Family History Month All Year Long
It's end of Family History Month, but we actually have Family History every day, year round. So I'm sharing some ideas that were mentioned in the October Mailbag podcast. Let's continue sharing our heritage and fostering a deeper connection to the past!
In 2001, the United States Congress passed a resolution making October, Family History Month. This was in hopes to to encourage Americans to celebrate their heritage and family through research and education. The importance of Family History Month:
Family Search
- Preserving Legacy using documents, sharing stories, scanning photographs, and protecting heirlooms for safe-keeping
- Understanding Identity connecting them to their ancestors' experiences, struggles, and triumphs. It can give deeper meaning to cultural and ethnic traditions, shaping personal identity
- Learning from the Past learning valuable lessons from our ancestors' decisions, challenges, and lives.
- Strengthening Family Bonds create opportunities for generations to engage with one another
- Connecting to Broader History sharing family history to place our personal stories within the larger context of history. This is done by uncovering how our ancestors' lives were influenced by significant historical events
Family Search offered 31 Ways to Celebrate Family History Month. This is a list to get you started for your All Year Long Family History Fun. You still have time to do Day 31! "
Day 31.
"Explore how people in other countries celebrate
Day of the Dead and All Souls’ Day and
choose a new tradition for yourself or your family to participate in."
Read here for all of their suggestions to Celebrate Family History Month
National Genealogical Society (NGS)
NGS reminds us that Family History can be paired with photos for Brain Health using Photo Reminiscence Therapy. Their them is Scan. Record. Write. Join. There are a plethora of articles to wade through on sharing family pictures for P
Brain Health & Photo Reminiscence Therapy, but here I'm sharing VividPix, because it partnered with NGS: Library of Congress
Talking to kids about family genealogy isn’t always easy and fun, but an article writen by Sasha Dowdy in 2020 provides us with tips on how to engage the younger set in Family History, AND make it fun.
A quick overview is she introduced the K–W–L approach:
Know: Ask your child(ren), or better yet, have them write down (or draw) one thing they already Know about their family, past or present.Wonder: Then have them write down something they Wonder about their family. If they feel stuck, you might suggest a couple of questions to get them started:
Where does our family name come from?
Who is the earliest family member who came to the U.S.?
What types of jobs did our ancestors do?
Learn: Record and share what they Learned about the family.
For more information on talking to young ones, read here: https://blogs.loc.gov/families/2020/10/national-family-history-month/
Happy All Year Long Family History Month! Sometimes, the best things come in dozens!
Kathleen Brandt, a3Genealogy
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