Alexis Maurer who writes the blog The Adventures of the Baby Genealogist is sharing a guest blog post about family history for children. I’m excited for you to hear her great ideas! She does a lot of fun things to teach her small children about family history. -Nicole There is a power in connecting with another person. When we create that special bond in our families, our children and grandchildren are affected for the better. Letter writing can be a powerful way to connect. I feel it is slowly becoming a lost art to actually take the time to write something...
This post is part of the #FHforChildren Linkup, “Learning Family History Through Play.” My children love to dress up and pretend, so I’ve been brainstorming ways to teach them about the past as they pretend. Role playing is a fun way to learn how people work. From doctors to train conductors, kids love imitating the occupations of grown ups. I thought this would be a good way to teach them about our farming ancestors. Were any of your ancestors farmers? It seems like almost everyone descends from farmers. Agriculture was the way of life for almost everyone 200 years ago....
I’m excited to share a guest blog post today by Kristen Ziller and Laura Richardson, two amazing teachers I met at RootsTech. They were there sharing about their 8th grade family history project at the Family Tree Maker booth. They have used their teaching expertise to craft a year long project for 8th graders to learn about their family history through primary sources family stories. Kristen Ziller at RootsTech Introduction Our journey with family history projects for our 8th grade students began in 2014 when I was invited to participate in a three-day teacher cohort on the beautiful campus of the...
I have a great family history activity for children to share today – teaching children to find names for the temple by doing family history research with historical records! The activity was created by Alana Anderson. Alana lives in an LDS stake near me in Tucson. She is an activity day leader and did the Finding Franklin Time Machine Activity with her group. It went so well, that she decided to create a “Family History Mystery” activity to take it a step further with her own family, and share it at her stake activity days event. The girls and their...
Today is the first day of our new family history for children blog link up. This one will last three months and be all about learning family history through play. Experts agree that children learn best when they are playing. What fun ways have you shared family history with children? How do your children like to play? My son enjoys dressing up and pretending. My daughter loves playing with Play-Doh and doing crafts. We have experimented with many different ways of sharing family history with them through the way they like to play. We’ve taught my son about his cowboy...
Should children take DNA tests? Thought leaders and genetic genealogy experts say yes. In keynote speeches and interviews at RootsTech 2018, Cece Moore, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Living DNA co-founders David Nicholson and Hannah Morden, reveal their thoughts about the booming DNA industry and how it can benefit children. Overcoming Prejudice LivingDNA is making great strides in the industry, especially in pinning down ethnic origins to specific regions within the British Isles. Yet they also have an altruistic goal – to overcome racial divides through DNA testing. Co-founders David Nicholson and Hannah Morden wowed the audience at RootsTech...
I created another worksheet to go along with the table that helps children gather data about inherited traits from their family members. I figured it would be fun to map out what they know on a family tree! This worksheet allows children to color their own eye color and hair color on the family tree, then check boxes that say if they have a hitchhikers thumb, long second toe, and attached earlobes. Then they can do the same for their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. It might take some interviewing and asking around to see if parents and grandparents know...
Looking for a fun activity for children that helps them learn how to use FamilySearch.org? When children look at an online family tree for the first time, it is helpful for them to learn how to navigate around and see what information they can find out about their ancestors. This scavenger hunt does just that! With little clues like, “find a relative with an unusual name” or “find a woman who had more than ten children,” the scavenger hunt will pique their curiosity and help them get used to using FamilySearch. This scavenger hunt can be used with children ages...
What skills do genealogists use? How can we teach them to children in an age appropriate way? This month’s #FHforChildren blog link up is all about teaching kids to do genealogy research. Theme: Teaching Children Genealogy Skills What are the core skills of genealogy that children can learn from a young age? What age would you start teaching these at and how do you do so with your children? Share your ideas for teaching kids how to do genealogy. Here are some ideas for posts: Handouts or other printable that help children learn a genealogy skill Activities or lessons that...
What makes the Christmas season beautiful? For a child, the anticipation of Christmas morning and gifts from Santa might seem all encompassing. But the decorations, the holiday feast, the music, the lights, all serve to add to the magic of Christmas. Who makes the magic happen? Behind it all there is often a mother orchestrating the dance of Christmas. As I’ve been pondering family Christmas traditions, I’ve settled on the tradition of making the season beautiful. Looking at photos of Christmas past I’ve discovered that many of the things I do for my family I learned from my mother, who...
