Last Minute Gift Ideas: Zap the Grandma Gap Ancestor Activity Workbooks For Kids

The Zap the Grandma Gap Ancestor Activity Workbooks are unique gift ideas for the children in your life, and if you order by midnight Monday, December 19, 2016 you'll get a free shipping upgrade so that you will receive them in time for Christmas delivery! Click here to order now.

The “My Ancestors” hands-on workbooks come in 8 different heritages including British, Danish, Swedish, Pioneer, Mormon, Civil War, German, & Jewish. These fun books create bonds between generations with hours of activities, puzzles, games, recipes, stories and crafts that can involve the entire family. Timelines, paper dolls, coloring pages, maps, music, dot-to-dots and crossword puzzles combine to give youth ownership of their own genealogy and the send them on a quest to bring their family history to life.

Studies have shown that greater knowledge about family history strengthens and empowers youth by creating self-esteem, resilience and a greater sense of control over their lives. Learning about the family's past also strengthens the relationships between living family members by creating a shared experience and core identity that no one else in the world can duplicate.  Our children’s workbooks are designed to help kids gain the benefits of family history and start asking their family members about their shared past. Order these meaningful gifts here to begin! 

Sharing Family History Through Food: Holiday Avocado Salsa

We hope you have enjoyed all the yummy recipes we have shared this fall.  We end this year with a colorful and meaningful salsa recipe from Lynette, our newest chart and shipping assistant. Lynette shares the story behind her recipe:

"I grew up in Cupertino, California in the heart of Silicon Valley. In those years, Santa Clara County was the world capital for apricot growing.  There were orchards everywhere, including behind our home. About 5 miles away, up a winding road in the Cupertino foothills, my grandparents had built a home in the late 1940's on several acres of rural property. My grandmother, Gladys Brush, went to work planting fruit trees and raising goats and chickens. One of my grandmother's favorite trees was a healthy pomegranate tree, but finding good recipes for pomegranates wasn't easy. My grandmother was a health nut, and as a kid I didn't like much of what she fixed for us. One year, however, in the 1960's, she found this recipe in a Sunset Magazine.  It was a big hit in our family! Every Thanksgiving and Christmas it was a favorite appetizer.  My parents and I both planted pomegranate trees in California that we shared with the family just for this recipe.  Now that most of my family has been priced out of Silicon Valley and live in climates that can't grow them, my brother in Vegas is the keeper of the family tree!  This recipe has been passed down, shared and enjoyed for 60 years now!"

You may just instinctively know some of your family's recipes if you make them often. When they are just in your head it is harder to pass them down to the next generation. Write down the ingredients and instructions in a way that anyone could prepare the food without knowing beforehand how to make it. Record the circumstances in which the recipes were used and who used them, along with a few details or stories about the creators' lives. Make sure your children and grandchildren have copies of the recipes. Family cookbooks or recipe card collections make great gifts!

Visit Zap The Grandma Gap for more info on how to make family history fun and to purchase the Zap the Grandma Gap books with additional recipes and activities for families.

Please comment with your one of your favorite family recipes!

 

Sharing Family History Through Food: Simple Stuffing Recipe and Holiday Drink Recipe

Karli, the cute baby in this photo and Family ChartMasters' newest project manager/genealogy chart designer, shares these easy family recipes for the holidays. 

Karli says: "We may not be a family of gourmet cooks, but when we get together there is always laughter and love. These recipes are a part of our family and everyone down to the youngest grandchildren look forward to Thanksgiving partly because of them. There have been many times when there has been Papa’s drink in sippy cups. It is more than a drink or a loaf of bread that brings us together, but a lifetime of great memories."

Think about what recipes have been handed down through different lines in your family or give these simple recipes a try this Thanksgiving. Comment below with how you like them or feel free to share  your family's favorite holiday recipes. 

Cyber Monday Sale: 50% Off ALL Zap The Grandma Gap eBooks

If you are looking for tons of ideas of how to share family history with your family and loved ones, Cyber Monday is the day! Take advantage of 50% off ALL Zap the Grandma Gap eBooks for one day only, Monday November 28, 2016.

Once your purchase is completed, you will receive an email with a link to your eBooks in PDF form for instant viewing.  The holidays are the perfect time to get the younger ones in your family involved in learning more about their family history with fun activities, crafts, and recipes that can become traditions for all to enjoy.

Click here for more info on the Zap The Grandma Gap books and be ready to order on Monday November 28!

Sharing Family History Through Food: Pumpkin Dessert Recipe

Zap The Grandma Gap is all about sharing your family's stories and memories through the generations. Food is a fun and easy way to connect generations and most likely the food you cook is already a mixture of the recipes that were handed down from your family members. Your comfort food is probably what your mother and father gave you as you were growing up, and their comfort food was most likely what the family made for them. Food has so many connotations and feelings attached to it. From celebrations to traditional ethnic foods, your cooking and eating patterns are probably already a demonstration of your family's background.

