Posts Tagged ‘family history’
Have you heard about the new digi-mag called The In-Depth Genealogist? If not, you should definitely check it out. There is a blog, newsletter, chat forum with every topic a genealogist could think of discussing, and coming soon – Resource Pages!
This new magazine was started last month by two colleagues, Stephanie Pitcher Fishman, Terri O’Connell, and myself. Our plan for The In-Depth Genealogist includes creating a huge resource section for parents, teachers, homeschool parents, kids, genealogy societies, and libraries. With this goal in mind, by the end of summer, this blog, Genealogy for Kids will disappear and the resources will be moved to The In-Depth Genealogist.
You will still be able to visit my business site, Generations and the Generations Blog for updates on new teacher and youth genealogy books. There will be a teacher book out by the fall and some short individual lessons available as PDFs and Ebooks. Information will be posted as the release dates approach.
Please check out The In-Depth Genealogist today! Let us know what you think.
Generations publishes six new genealogy textbooks for kids. Parents, teachers, and genealogical societies looking for a how-to genealogy textbook for elementary through high school-aged students need to look no further. In Branching Out, a new series available from Generations, author and professional genealogist Jennifer Holik provides parents and educators with the tools they need to teach genealogical research skills to children and teens.
Through thirty fun and educational lessons, students will learn the foundations of genealogy and how to begin research on a level that they can understand and enjoy. Each lesson contains a clearly defined goal, all necessary vocabulary, additional reading assignments, and lesson and homework assignments to extend understanding of the concept.
The Branching Out series of books begins with six paperback textbooks which are also available as a PDF or PowerPoint download. The PowerPoint files, which were created with the visual and hands-on learner in mind, contain the same information as the textbooks with a few fun and interactive extras.
The Branching Out: Genealogy Lessons for Adults will be released in April with additional books for families, genealogical societies, and educators to be published later in 2012.
The books are available on CreateSpace in paperback form at the links provided. The PDF and PowerPoint files are available at the Generations Store at: http://www.e-junkie.com/generationsBranching Out: Genealogy for 1st – 3rd Grade Students Lessons 1-15 Book $24.95
PDF $17.95
PowerPoint $17.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for 1st – 3rd Grade Students Lessons 16-30 Book $29.95
PDF $20.95
PowerPoint $20.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for 4th – 8th Grade Students Lessons 1-15 Book $26.95
PDF $18.95
PowerPoint $18.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for 4th – 8th Grade Students Lessons 16-30 Book $32.95
PDF $23.95
PowerPoint $23.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for High School Students Lessons 1-15 Book $29.95
PDF $20.95
PowerPoint $20.95
Branching Out: Genealogy for High School Students Lessons 16-30 Book $34.95
PDF $24.95
PowerPoint $24.95
If you live in the Chicagoland area, you can meet Jennifer and purchase books at the Fountaindale Public Library’s Author Fair on Saturday, April 14, 2012. For more information visit the Ge
Related articles
Thank you to Jennifer Shoer for her second guest post for kids! If you missed Part I, you can still read it here.
Turn the Camera on Your Parents and Grandparents – Video for Family History – Part 2
The holidays are right around the corner. No matter what holiday you will be celebrating, I bet you will be spending time with your family. Sometimes it seems boring to spend time with older people, but when was the last time you sat down and asked them questions about their lives…what they love, what they remember and what it feels like to be X years old?
In my last post I told you about my grandfather, Bubba, who was an amazing family historian. He recorded the details of our lives in both photos and movie film. Bubba died twelve years ago. I will always remember how many years it has been because my youngest son was born the same year. Bubba did get to hold him, make a wish (Do all families make wishes on new babies?) and call him the ugliest baby in the family (the newest was always the ugliest).
I like knowing that Bubba lived to hold all of my babies and I love looking at pictures of him, but do you know what I really wish? I wish I had taken movies (or videos as they are known today). I wish I could hear his voice and his chuckle. He told my sister and me so many stories. I tell my kids the ones I can remember, but how much cooler would it be if they could hear his stories and his chuckle as if he was sitting in the room. Some people might find that creepy and it might have been hard to watch the videos soon after he died, but now twelve years later I would love to hear and see him tell one of his stories again.
