When normal life doesn't get in the way, I am a rabid genealogist. In fact, I saw this meme this week on Facebook and couldn't agree more...
Because of my love for all things family history, I look for a way to also get the kids excited at any chance I get. I have found it extremely valuable in our schooling too! So, why should you do it?
1) You make history come alive! A few years ago we started using Beautiful Feet for our history studies. One of the books was the Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds.
Have you read it? Oh my goodness, it is one of my most favorite suspense building read-alouds ever! It is based on a Van Alstyne family in New York (although it is not clear if it was based on a real story or an embellished one). Nonetheless, Hubby's ancestors were Van Alstynes from the same part of New York, and had a similar situation with a great grandma who had to hide with the baby in an old log while the Indians walked all around. Talk about an opportunity to get the kiddos interested! The kiddos sat with rapt attention when I read that book!
2) You create a personal connection to historical events. Valley Forge is just where George Washington had a hard winter vs. your ggggg-grandpa
Elwell spent the winter in George Washington's army at Valley Forge. Its an attention grabber. Throw in some wonderful hands on things, and history is not boring!
3) Its a great lead in for teaching the hard issues.
I was working on some research today and Bubby came and looked over my shoulder and saw this picture. He said, "who is that?". I said, "he was a slave who married a slave that our family had owned. What can you tell me about him from his appearance?". Bubby replied, "well, he has white features". I said, "yes, his father was most likely his owner". Mind blown. We got into this great discussion on how I came to that conclusion, why people would own others, etc... Using family history as a lead in takes some of the edge off of the hard discussions. Now there's still that reconciliation of why did my family do this to others, but you can take that and turn it into a morality lesson too and explain why they were not following the Christian values that they may have claimed.
4) You can make history hands on. Get out grandpa's old World War II uniform, the autograph album that has Civil War soldiers names in it, the crazy quilt piece that is 100+ years old. To see and touch these things of those that went before us and where it fit in history is so important!
5) It creates a sense of belonging. Visit the old homeplace, walk a cemetery where ancestors are buried. When you can see your connection to history through these old places your family walked, you care more about it, you care about what it has been and its future preservation.
The more connections to history you create, the more your kiddos will seek out history anywhere!
