Grandparents Climb Trees Too

Are you looking for a fun family activity? You could challenge youths to a family tree climb. Depending on the age of the grandchildren, interest can always be stimulated by a challenge and a reward. One of the most effective is creating a short mystery story, such as “The lives of three men and their families were forever changed on a hot muggy afternoon in Craig County, Oklahoma during a bank robbery that left your great-grandfather a hero.” You can then challenge them to find out what actually happened. There are stories in every family that have unique and often exciting or mysterious endings. Stories of love, emotion and devotion will always keep their attention. Now that the children are excited, draw a large tree with lots of branches (without leaves) on a poster board. Put you and your wife’s name on the trunk of the tree, then place your children’s names on one of the branches. Next, place your grandchildren’s name on a branch and ask where they would place their hero great-grandfather on the tree.

Another challenge is to ask them where they came from. Are you part Irish, are you part Indian? Do you have any French or German in you? See if they can find out how much and which part of the family has that nationality. When they find out, have them place that information on the Family Tree. Of course, this all comes with a reward, such as a special treat or even a couple of dollars for each name they place on the tree.

Many children of today are internet professionals when it comes to finding information. Once again, give them a challenge. Ask them to help you find some information regarding your genealogy or family data. Maybe they could help you search for the location of your cousin who was involved in a war (or someone in another interesting situation).

One thing that normally keeps the young people interested is scrapbooks and photos. They like to see what the “olden days” looked like. They can visualize the story with items in a scrapbook and a photo album. Even the antiques hidden in an old trunk will get their attention. Grandparents can climb the family tree with their grandchildren and keep them interested.