Family History Game

I LOVE genealogy!  There aren't too many things as fun as playing detective and tracking down my ancestors.  I love learning about their lives and families.  It is amazing the bond you can feel with your heritage.  

I talk about our ancestry frequently with my children.  Some things they remember and some things they don't.  So in an effort to help them understand who's who I created a matching game that included 4 generations, beginning with all of my kids back to my and my hubby's grandparents.  So 23 people in all.  I made two cards for each person, one with just their name and the other with a photo, birth and death (if they have passed away) and a fun fact about them, printed them on card stock and cut them out. 

 The kids loved it.  We had a few moments of competitiveness, but mostly it was a lot of fun.  They enjoyed seeing old pictures of themselves, as well as reading what fun facts I had put down for them.  I tried to pick pictures that they hadn't seen of their parents and grandparents so it wouldn't be too easy. 

When we were finished matching them all, we put it all together in a family tree.  I think I will keep adding generations until I run out of photos.  After we had finished, the older kids continued to ask me questions about them.  It was a wonderful evening.  It was great to find a new way to share my love of family history with the kids.

We may make one of all their cousins too.  They have 52 cousins, including both the Alger and Ely sides, and few with spouses and children of their own.  It is amazing how fast a family can grow and how easy it is to lose track of family members.