Family History

That was the topic of my lesson I gave in YW on Sunday.  I remember getting those lessons when I was in YW and thinking how boring they were, so I tried to make it fun for them. 

We started with a box lid full of 17 little items.  I had them all look at them for a few minutes and then covered it up, but then I didn't let them write them down. 

I started with my lesson giving the quotes, reading a few scriptures, etc.  After about 10 minutes into the lesson, I then let them write down what was in the lid.  We talked about how in only 10 minutes, they all forgot at least 1/2 of what was on there, so we are kidding ourselves thinking that we can remember things that happened, dates, places, names, etc.  They need to be written down and kept track of.  We talked about Pedigree charts and Family Group Records, they were able to fill out a few things on them, but didn't know dates and names and places.  I encouraged them to go home and complete them this week and see what they could learn.

We also talked about some fun ways to do their family history work that isn't just the stuff they think is "boring" like filling out charts.  Here are some of the thoughts.  I thought maybe someone reading this would be able to find an idea to do with their kids to teach them about their heritage and have fun.  Maybe for Family Night or something.

1 - scrapbook (you knew this would be on my list huh!) but not just the big events, scrapbook things in your everyday life, or gather old photos and scrapbook them along with stories your older siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, or grandparents can tell you
2 - type up family recipes so they aren't "lost" when those people pass on.
3 - do a play or talk about how your ancestors came to America from wherever they came from (ship, plane, Mayflower)
4 - talk about any pioneer ancestors you might have - go on a mini-trek, talk about what they brought with them and what you would bring with you, cook a meal over a campfire
5 - help your parents set up some kind of social networking page (My Space, Facebook)  I've reconnected with lots of my cousins and family members that I had lost track of over Facebook.  It is fun to see their families and what they are doing with their lives now.  You also never know what documents, old photos, etc they might have access to to help with your genealogy work.
6 - If you were named after a relative, learn about them and find out why you were named after them
7 - cook some old family recipes for dinner or research foods common to the country you descended from and make them
8 - visit a cemetery where family members are buried, write down full names and dates from headstones, if you know stories about that family member, share them with your family members
9 - start and keep your own journal, read journals or letters of ancestors if you have access to them.
10 - Make a board game with trivia questions about family members (I did this one and we play it on New Years Eve, it is one of my kids favorite games)