Thanks to my Dad

My Grandfather George Alvin Carpenter in his garden

I’m so thankful for my Dad today.  He took my son out to lunch for a visit and they ended up visiting the home where my father’s parents lived.  They had a long talk about my grandparents, about what they were like, about my grandfather’s career.  They found that my Grandfather’s garden plot was still there and that the current residents were still growing a garden there.  I remember every time we visited there we first had to go see how Grandpa’s garden was doing and admire his plants.  Dad talked to my son about how he met my mom and about his own life when he was my son’s age.  I’m so grateful for the time they got to spend together.  So glad they spent some time connecting the generations.  Thanks Dad!

Family Cookbooks

I had a wonderful email from a reader, who said I could share her ideas with you. Take a look:

"For years my daughter and I have talked about a family cookbook.  This year we actually pulled all the recipes together and I am now organizing them.  The recipes are the dishes that I grew up on, so therefore my kids grew up on them with the addition of some recipes that he brought from his family.  As each generation begins their own family more recipes are added from other lines coming into the tree.  We are binding it in a 3 ring binder, so that it is easy to add.  There will be a short comment on how the recipe came about, some variations etc.  

The cover will have a chart with all of the cooks and their descendants and something about what they liked to cook the most and for laughs a few disasters thrown in.  When cooking with your child, it is a perfect time to talk about Grandma Betty as we put her "famous" recipe together. 

Have a good day!

Liz"

Family Recipe template from Zap The Grandma Gap:Power Up Workbook

What a great idea to put a chart on the front so that everyone can see how they are related.  And to put it in a three ring binder is brilliant too.   This sounds like a perfect gift for Christmas or for a new bride in the family.  Way to go Liz!

You can find ideas like this and many others by signing up for our 52 week Tuesday morning newsletter at zapthegrandmagap.com

Family History Eagle Scout Projects

Eagle Scout Projects are a great way to engage youth in family history while providing leadership skills and service to the community. Eagle projects can be used to share family history and to record family history. If you have a potential Eagle Scout in your family you might think about genealogy for a great project.

Digitizing cemeteries using the BillionGraves app and website is fabulous Eagle Project which Geoff Rassmussen's son recently completed. Several of my neighbors have completed Billion Graves projects for their Eagles as well.  That is a great project that helps preserve cemeteries so that people can find their ancestors online.


A few years back my oldest son Adam completed his Eagle Scout Project by showing ways to involve youth in the vendor booths at genealogy conferences. While I was UGA president, we tried shaking up the conference a little bit by challenging each of the vendors to also sponsor an activity booth and giving them a discount on the booth in exchange for the activity.  Adam offered to help with some of the booths if the vendor didn't feel like they could do it alone.  He developed some great activities. 

Family History Bingo Make and Take

The RootsMagic Photo Booth

Family Roots Publishing sponsored popcorn

Games Your Ancestor Played was a popular booth.  It was fun to see the older generation teaching something fun to the youth.  The kids loved. it.

Making cemetery rubbings

Unfortunately we were about 2 years too early.  We didn't get a great turn out for youth but we learned alot of important lessons about youth and family history.

Luckily that has all changed now.  RootsTech is seeing record numbers and youth are getting involved all over the place. A couple of weeks ago, my son Matthew spoke again at the Ogden Family History Conference and the room was standing room only--completely filled with youth.  As he's given his "Get to Know Your Geezers" talk over the years, the room has filled with more and more youth--a great thing to see. The genealogy world is attracting youth in greater numbers and the trick is to keep them interested by providing fun opportunities within our families and communities.

An Eagle Scout project is a great way to get started.  Congratulations to Evan Rassmussen.  Our newest Eagle Scout genealogist.  Way to go!

Family History and Youth Infographic Part 2: Emotional Benefits

 

For more great ideas in teaching your children and grandchildren about family history, take a look at our Zap the Grandma Gap books and workbooks.

Family History & Youth Infographic Part 1: Academic Benefits

For more help in teaching your children and grandchildren about family history, check out our Zap the Grandma Gap books and workbooks.

Fun Printables and Resources For Youth and Family History

I found some fun resources online to assist with getting children and teens interested in family history. These free downloads include a "Family History Detective" badge to use in coordination with a fun printable graphic that incorporates the twenty questions from the "Do You Know" study that came out of Emory University in 2009.  These printables can be assembled into a fun file folder project that children will enjoy putting together, learning from, and sharing at family gatherings.

Sugardoodle.net is a fabulous website for the LDS (Mormon) community and she shares lots of ideas for youth and family history including Family Home Evening ideas, descendancy research, and indexing tips.

Lastly, I received an email from Jana Greenhalgh about her new blog called The Genealogy Kids.   She's been doing lots of fun things with her kids including a big list of family history activities, tree tips, and research rules.

Kickstarter Campaign to Assist in Family History Activities

Troy Hallewell, an author, recently contacted me about his illustrated children's book in the works called, "The People Who Made Me."  He wrote a cute poem that has a sweet message relating to family history with a catchy rhythmic beat that is fun to read aloud. In order to move forward with hiring an artist, he needs to pre-sell copies and he's using Kickstarter to help fund the project.  Take a look here for more information.  

Kickstarter can be a great way to help raise funds online for creative projects in order to promote family history.  Write a book about your own family history and get family members to donate. From the Kickstarter website:
"Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of people like you!"

Gofundme.com is another helpful site to assist in raising money online.  You can personalize it to fit your needs and easily share your campaign online through social media.  Engage your cousins and other family members to help pay for your family reunion or family history chart if funds are short.

I hope Troy is able to raise the money.  It looks like a great book.  Go check it out.