Family Genealogy Projects
Genealogy, or researching your family tree, has become more popular as the number of Internet websites containing genealogical resources has grown exponentially. Records that are centuries old and until recently only accessible at museums, libraries and archives are now available at the touch of a button. This massive availability of historical data has changed genealogy from a singular pastime to a hobby that can be shared by multiple generations, with each gleaning a new respect for the elders who walked before them.
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Family Trees
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Family members of all ages enjoy building a family tree, and the tree itself can be as simple as a traditional lines-and-boxes drawing for five-year-olds or as elaborate as a wall mural. Family trees are an excellent way to teach children about family relationships and are especially helpful in explaining to blended families how divorce and remarriage affect the relationships of children, stepchildren and other family members.
Photo Collages
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A photo collage can be an ongoing family genealogy project, expanding with current milestones as well as ancestral discoveries. Blending the old with the new, the living with the long gone, and the past and the present can give families a fresh perspective on their place within the family tree. A simple method to an ongoing collage project is to mount the photos onto poster boards, which can then be tacked onto a wall. As the project expands, poster boards can be added to show the ongoing progress of your family work of art.
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Family Books
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A family book can be as simple as a series of pages in a report cover or as sophisticated as a self-published hardcover book. Family books can cover many generations, a single generation, or a single person such as the current patriarch or matriarch of the family. A family book also makes an excellent gift for a grandparent or parent, as it outlines both their past and the fruits of their labors.
Interviews
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Interviewing family members can be used as a fact-finding quest while teaching children the basics of genealogy research. By asking parents, grandparents or other family members the who, what, where, when and how details of their lifetime milestones, children learn how to tie details, facts and history together into a cohesive account of their relative's life's highlights.
Family Group Sheets
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One of the cornerstones of genealogical research is the family group sheet, which details how a specific branch of the family ties together with each other and the main family tree. By filling out family group sheets together, family members learn how to correlate facts and information into a cohesive report. By using this invaluable tool as a family project, parents can teach children the basics of report writing while expanding their knowledge of family history.
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References
Resources
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