Where do you come from? No, we’re not talking about the birds and the bees — we’re talking about your heritage. Your ancestors tell a magnificent tale about your family history, and that story is worth sharing with your kids. Here’s how you can get your kids excited about learning about your family history.
Take a Trip
Traveling to the place where your family namesake began is a great way to learn about your family heritage. And what kid isn’t excited about taking a vacation? From other continents to cities within the U.S., the Family Tree Tours company can take you back in time and show your family where your ancestors once lived. At the helm of Family Tree Tours are three experienced and well-traveled genealogists.
Of course, no vacation is complete without making stops at some of the most iconic sites in the area. Be sure to stop off at a handful of sites that your kids will be interested in, such as theme parks, children’s museums and parks.
Learn With Tech
This is the age of the tech takeover. It’s everywhere. Even young kids are using tablets, like the iPad, and the latest smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S7. And, sometimes, they’re more proficient than us. Take the time to sit down with your child and visit a genealogy website or the National Archives to learn about your family history. Spend a little time researching where your family came from.
Even with the amount of information on the Internet, there’s no better way for your child to learn about your family’s history than from older generations in your family. Remember to give grandma and grandpa a call every now and then. Learning about history is much more exciting when it comes from a person who experienced it than a book.
Create a Family Tree
You’ve probably got a box full of old family photos tucked away in the basement, attic or storage. Instead of letting them collect dust, bring them out, dust them off and create a photo family tree with your kids. Tell your children stories about the family members in the photographs and share your fondest memories of your aunts, uncles and cousins. This activity is great for young children, as there is no reading or writing involved. Once your child is a little older, you can add names and details to the tree. Update the tree when new additions are welcomed into the family, too. You can also use people tracing agents to help gather all the information about any past relatives that you may need to add to your tree.
Get Cookin’
Some of the best family traditions are passed down in the kitchen. Whether your favorite family dish has a cultural meaning or if it’s only prepared for the holidays, don’t miss out on the opportunity to teach it to your child. Let your child help by measuring or reading the directions — just be sure to keep him or her engaged and safely working away.
Once the meal is prepared, everyone can enjoy the dish at the dinner table with the entire family. If you’ve got your recipe memorized, write it down and save it so you can pass it down to your kids. Maybe one day they will pass it down to their own children.
I live in a small Georgia town that you most likely have never heard of and I LOVE it! My house is more than full as I am a single mother of four & caregiver to my aging mother and uncle. Lover of all things Outlander. Goes to the beat of her own drum woman.
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I love baking and cooking with my girls..I do have a few of my Mom’s recipes that I adore and my daughters will have this recipes
Great tips!I have always been fascinated with my family history, since I was a child. My mom always told me every story she knew.. She still does lol. I know that my Great Great Grandparents left all they knew, packed up their children and came to America on a cattle boat to escape Germany. I couldn’t even imagine having to make that journey and what they went through after they arrived here. I will always tell my son every story that was told to me. They are very important!
Wonderful ideas for sharing history with the kids.
I can’t wait for my girls to be old enough to understand our heritage. My father and I have built an extensive family tree that we have been working on for over 15 years. I look forward to sharing it with them.
We were just talking about this last night. My daughter saw a commercial about testing for you “heritage” and said we should do that. I told her I know mine but maybe we could do hers someday.
Heritage is the essence of who we are and where our family has developed from over the past 3 years I have been researching online, walking in the heat through cemeteries and countless hours in libraries all over the state of Georgia to give my boys a sense of strength and perseverance in how our family endured trials and tribulations and the things we have discovered are priceless
My daughter is half Filipino half Salvadorian, born here in Los Angeles California. I have showed her on maps where on the world her family comes from. One way I like to get her to experience her culture is through food. I usually cook Filipino food for her which she loves. She cooks Salvadorian food with her grandma on her mom’s side. We are also teaching her Spanish and Tagalog, hopefully she can use it later with others. I’ll definitely try the other suggestions on this post, thanks for the tips.