The fathers in my life (my father and both my grandfathers) all had or have a wonderful sense of perspective on where they come from. I am reminded of countless hours as a child listening to these tales. Happy stories of my father streaking down the street of town after escaping his overalls that my grandma had tied on a rope in the backyard to my grandfather LaVell's exciting adventures with Tidy-Step the race horse. I also remember the sad, silent stories I never actually was told from my grandfather Edward of his experiences during combat of World War II. The absence of these stories spoke volumes to me. I could see the pain he had endured and yet learn of the power of resilience as I observed the strength and kindness he exhibited despite the dark days he had endured. These memories that were such a part of them helped give me a sense of where my own story began.
I created this cute file that you can use digitally and upload your own photos (using a photo editing software) or print one out and cut family photos to fit.
For a kid-friendly version simply print one out and let your kids color in their own artistic versions of their family tree!
I personally believe that it is so important to know where we come from...to have a sense of our family history...what makes us uniquely us.
I want my children to have the same sense of self that I have been blessed with since my childhood. I believe a way you can begin this is by having early dialogues about our children's family history. To help facilitate this I created this printable that you can print at home on legal paper (8.5x14). Feel free to use it as a digital file and add real photos or let your child draw what they think their ancestors may have looked like.
Feel free to download it {for personal use} right here
And if you don't know your family history go to familysearch.org and get started for free! Have fun helping your littles learn about where they come from!
This post is part of a promotion with FamilySearch.