Happily ever after – teaching kids about family history

Urban blight takes over a former family home.

The photo with this post is a photo of what’s left of the house I lived in during my elementary school years. My grandparents lived there just over 40 years and my mother, brother and I lived there during my early years. This was my once upon a time.

On a quest to show my children the area where I once lived, we discovered a neighborhood block taken over by urban blight. Although there was barely a shell of a house left standing, I could still share the memories. One structure left standing was the steps leading to the porch where I sat playing jacks with friends. Other structures present were a curved archway that separated the living room and dining room and a square archway leading to the kitchen.

In the background is the inside (living room archway) of the now dilapidated home above. The foreground is photo of a younger me.

Although my children visited the old neighborhood before it was in such disrepair they were really young. Our walk down memory lane led to other questions about our family history. I coined our discussion as our, “happily ever after” conversation. How do you teach your child about family history?

An article at ehow provided a few fun ways to teach kids about family history.

1.      Share family stories – the good, the bad, and the funny.

2.      Interview a relative – Your child could pretend to be a detective and create a list of questions to ask an older family member. The questions could include: “where were you born? what jobs did you have?; did you finish school?; what hobbies did you have as a child?”

Through past discussions my boys learned that my grandfather only had an eighth grade education and my grandmother played basketball in high school. Can you imagine what the uniforms looked like in the 1930’s? More history for a later time.

3.      Visit a cemetery and have your child act as a detective – your child could go prepared with a camera, pen and notebook. He could write down the cemetery name, location and decedent’s relationship to your family. Your child could “photograph the grave for his detective notebook.”

 

 

As part of our family reunion last year, a visit to a cemetery (Fort Campbell) was a part of the activities. Little did I know that we would discover such rich history. The boys also discovered that my grandparents are buried in a historical cemetery in Detroit – Elmwood Historical Cemetery where former founding fathers of the City lay to rest.

Photo taken near Fort Campbell, KY.

 

Sharing the past with our children helps them to build a foundation to their future. How will you start your “happily ever after” conversation with your child?