Turn the Camera on Your Parents and Grandparents
When you get together with your parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents over the holidays, do me a favor and turn the camera on your parents and grandparents. Borrow a video camera or whip out your smart phone and ask one of them (or the eldest) to sit down with you. Tell them you want to learn more about them and their lives and that you would like to create a video of your conversation.
Create a Video for Family History
- Make a list of questions before the interview or look at websites for questions:
http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm
http://articles.scrapbooking.com/family_history.htm
- Be sure your video camera is fully charged and that you have extra batteries or a charger.
- Ask as many or as few questions as you would like. There are no rules! This is your interview.
- Prop the camera up so that your hands are free and so that your subject does not get distracted by it.
- Let your subject talk without interrupting him or her. If you think of something to ask while they are talking, write it down and then ask it when they finish.
- Thank them for their time and for sharing their stories with you!
- Upload the video to your computer and share it with your family members. Burn copies to DVD or flash drives.
I hope you get a chance to make a video soon.
Happy Holidays!
Scrappy Gen
Let’s Remember!
Photo credits: Jennifer Shoer’s personal collection. Used with permission.
Want to know more about Jennifer? You can find her at the Scrappy Genealogist blog or on Twitter @ScrappyGen. Thank you Jennifer!!
Today I have an activity for you. Let’s break down your life, family, and interests. Write a story that includes the following information:
Your name
Date of birth
Place of birth
How big were you at birth – both in length and weight?
What color are your eyes? Your hair?
Where did you live when you were born? Who lived with you?
What is your father’s full name? What is his date of birth?
What is your mother’s full name? What is her date of birth?
Name all your siblings and write down their dates of birth.
Do you go to church? Were you baptized? Who are your godparents?
Where have you gone to school? Who were your teachers? What were your favorite subjects?
Have you achieved anything? Won a contest? Received an award for something? Earned an A in a subject you did not like very much?
What hobbies do you have?
Do you play any sports? Are you on any teams?
Do you have pets? If you do not, what pet would you have?
Who are your best friends? What do you like to do together? Where do you hang out?
Make a timeline of important events in your life.
Add important historical events to that timeline. For example: My oldest son was born January 2001. I would put that in. I would mark his birthdays each year. I would mark the date he started school. I would mark the date he did something important. Then I could go add history – 11 September 2001 was an important day in history. He was only 8 months old but it happened during his lifetime.
Write down how much things cost that you use all the time. This could be gas for your car, how much a loaf of bread is or a gallon of milk. How much did you pay for your computer? What kind of computer did you buy? Those sorts of things.
Where have you gone on vacation? What trips did you like best?
Save your responses in your notebook. Check back next week for a guide to write about your parents and grandparents.
Hey kids! Have you heard of 1000memories.com? This is a free site that helps you share your family history with your family or the world. There are several ways to create privacy within 1000memories.com. You can create a family tree here, upload pictures, videos, stories and more. Just create a free account and get started. Then tell family about it and let them follow you on 1000memories.com to see what new information you have been working on.
So how do you start?
- Get a free account.
- Click “My Shoebox” on the top of the page.
- See the “Share a Memory” box on the page that loads? Choose something there to share. Follow the process to finish.
It is very easy to use 1000memories.com. Want to see what I have started putting out there? Type “Jennifer Holik-Urban” in the search box at the top of the screen and see my Shoebox. I’m just getting started but there will be more added. But do you see how easy it is to share your photos and stories with family?
There are many other features of 1000memories.com but start with the Shoebox and share your memories.
Give it a try. Leave a comment and let me know if you do and what name to look for.
Related articles
- Creative Writing at 1000memories.com (examiner.com)
- Treasure Chest Thursday – Czech Records (chicagofamilyhistory.wordpress.com)
Yesterday I posted a set of questions I gave my son. Below are his answers and my responses.
