, family history books, and old letters. Be sure to make sure all your favorite stores are recorded or written down. Draw pictures to tell about the stories. Practice retelling family history stories. See the ideas for interviewing relatives in Activity K7-01. Check out this list of ways to find and share family history stories.
*K5-02: Preserve Your Family StoryThe booklet My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together is a great way to capture and preserve your family story. You can fill it out and share it online or off. Get help from your parents and grandparents.
*K5-03: Play Ancestor Dress-Up and Create a Video Watch the video above to see how one family learned about grandpa from his journals, and explored his life stories by dressing up in his flight uniforms and making a pretend airplane. Read about more ideas on the Family Locket site. Also view Harvey's Jobs on The Genealogy Kids Website.
*K5-04: Record Family History StoriesThe 52 Stories Project makes it easy to know what questions to ask! You can learn how to use the FamilySearch Audio App to record stories on a cell phone and attach them to a family tree. Let Arthur from the cartoons show you how to interview family members, and join him to play family history games.
K5-05: Scrapbooks, Photos, and CraftsExplore activities with family trees, scrapbooks, and journals. Check out the crafts on the BuggyandBuddy site.
*K5-06: Discover the Occupations of Your AncestorsWhat did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut? A princess? What about a wharfinger or a ragpicker? There are dozens of wacky jobs that don’t exist anymore. Many of them are jobs that your own ancestors may have performed, hundreds of years ago! Test your knowledge of these extinct occupations and see how many you can get right. Who knows, you might just find your long-lost calling! Read more and take this fun quiz. Discover the occupations of your ancestors on FamilySearch.
K5-07: Visit the Discovery Center In Salt Lake City, UtahIf you live close or are visiting Salt Lake City, Utah, visit the Family History Library Discovery Center to find out about your ancestors! Learn more here.
Find more activities here: 1. About Family History 2. My Family Tree 3. Group Fun and Games 4. My Memories 6. Service 7. For Latter-day Saints