Papa Sue's Family Tree

I once read about some scientific research that proved that one of the most important factors for children growing up and becoming "successful" adults was for their parents and family to simply talk with them: have conversations about anything and everything, go beyond the day-to-day discussions and talk about what you see, hear, do, etc.
We received a comment on our blog from Jane, who showed that this is true!  As long as we talk about it, and are good examples, our children will listen!  Here is her story:

"For a few years, one of my granddaughters has been concocting stories surrounding a character she imagined, named Papa Sue. Last summer, when she was 9, I went to visit her and saw a large and very elaborate chart she had drawn with Papa Sue and his wife at the bottom and lots of other characters with names going up toward the top. I asked her what that was and she said it was his family tree. And that is exactly what it looked like. I asked her how she even knew what a family tree was...and she said “Grandma...even though you don’t think so, I am always listening to what you say!”  So somewhere at some time, she had heard me discussing our family origins to her parents.  It certainly made me smile!"

Thanks for sharing, Jane!  It was so wonderful to hear about the love of family growing in your granddaughter's heart.

Heritage Scrapbooks

We received another great idea for passing on and preserving your history!  Our friend, Elaine McAllister told us about her method of keeping her history for her family:

"I've made a 'Heritage' scrapbook, which I continually add to.  It includes a genealogy fan chart, of course, then traces our family back through those generations.  There's a star by each name if I have a picture of that person later in the scrapbook.  If there are stories associated with anyone, I've written and included those as well (like the basket my great great grandfather made for his grandson- my grandpa- who was 6 when he accompanied his grandpa on the wagon trip to deliver baskets to an area mercantile in exchange for a supply of groceries for the family.  I have that basket! Or the midwife who delivered hundreds of babies in northeastern Arkansas- my husband's great grandmother).  There are a multitude of stories, artifacts, and pictures!  Great stuff!

What a great idea to compile your family history!  Thanks for sharing, Elaine!

Creating Family Storybooks

Have you heard of Story Jumper??

Recently, we received an idea to further your family's engagement with family history and we think it's GREAT!  Story Jumper is a super easy service that lets you publish books, ebooks and audiobooks!  What a wonderful way to share your family stories in a way that appeals to both children and adults alike!  Here is her story:

"I have been working on our family histories for many years, but have yet to write the "story" of each family.  For each of the past two years, I decided it was time to write our family histories in children's books to give our 4 granddaughters, ages 3 - 11.  I used the company StoryJumper and made hardcover books of about 24 pages, which told our family "story" (of each of two family lines), using photos and language the children would understand.  Then I gave each one a book for Christmas, along with items that told the story of the country of origin of these families.  (One family came from Russia and one from Switzerland, so I found items made in those countries, or that symbolized that ethnic origin).  The children were excited to be able to read about their family history, and my 9 yr. old granddaughter just couldn't believe that her grandma was really an "author".  Now, I just have to write the others...and begin the work on the adult versions!"

Check out their website at www.storyjumper.com and good luck in your adventures in family history!