Family History Ideas for Children and Teens A collection of over 270 articles and blog posts with ideas for teaching, doing, and sharing family history with children and teens. To contribute more i…

children and youth love this edible family tree activity. It's a light hearted way to introduce family history and to start exploring your family identity.

Looking for a fun activity for children that helps them learn how to use FamilySearch.org? When children look at an online family tree for the first time, it is helpful for them to learn how to nav…

Family History Ideas for Children and Teens A collection of over 270 articles and blog posts with ideas for teaching, doing, and sharing family history with children and teens. To contribute more i…

When is the best time to begin teaching your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews about their Family History and Genealogy? What is the best age to being teaching them how to research and gather information? The answers to these questions are individualized based on each child, but I believe the sooner the better! Some children are intrigued by Family History and others are not. Some only like little nuggets of information and some want to know everything you know! My niece, for example, will ask simple questions when she overhears conversations between my mother and I. We try to answer with simple direct "age appropriate" information - usually we are discussing a brick wall issue or fascinating fact we found. Some of these are simply too much for little ears. Recently I walked my 4 grandchildren to an old cemetery. We had a blast walking around and looking at the old headstones. Even though my little ones range in age between 6 and 14 they were each intrigued by something different at the cemetery. A few were adding and subtracting to figure out the ages of those buried there. Some were looking for interesting names. One was reading plaques. Some were looking at the headstones overgrown with brush. It was a wonderful experience that we all enjoyed! Who knew a cemetery could be so much fun, right? My youngest, who recently entered adulthood, is not interested at all in the Family History & Genealogy work I do. Sure, he is a little intrigued when I pass along an interesting fact, but for the most part he is not very interested. Each child is an individual and they have their own interests. Some are interested by Family History & Genealogy and others are not. If you are interested in teaching your children their Family History & Genealogy, I have a few tips for you... 1. Keep your information age appropriate. There is no need to sit a 4 year old in front of the Find A Grave website to research their 4th great grandparents. This is too much for them. A child a little older would find this more enjoyable! 2. Share stories based on interests. If the children in your life are interested in a particular area you can share stories of your ancestors that relate to these interests. For example, my nieces 3 x great grandfather liked to share candy with his grandchildren. This is a simple story that I shared with my nieces - who can resist a candy story! 3. Answer their questions. If a child is asking questions, they are interested! Be sure to pass along your information by answering their questions. You may be watering the seed of Family History within them! 4. Show them family photographs. Nothing says Family History like some old family photographs! Discuss the pictures with them. Ask questions. What do you think they were doing in this picture? Discuss objects in the picture that sometimes go unnoticed. 5. Keep it simple. The younger the child, the simpler the information to share! So, when is the best time to begin teaching your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews about their Family History and Genealogy? As soon as they show an interest! How do you share your Family History & Genealogy with the children in your life? Share your tips and advice in the comments below...

Family History Ideas for Children and Teens A collection of over 270 articles and blog posts with ideas for teaching, doing, and sharing family history with children and teens. To contribute more i…

Do you need a fun activity to help the youth in your ward get interested in family history? How about a Family Home Evening or Sunday activity for the whole family? Try MISSION POSSIBLE and see tha…

Zap the Grandma Gap: Connecting with Your Family by Connecting Them to Their Family History takes an old idea and breathes new life into sharing family history. I don’t know many genealogists who haven’t complained about how difficult it is to get the next generation interested and involved in their family history. Some offer up […]

Children can help their families find names for the temple and learn how to navigate the FamilySearch Family Tree at the same time! Here is a worksheet for children to use as they search for icons …

News, video and fun for kids!

Visit the post for more.

How to find English Parish Registers using Bespoke Genealogy's free English Parish Register guide. Details of physical and online collections

Working on a school project about your family history? Wondering if you're related to a princess or a Viking? Maybe you've heard a story about a Civil War

We started out by printing pictures of each person on the family tree and then she wrote in the names and the dates. My second grade daughter has been assigned to do a presentation on her family tree in school.

Have you been trying to get your ward youth excited about family history? Do you need some fresh ideas to spark interest? For the past two years, I’ve been working with teens age 12-18. Alon…

Among His many teachings at Bountiful, Jesus revealed the words of Malachi, which promised that Elijah would come to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.” Most Latter-day Saints correctly understand that Elijah’s mission pertains to temple work and salvation for the dead, but there is also much evidence that the Spirit of Elijah is positively influencing family relationships here and now among the living.

The Best Welsh Genealogy Resources looks at the top websites for Welsh genealogy research including a free newspaper site

The Print This photographic print leverages sophisticated digital technology to capture a level of detail that is absolutely stunning. The colors are vivid and pure. The high-quality archival paper, a favorite choice among professional photographers, has a refined luster quality. Paper Type: Photographic Print Finished Size: 18" x 24" Arrives by Thu, Apr 18 Product ID: 4920828

Nina Simone as a child.

