Knowing your roots can help you find your place in life and overcome hardship. And there’s no better time to instill this knowledge than the period of upbringing. It’s good for children to learn that people may overcome adversity from the tales of their ancestors. Knowing the family's past helps children become more resilient and perform better when faced with problems in the future.

Finding your roots is a unique educational experience. Reading, math, social studies, history, geography, language studies, science, art, and other topics are all integrated into this process. However, with all the distractions of modern life, how do you engage kids in learning such subjects? The answer is – with some fun! Below, you’ll find some ideas for activities to have with your kids that will help you foster their interest in family history.

Family Trees

That is a good way to familiarize your kids with their heritage in the form of handicrafts. There are tons of ways you can create an image of your family. Let your imagination guide you through the process. One thing that you’ll need regardless of the method is family photos. If you have a well-preserved photo archive – awesome. In case some of your pictures require repairs, you can read this guide on how to restore old pictures. And you can involve your children in the restoration process as well – maybe they have a knack for photo editing.

Games of Old

Children love games, so chances are they might be interested in games that were played by the ancestors in their childhood. This also can give a good glimpse of the culture, since those games are often accompanied by music, folk stories, and traditions.

Cook a Family Dish

Handed down from one generation to another, family recipes are a part of our heritage. And cooking with your kids is a good way to give them a taste of that heritage. So, try cooking something together, while talking about the history of that recipe. On a side note, in case you actually have a lot of family recipes, but they are scattered, you can get a fillable cookbook and gather them all in one place.

Your Family Crest

Do your kids like fantasy? Or history in general? If yes, then you can steer this interest with a little cool factor. With a family crest, you can help your children (and yourself) relate the history of your family with that of royal and famous houses of old. There are plenty of crest design ideas, but whatever you choose, you are in for a deep dive into history.

Legacy Tech

If your kids tend to have a more technical mindset, you can try to awaken an interest in the past through the interest in old technology. Maybe you have an old typewriter, a phone, or any other piece of tech that you have inherited – you can explore it with your children and dive into the history that surrounds it along the way.

Holidays and Celebrations

Family holidays are still holidays and deserve a spot on your calendar. You can use celebrations to achieve two goals – have a good reason to throw a family party and stir children’s interest in the story behind said party. Combine it with the ideas above, and you’ll have a great time that might also be quite beneficial in terms of upbringing.

Family Cards

This one is for younger kids, who are not yet quite familiar with their extended family, let alone more distant relatives. The cards may only contain a person's name and photo. With them, a four-year-old child at a family gathering will be able to name every relative, including those they had never met. This will help your kid feel more at ease and may even spark interest in the people they’re related to.

Whatever family history projects you do with kids, keep it fun and simple – you can stimulate or direct interest, but you cannot force it. Ramp up the intensity of activity only when children show continuing interest and enthusiasm. And one more thing to consider – kids often tend to repeat after their parents, so it is good to start expressing a sincere interest in your roots yourself.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.