Genealogy: has anyone done a family tree with their kids?

[Leersia]

My 7-year-olds have been asking me about family nationality, and other "family tree" types of questions, and when I brought up the idea of doing a family tree, they were enthusiastic about it. One of them is reading, neither is doing much writing, and I'm just wondering how I can do a project like this with them and not end up doing the whole thing myself (i.e., how can I best keep them involved?) Also, I'd love any tips people can share about doing genealogy with kids: good websites, books, projects that have worked well?

TIA, Sue

[Momma Aimee]

here to take notes

[philomom]

My kids did this in 2nd grade at public school. It was great way to get the grandparents involved in their school process. Old photos, conversations and a cemetery trip or two. Very good fun.

[ColwynsMommy]

Well, if you want to make an actual family tree, you could print out the names and have the kids glue them on.

You could have them interview family members, asking questions they think are important (I remember asking my great-grandmother what her bedroom was like, and was surprised when she told me she shared a bed with 5 of her siblings). Either use a digital recorder of some sort or you could just take notes.

Maybe.. create folders or lapbooks for different branches, depending on how much info you have on them? For my family tree (which I worked on extensively pre-kids), I have heaps of info for some branches, but very little for others. You could include photos of previous homes and cemetary plots if they're nearby, or maybe you could print out photos from a town's tourism board, or write for brochures.

You could expand it and learn more about countries that your family has come from.. foods, games, etc would probably interest the kids.