FAMILY HISTORY ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

While kids are out of school due to the Coronavirus and looking for things to do, I thought I would share a few free family history printables. Learning about our families through our own examinations is how we learn best.  My hope through these activities, is that kids will discover that their ancestors were REAL PEOPLE with REAL LIVES.

The prompts are simple yet the exploration can go as deep as they like.

To get started, parents may need to help their kids get set up online on their family tree and find an ancestor to explore. Some kids may know their away around their family tree and not need assistance. You can also use family books, photo albums, and family stories you have in your home. 

 If you don’t have an online family tree set up, here is a tutorial on creating one for free in Family Search. LINK HERE

HOW TO USE THE ANCESTOR ACTIVITY CARDS

 These pages prompt kids to figure out and list their similarities and differences they have with an ancestor or discover what their ancestor’s accomplishments and struggles were in life. Answers to these questions could be found through photos, stories, or even their vital information like their birthplace or birth month. 

If using an online family tree, I would suggest first, finding an ancestor that isn’t too far back -to ensure there is enough information for them to learn new things and not get frustrated.

However, this activity can also be done with a living grandparent- which could be really fun and make for a sweet video or phone call. Here are examples of the pages, but I have added all of the FULL RESOLUTION printables to a PDF download. Just enter your email address to receive the freebie.

The pack includes all of the grandparent/ grandchild variations (i.e. grandfather/ granddaughter, grandfather/ grandson, grandmother/ granddaughter, grandmother/ grandson). 

These pages could make a fun book that kids can share with their families. I hope something as simple as this could help kids to begin forming relationships with their ancestors and recognize some of the sacrifices they went through in life. The key is to make connections! 

I would love to hear any feedback if you use these pages and if your kids liked them or not. I would even love to see a picture of them and their completed copy!  If you have some suggestions, please tell me how I can improve these activities so more kids can enjoy them! Feel free to comment below! 

FOR KIDS OF EVERY AGE

For some addition activities, I am excited to share these family trees fround on National Archives website- LINK HERE.  These are great for younger children who may not be able to do some investigative research. 

If you haven’t ever checked out the National Archives website, I recommend that you do! They have many wonderful collections of genealogical records and materials. I was glad to see that they have some family history activities on there for kids too. Here are a few of the printables but be sure and check out their other family trees and activities.

These are all great exercises for keeping kids busy with something meaningful for a family night or a family reunion. 

If you know of any other great family history activities for kids, feel free to share in the comments!