Kids and grown ups alike will have fun with these simple ideas for activities in genealogy. Know your roots!

Have you ever considered a virtual family reunion? Sometimes, family members can't be together but they can still stay connected with these fun and free ideas.

Why you should be the family's memory keeper. Help them remember their past and their present. If not you, then who?

A genealogy timeline is the best tool to organize an ancestor's life events and reveal gaps in your research. Create timelines to help find your ancestors!

08.09.2010 Top 10 Children’s Toys 1950-1960:[1] 1. Barbie – She debuted in 1959 invented by Ruth Handler and supposedly based on her daughter. Ruth is co-founder of Mattel and Barbie put them on the map as toy makers. This is what Barbie looked like when she debuted. 2. Play-Doh – Created by Noah and Joseph McVicker as a non-toxic reusable wallpaper cleaner in 1955. A schoolteacher inquired about a safe modeling clay substitute and Joseph sent her some of their wallpaper cleaner, and the kids loved it. The brothers created Rainbow Crafts Company and renamed their product Play-Doh. 3. Frisbee – 2 ideas created this product. The first, a Connecticut pie baker, William Russel Frisbie, came up with a marketing plan in 1870 to sell his pies. He impressed his name on the bottom of reusable tin plates that his company sold their pies in with the intention that housewives would take the plate to bake a pie, see his name, and think about how much easier it’d be to just buy one. His business boomed and in the 1940s, students at Yale used the tins to throw them to each other and catch them. The second idea came about in the 1950s when Walter Frederick Morrison designed a saucer disc and sold his idea of playing catch with them to Wham-O. While the president of Wham-O toured college campuses across the country he noticed what the students at Yale were doing with the tins. Coming back to CA, he renamed the saucer disc after Frisbie only changing the “i” to another “e” to avoid legal issues. What Frisbie's pie tin looked like. 4. Tonka Trucks – After failing at making and selling garden tools, a group of teachers turned that failure into success by taking the left over materials to make toys. The toy truck they created was named after the lake Minnetonka. 5. Matchbox Cars – Creator Jack Odell made a miniature brass model of a car for his daughter to take to school for Show and Tell. To help her carry it, he placed the car inside a matchbox making the toy a huge hit. 6. Yahtzee – A wealthy Canadian couple approached Edwin Lowe, a toymaker, to make copies of a game they created. He loved it and bought the rights. It was originally called The Yacht Game created for people to enjoy the game while cruising on the ocean. 7. Skateboards – Wow, I had no idea this actually dates back to the 1930s! It wasn’t until 1958 that the skateboard was manufactured as we know it today. 8. Hula Hoops – These have apparently been around for thousands years. The modern form of it was born out of a trip to Australia by a friend of the company Wham-O who saw children twirl bamboo hoops around their waist for exercise during school. 9. Mr. Potato Head – Creator George Lerner initially designed and produced this for kids to take and use face pieces as push pins for them to push into fruits and veggies. Companies declined to market it saying they didn’t think parents would want to waste food. In 1952, Mr. Potato Head debuted through television advertising where kids would use real potatoes to make countless faces. In 1960, plastic pieces were used instead. 10. PEZ – Originally created as a mint dispenser in 1927 by Edward Haas, an employee of PEZ, Oskar Uxa, eventually changed the design of the dispenser so that it would look more like a cigarette lighter. In 1955, the company decided to place heads on the dispensers in order to market them to children. What PEZ must've originally looked like. A vintage PEZ with Olive Oil's face (from Popeye). [1] http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/460516/top_ten_toys_of_yesterday_the_1950s_pg2.html?cat=25 All images are found on Google Images by typing in the product name and "1950s."

Sack races with cousins, Grandma’s famous potato salad, and Uncle Bill’s “quarter behind the ear” trick… Reunions are not just a fun summer activity but are an important tradition in keeping famili…

Also: Scandal-mongering author Kitty Kelley turns her gaze on women in Congress; Goodreads makes some unexpected new rules; and Mark Athitakis explains why Barnes & Noble brought literary culture to the suburbs.

ReallyColor is a website that allows you to create coloring books from photos. The website isn’t free, but it’s very simple! Anyone can use it. After you create a coloring page with the…