Why is my family history important to me?
Son: So I can learn how far my family goes back in history.
One interesting thing I learned about my family history is:
Son: My cousin was a Flying Tiger.
If I were interviewing my parents, I would ask these five questions.
1. Did you get expelled? Mom: No. Your father and I were never expelled from school.
2. Favorite food Mom: Chocolate and Home Run Inn pizza.
3. Worst grade Mom: F. I’m fairly certain I flunked out of one college course early on.
4. Favorite teacher Mom: Mrs. Willis my first grade teacher. She was so nice.
5. Best subject Mom: Band and English/Literature. I loved playing my clarinet and I loved to read. I still love to read. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
Other things I want to know about my family history:
1. How many family members served in a war? Mom: On my side, Michael Kokoska WWI, Frankie Winkler WWII, Robert Brouk WWII, your great uncle John Vietnam. Those are the ones I have confirmed. There were a few other Kokoska men who were stateside during WWI either training or working in the Army. On your father’s side I have not identified anyone who served yet.
2. How many cousins do I have? Mom: Too many to count.
3. What is my oldest living family member? Mom: Currently that would be your great aunt Bea I believe.
4. Was my family rich? Mom: Not that I am aware of.
5. Was my family ever famous? Mom: Robert Brouk could be considered famous as he was one of the Flying Tigers in China between 1941-1942.
Kids, what would your parents answers to these questions be? What other questions do you have? Write them down and start talking. You never know what interesting facts you will uncover.
Related articles
- May I Introduce You at Geneabloggers (chicagofamilyhistory.wordpress.com)
Hey Kids, it is Family History Month!
The month of October has been designated as Family History Month. A month where people are encouraged to start or continue working on their family histories.
Who is in your family tree? Anyone famous? Do you have a connection to a President or King? Do you not have anyone famous in your family? Do you think your non-famous family was boring? If so, why? My family is in no way related to Abraham Lincoln. However, if I examine the life of that family, I may find some similarities to my own.
Every family, famous or not, has an interesting story. You just have to keep talking to your family and digging into records to find it.
With this in mind I decided to post a set of questions I gave my oldest son. If your mom or dad asked you these questions, what would you say?
Why is my family history important to me?
So I can learn how far my family goes back in history.
One interesting thing I learned about my family history is:
My cousin was a Flying Tiger.
If I were interviewing my parents, I would ask these five questions.
1. Did you get expelled?
2. Favorite food
3. Worst grade
4. Favorite teacher
5. Best subject
Other things I want to know about my family history:
1. How many family members served in a war?
2. How many cousins do I have?
3. What is my oldest living family member?
4. Was my family rich?
5. Was my family ever famous?
Check back tomorrow and I’ll answer my son’s questions.
At the FGS 2011 conference in Springfield, Illinois, I purchased several books. One was Teaching Genealogy to Young People by Bee Bartron Koons.
This book is amazing. The front section is a teacher’s manual divided into sections by age/grade level so you know exactly where to start with young people. The lessons are short and to the point and increase in complexity as the child grows. The back section is a large appendix full of charts and forms to use with the lessons.
My local genealogical society is look at ways to encourage the younger generation to be involved in family history research. This book has so many wonderful ideas I think it will be very helpful for this project.
Related articles
- FGS2011 – Will Your Genealogy Sink Or Swim? (generationsbiz.com)
I found a great new blog last week called Climbing My Family Tree. On that blog was a great post you should all read.
Genealogy for Kids: Cemetery Scavenger Hunt
Take a peek. I think you will enjoy it!
If you visited the blog last week you learned about many great PDF resources provided by PBS through their Ancestors series. Today I would like you to download and print a Timeline.
This timeline is great for kids because it outlines every age from birth to age 18 on a sheet about one specific ancestor. At the bottom of the sheet it has a space for listing source documents where you gathered the information. Use this along with the Research Checklist from last week to uncover your ancestral information.
