Top 10 Tips for Helping Children Become Interested in Family History

Following are some great ideas to help you get children interested in family history:

1. Using family photos, tell the story of a family member’s immigration, cross-country move, involvement in a battle, or other event.
2. Learn about the talents and interests of the children and their ancestors. Play games or ask children to demonstrate talents that they have in common.
3. Tell stories that begin with “When I was a little boy….” or “When I was a little girl….” and share experiences you had camping, playing with pets, going to school, playing a sport, or other activity that was exciting to you as a child.
4. Help children create a family play that tells a story from the lives of an ancestor. Historic battles or moves are always fun.
5. Encourage children to teach extended family members how to use the Internet to explore genealogy sites or social networking websites (like MySpace or Facebook) to keep in touch. They may even teach family how to text message!
6. Write a humorous song that tells special characteristics of your family.
7. Create a family tree with photos, and then help children identify other family members they may look like.
8. When family members are serving in the military or are living overseas, involve them by use a webcam to share sounds and sights of a reunion.
9. When a loved one passes, provide quiet time for each person to share that person’s legacy and contribution to the family with the group.
10. Ask older children to write or type family stories as older people tell them. Younger children may illustrate the stories. These can be combined into a scrapbook or photobook and shared.