Subscribe
My Genealogy Business
Stay informed about the upcoming Kids' Genealogy Lesson series!
Contact Me
Have questions or comments? Email me.
Read my Chicago Genealogy articles on

Would you like to write for Examiner? Apply through my link and I get credit.

Homeschool Transcripts


Homeschool High School

Posts Tagged ‘Jennifer Holik-Urban’

I just returned from the FGS2011 Conference in Springfield, IL. What is FGS? The Federation of Genealogical Societies.  I was an Official Blogger at the conference.

You can read my blog posts from FGS and beyond on my Generations website. There I talk about the books I purchased, one of which was a Kids Genealogy book. As soon as I read through it I’ll post a review here. It looks fantastic so I need to find time this week to dive in!

You can also follow me on Twitter as @jencoffeelover. I posted many updates and you can find those by searching Twitter for the #FGS2011 tag.

Stay tuned for more Genealogy for Kids!

Enhanced by Zemanta

Knowing where we came from and the history of our family gives us roots. It helps us understand why we live where we live, eat what we eat, act the way we do, and have the traditions we do.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to get you thinking about your family history.

  1. Why do I live where I live? Which part of my family came to this place to settle down? When did they come and why?
  2. My mom makes special desserts or meals for holidays. Where did those recipes come from? Why does she always make those same recipes year after year?
  3. Most of us have light colored hair and eyes. Or, most of us have darker colored skin and eyes. What is our background?
  4. Every year at Christmas my mom places a pickle on the tree and we have to look for it. The child that finds it gets a present. Why do we do this? Where did this tradition come from?

Just starting with a few of those questions will get a child thinking about his roots. The answers will also help the child come to a better understanding of who he is.

Hey kids! Have you heard the terms genealogy, family history and social history but are not quite sure what they mean? No so sure any of that can be exciting because isn’t history “boring”? I hope to show you that it can be exciting and fun.

Genealogy is defined as a study of the family. It identifies ancestors and their information.

Family history is defined as the research of past events relating to a family or families, written in a narrative form.

Social history is defined as the study of the everyday lives of ordinary people.

What does all this mean?

It means that you and your ancestors have stories that should be told. How they should be told is up to you. Are you crafty? Could you make a photo collage or scrapbook? Do you like to write? Could you write a short story about one of your ancestors? Do you draw? Could you sketch out a family tree?

Stop by soon for ways to tell your family’s stories.

Welcome to Genealogy Kids! The site is under construction but will be up soon with fun activities to engage children in their family history.