St. Mary of Egypt (Feast Day - April 1 & 5th Sunday of Great Lent) About 500 years after the Resurrection of our Lord, a holy monk by the name of Zosimas lived in a monastery by the Jordan River. He had lived as a monk since childhood and when he was about 50 years old he began to think that he had surpassed all the other monks in virtue and that no one could teach him anything he didn’t already know. To prevent such a prideful thought from taking root, God taught him a lesson. It was the custom in the monastery that at the beginning of each Great Lent, after Liturgy on Forgiveness Sunday, the monks would cross the Jordan and scatter throughout the desert where they would stay until Palm Sunday. Each monk would spend this time alone before God, in fasting and prayer, without anyone around to praise him for his struggles. Fr. Zosimas went far into the desert. On the 20th day, as he stopped for prayer, he saw a human shape. At first he thought the devil was playing tricks with his eyes. But when he protected himself with the sign of the Cross, he saw it clearly: thin and naked, skin baked dark and hair bleached white by the sun, it seemed to glide over the sandy hill. Overjoyed at the thought of seeing a holy man, Zosimas hurried to follow and shouted: “Servant of the true God, do not run from me, an old sinner!” “Forgive me,” a voice returned, “but I cannot face you, Father Zosimas, for I am a shameful, naked woman. Please throw me your cloak so that I may cover myself and ask your blessing.” Terror seized the monk as she called him by name; how did she know it? Turning aside, he threw his ragged cloak her way. In deep humility both saints fell prostrate before one another in the sand, asking each other’s blessing. Finally the woman said, “Father Zosimas, you must give the blessing, having been in the Holy Altar so many years as a priest.” Struck with awe by her divine gift of knowledge, Zosimas pleaded with tears, “Please give me your blessing, Mother. Grace is not given only to priests, but even more to those who have died to the world and live with God. For God’s sake, bless me, for I need your holy prayers.” In obedience the woman declared, “Blessed is God Who cares for the salvation of our souls.” “Amen,” answered Father Zosimas. Then the woman wanted to know why he had come and how Christians lived in the world. He said that by her holy prayers Christ had granted them peace, and asked her to continue to pray. Reminding him that he, too, must always pray, she turned toward the East. Father Zosimas heard only whispers and looked at the ground in meek confusion. When he began to think her prayer was very long, he looked up to see her standing in the air about three feet above the ground. Bowing down with tears and begging God’s mercy, he begged her to tell him of her life, so that the wisdom and treasure of God might not be hid. “My story,” said the woman, “will make you run as from a snake. You must forgive me for what you will hear, for I lived a shameful life and felt no shame. At only 12 years old I ran away from my parents, threw away my purity, and then trampled upon it with every sinful person I could find. I loved to drink wine and feel pleasure and lead others into sin; and for 17 years I never tired of any kind of sinning. One day I saw a crowd going to Jerusalem. Since I had no money, I promised some men that I would help them pass the journey in merrymaking if they would take me with them. With crude jokes they agreed. I am amazed, Abba, that hell did not open beneath the ship and swallow us alive. But God desires the repentance of even the worst sinner. Within a few days of our arrival, I saw a large crowd hurrying to church, I was told, for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Out of curiosity I joined them. But when my foot touched the doorstep, my body was held back by an invisible barrier. I could not enter, though I tried hard several times. Becoming tired, I let people push me aside and stood in a corner of the porch. Above me I saw an icon of the Pure Mother of God, and I began to understand that my sinful life was keeping me from entering. I turned to the icon in tears and begged the Holy Virgin to help me get inside to see the life-giving Cross, promising to give up everything and go where she would lead me after that. Joining the crowd again, I easily entered the church and saw the precious Cross; there I saw how the Lord accepts repentance. Filled with hope, I returned to the icon where I heard a voice from on high, ‘If you cross the Jordan you will find glorious rest.’ ‘O Lady, never leave me!’ I cried, and was on my way. Someone gave me coins and I bought three loaves of bread. By the grace of God they fed me for several years; for the rest of these 47 years I have been fed by the word of God and plants I find. “But, Father, how sinful memories attacked my mind and soul like wild beasts! Dirty songs, desire for wine and rich foods, and bad companions; my clothes wore out and I suffered greatly from the heat and cold. I was strongly tempted to return to my old life. But in my thoughts I always turned to the Mother of God, and she has always kept me safe, chasing away evil thoughts and restoring peace to my soul.” With these words she finished her story, begging the Abba to pray for her soul and not tell anyone about her until she died. She also told him to meet her at the banks of the Jordan River the next year so she could receive Holy Communion from his hands before she died. The next year, on Holy Thursday of Holy Week, Zosimas brought her Holy Communion, and she walked across the Jordan as on dry land to receive them. Seeing such a miracle, Zosimas exclaimed, “Glory to You, Christ Our God, Who has shown me through this your servant how far away I stand from perfection.” He gave her Holy Communion, and promised to come again the following year. Again the next year, after leaving the monastery for Great Lent, Zosimas found her at the appointed place, lying in eternal repose, wrapped in his mantle with her face toward the East. In the sand she had written her name, Mary, and instructions for her burial; she also wrote that she died on the day, a year before, that he had brought her Holy Communion. Father Zosimas could not think how to to bury the Saint, for he was weak and had no tools. But just then a lion appeared, and willingly dug her grave with his paws. Covering St. Mary’s feet with tears and kisses, the holy elder committed her to the earth with prayers. Then the lion went off into the desert, and the elder returned to his monastery where he told the story which has been kept to this day, bringing glory to God and hope to sinners. May the merciful God give to us all St. Mary’s willingness to repent, and the protection of the Holy Virgin to help us. Amen.