Erin, one of Family ChartMaster's expert chart designers, shares a favorite family recipe for October.  This yummy pumpkin dessert recipe comes from her mother. Erin shares,"I remember when my mother first received this recipe, it became her new favorite fall recipe. It seemed like my mother was always looking for easy desserts to take to the church socials, neighborhood potlucks, or to the dinners my parents would have with their friends. We made this dessert at least 5-6 times every fall. By the time I was a teenager, Mom would have me make this for her at least ½ the time. Although my mother has been gone almost 4 years now, a part of her is always around when I decide to make these tasty pumpkin treats."

Visit Zap The Grandma Gap for more info on how to make family history fun and to purchase the Zap the Grandma Gap books with more recipes and activities for families.

Please share your thoughts when you try out this recipe and we'd love to know one of your favorite family recipes!

My new project genealogyDOTcoach featured on Extreme Genes and Dear Myrtle's Hangouts

It was great to talk to Scott Fisher about genealogyDOTcoach this week.  He is excited about this new venture and has really caught the vision about how much this will help the genealogy Do-It-Yourselfer.  If you need genealogy help, this is the place to come.  I appreciate Scott’s support and look forward to helping his listeners with their genealogy challenges.  Take a listen.  Our interview starts at the 25 minute mark but the rest of the podcast is great too!  http://extremegenes.com/episode-158-using-the-fan-club-principalcluster-genealogy-coach-launches  Thanks Fish!

And then last night I got to talk to Dear Myrtle with our wonderful coaches

Nicka Smith and Valerie Elkins.  Myrt's hangouts are fun and tonight, she was actually out to dinner but her "cousin Sadie" came to chat with us.  It was fun to show off Valerie and Nicka's expertise and get responses from people in the audience.  "Cousin Sadie" actually showed off how to book an appointment and we all had a great time.  You can listen in at http://hangouts.dearmyrtle.com/ww-genealogydotcoach.html.

I just love the people I get to work with.  I hope you have a great time listening to the fun we had and all the excitement about this new opportunity to work with professional genealogists in a new and exciting way.  Check it out at http://genealogy.coach

Genealogy and Family History Coaches

If you would love to print a genealogy chart from Family ChartMasters to teach  your family about their family history, but have hit a brick wall in your research, we have the solution for you! We are excited to announce the launch of a brand new company to help you find your ancestors, GenealogyDOTcoach! We offer specialists (coaches) in over 45 different areas to coach you in a one-on-one online sessions to help you find answers to your genealogy questions.  You book online, pay online and then meet with your coach online through a simple weblink.  Visit genealogy.coach to book a session or sign up for the newsletter today!

Click here for more info

Sharing Family History Through Food: Apple Crisp Recipe

Food can be a great way to bring the past back to life.  You can literally smell and taste what your ancestors experienced when you cook using the same recipes they cooked with.  When you cook for your children and grandchildren, make sure they know the history of your family's recipes; who made the dish in the past and some details about that person's life.  And if there are any entertaining stories about how or when the food was used before, or who ate it, be sure to share those.  Food is always a great incentive to spend time together.

We thought it would be fun to share some family recipes from our staff over the next few months as we approach fall and the holiday season. The brisk cool evenings signal that the fall season is in the air.  Thoughts of baking, yummy smells, and cozy nights are on our  minds. 

Christine, our marketing specialist, shares this favorite recipe for her mother's apple crisp.  She remembers having it many times during her childhood, sometimes even for breakfast! Yum. She says if you want to make it extra delicious, double the recipe for the oatmeal topping so there's plenty of crisp on top.  The recipe comes from her mother, who got the recipe from Christine's Great Aunt Millie from Nebraska.

Comment below with your thoughts on this recipe or tell us about a favorite family recipe of yours!

For more fun ideas on how to share your family history with your children and grandchildren, visit the Zap The Grandma Gap Blog or purchase the Zap The Grandma Gap books.

Mother's Day Infographic

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Genealogy and Family History Game Zap the Grandma Gap Pedigree Challenge

Click here for larger version

Our newest genealogy and family history game, the Zap the Grandma Gap Pedigree Challenge, is a fun educational game that is great for all ages and any number of people.  It helps players understand how to read a pedigree chart by asking questions about age, relationships, and locations of births, deaths, and marriages. 

Cards marked with a yellow star indicate easier questions. The Pedigree challenge includes the chart and 52 question cards.
Sample questions include:

·         In what month were Scott and his siblings born?

·         Who is June’s husband?

·         How old was Emily when she died?

·         Where was Linda married?

·         How many generation of descendants does Thomas have?

Enjoy our Zap the Grandma Gap family members as they teach concepts such as using the chart information to calculate age, determining how many cousins they have, and how a pedigree chart diagrams relationships.  Make it extra fun by letting players earn a prize with each correct answer. 

Available in 3 different versions:

• Vinyl Large Size : Perfect for family reunions, family history conferences, and family history centers.  Printed on vinyl in an extra large size for durability and visibility. $59.95
• Laminated:  Perfect size and laminated for durable use in the classroom, scouting and the genealogy merit badge, and repeated home use. $29.95
• Paper:  Value edition printed on paper for home use.  Fun for home use, family game night, and homeschooling units on genealogy. $19.95

Click here to order the game for your family!

Family History Research Meme