DON’T FORGET YOUR OWN HISTORY! TRY A ‘PERSONAL HISTORY IDEA’ TO INSPIRE CHILDREN TO LOVE FAMILY HISTORY!

Journal writing has many benefits, one of which is recording memories and life experiences for you to remember and your posterity to learn from. It has long been known to be beneficial for health and emotional well-being. Encourage children to write in a journal. If you have an old journal, you may inspire them by reading excerpts to them. Even if you don’t have a journal, you can start writing in a journal now. Inspire them to write in a journal by doing it yourself. Your actions speak louder than your words. They will see your example whether consciously or subconsciously. You may have found the journal of a relative or ancestor that you can share with them. There are also books both non-fiction and historical fiction that are examples of journaling for young children and youth. Some examples include The Diary of Anne Frank, the Young American Voices book series, the My Name is America book series, The Royal Diaries book series, and the Dear America book series. By exploring these books, children will naturally see how they can do journal writing as well as the benefits of people in the future learning about their own personal experiences. If it seems impossible to find the time to write in a journal, try audio recording about your day or stories from your life and saving them for your children and posterity.

Young children can begin journal writing by making lists, writing about their day, or with suggested writing prompts. Examples of writing prompts are:

- If you could become an animal, what animal would you choose and why?

- What kind of friend do you want to be?

- Would you rather live in space or under the sea? Why?

- If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

- What is your favorite activity to do with friends, with family and by yourself? Why?

You can even make it fun by making fun, colorful, personalized journal prompt pages for kids to be able to take, get excited about, and do on their own. As children get older, you may suggest that they write in their journal as they would talk to a friend or family member and that they share their feelings. Youth and adults can be encouraged to set a goal to write in their journals daily, weekly or monthly.

Take your family photos and compile them into a photo book or video of your own. This can be in print or digital. Children love to look at family pictures. Family videos can also be compiled into a longer video. Usually photos and videos are taken during happy, unifying and memorable times. Looking at them will help keep these experiences in the forefront of their minds. They will relive these moments every time they look at the photo book or video.

Most devices have an app for audio recording and they can be saved digitally. You can do your recording in a quiet place at home or while you are walking or driving. FamilySearch.org has a special feature that allows you to upload a picture and audio record what you remember about it. Children with FamilySearch accounts can upload pictures to their own profile and record their voice explaining it. They can choose their favorite picture from the past month or year and record their explanation. Children who are too young to have their own FamilySearch account can upload pictures and audio record their explanation to their profile on a parent’s account.

Idea from Sue Cowan

Writing memories from your life can be really fun and therapeutic but some people don’t know where to begin. Brainstorming can really help get memories flowing. Start by making lists such as: meaningful songs, friends, neighborhood friends, milestones, favorites, places lived and vacations. Another exercise is to draw maps of your childhood neighborhood or house. Lists and maps will trigger a flood of memories. Pick one memory and write as much as you remember about it. Then pick another and another. Your memories do not need to be written chronologically; they can be individual stories in any order. The important thing is that they are recorded for yourself and your posterity.

Children love to learn why they were given their name. It may be because parents thought it was beautiful or fit them perfectly, there may be a special meaning behind it, or they may have been named after a family member, friend or role model. No matter what the reason is, it is important for children to know.

Your timeline can be made similar to a timeline for an ancestor but it is about you. What are the significant events from your life? You may want to add pictures and national or world events that have taken place throughout your life. If you help children make their own timelines, they will enjoy seeing their life laid out it front of them.

Some people may enjoy keeping their personal history on a blog or podcast. It can be kept private or shared with family members or made public.

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