Mothers are at the heart of family. Researcher Marshall Duke found that family stories are primarily transferred by mothers and grandmothers and that these stories give children personal strength and moral guidance. Mothers are often the memory keepers of the family. We honor our mothers and their influence in society each Mother’s Day (May 14, 2017 in the United States). Let’s celebrate them by remembering the advice, memories, and stories they passed on to us,...
Last week I taught a cub scouts group (ages 8-9) about genealogy. I wanted to connect with their interests, so I decided to talk about science. I brought this book with me: The One and Only Me: A Book About Genes by Ariana Killoran, a 23andMe Book. Preschool – Grade 3 (ages 4-8). It’s a fantastic introduction to inheritance and variation of traits for children. Poppy has red hair, freckles, blue eyes, and likes making pizza....
Parenting is busy. Taking care of children wonderful and exhausting at the same time. How can parents who are already feeling overwhelmed with work, volunteering, homework, play dates, sports, laundry, and meals find time to share family history with their children? In last month’s link up, 15 moms and 1 dad told why telling kids about their heritage important, and this month we’re giving tips for how to actually learn about your family history. As you start...
LDS General Conference is coming up! Here are two free, printable activities you can do with your kids using photos of the general authorities as children. As you know, I love making coloring pages of our family and ancestors from photos, so I thought this would be a fun way to do the same for a conference activity to help my kids learn that the apostles were kids once, too. Have you read Kid Presidents?...
I have a secret weapon for making family dinner happier. Every time I try it, it results in laughter, connection, and fun. Oftentimes when we sit down together to eat diner, all that can be heard is: “Ugh be quiet, stop making that noise, you’re bothering me.” “Please don’t eat until we say the prayer.” “I need a snack.” “We’re not having a snack right now we’re eating dinner.” “Can I have something else?” “I...
Anything that happened before your child’s birth is “history” to them. Do you tell them the story of how you and your spouse met? The story of their own birth? Those times in college when you wanted to quit? The time you were the last to get picked for a team? The time when grandma gave food to strangers stranded in a snow storm? The time when great grandpa rescued fellow sailors when their ship...
I asked my 3-year-old daughter if she knows what it means to be brave. She didn’t. I told her that it means “doing something you are afraid of, or doing something that is hard.” Then I read Seven Brave Women with her. We discussed several different ways that everyday women in the past were brave. Seven Brave Women by Betsy Hearne is a story about the brave deeds of the author’s ancestresses. Each of them did something...
I’m excited to announce that I’m hosting the very first “Family History for Children” blog link up. I loved the genealogy blog party by Elizabeth O’Neal at Little Bytes of Life and this is partly inspired by her. Thank you Elizabeth! Rather than focusing on genealogy in general, I am inviting you to share about the important topic of Family History for Children (ages 0-18). My hope is to add inspirational stories and practical tips...
Did you know that when you learn stories about your ancestors, it actually gives them power to reach through the centuries and touch you?! At Family Discovery Day last week, Hank Smith, popular speaker for youth, shared how knowing a story from his family history helped him make a good choice. (See the video of Hank’s address here. And don’t forget to watch the bonus video at the end of this post!) Hank was a teenager...
Children love playing games. According to the book Einstein Never Used Flashcards by Roberta Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, play is how young children learn. I loved this book – the ideas really resonated with me. Of course children learn more when they are playing, not just repeating memorized information to please an adult. To teach my children about world geography and family history at the same time, I made a personalized “where in the world”...
