9 Simple Ways to do Genealogy During Spring Break
Spring is here and that means spring break for those of you who have kids in school. Are you ready to do genealogy during spring break? My daughter goes to public school and has a week and a half for spring break. I always both dread and hope for school breaks. Mainly, because I now have to come up with a different schedule for my daughter and my business. It eventually works itself out, but I find that the transition period before it settles into a new routine is challenging for me.
Therefore, I have scoured the Internet coming up with ideas to do genealogy related activities during spring break. Some activities you can do with kids depending on age groups and some activities you can do when you have some alone time.
Genealogy Activities to Do with Kids during Spring Break
Go cemetery walking. Visit your nearby ancestors’ graves and tell your kids all about them. I’ve already done this with my daughter and it was a tender moment. I was able to share with her what I knew about that particular ancestor and it reminded me of what I didn’t know. In that way, I could call my relatives and fill in the gaps. You can also introduce them to different headstone symbols or make tracings of cool headstone decorations, etc.
Museums. If you live near a history museum, make a day trip of it. Tell your children the history of when your ancestor lived so that they can get a picture of what life was like for your ancestor. If you don’t know the history yourself, then learn it!
Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is an amazing place if you haven’t been there yet. They have dedicated one of their floors entirely to making genealogy fun for kids and teens. They have technology activities, fun genealogy games, and workers to show families that genealogy can be fun and productive at the same time. If you’re willing to take the trip to Utah, then put this on your list of things to do.
Have a family history moment/hour/day with your kids. This activity is open to individual interpretation. However, my family has chosen to take a moment to tell stories while looking at old photos. My daughter doesn’t know what it was like when my husband and I were young. Therefore, we are starting with telling our stories, then moving onto grandparents, and then great-grandparents. For us, stories are the easiest way to introduce our daughter to genealogy.
Make ancestral food together. If you don’t have any family recipes past down from generation to generation, then don’t fear. This is an easy way to just make the cultural food of that region. Find new recipes that inspire conversations about your ancestors. This is another way to get the conversation going and learn about different people.
Genealogy Activities to Do without Kids During Spring Break
Plan a “Who Do You Think You Are” vacation. Do you know where your ancestors came from in America and abroad? Then plan to visit the area this year or the next. Don’t overthink it, just write down everything you need to do to get it on the schedule books. You may not be able to plan the whole thing during spring break; however, you CAN start! This also goes along with family reunions or regular family vacations. You can start planning for that during spring break and continue the momentum after the kids are in school.
Organize your genealogy photos and papers. If the kids are playing over at a friends house or you have an hour to yourself, then put on some happy music and start organizing. Again, don’t overthink it! Your brain will want to tell you how overwhelming it all is, but tell your brain you’re only going to organize for a certain amount of time or for a certain group of items. This way you can feel productive and not feel like your spring break is wasted. You can either organize it in your personal computer, file system, or online at Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org.
Make a quick access research folder. You can still do research when you have small amounts of time during spring break. Pick one project to work on and print all of the relative documents that you need. Put them in a manila folder and take them with you wherever you go. Then while you’re waiting for the kids to get done playing, you can be researching on your phone or your laptop. Remember, it’s ok not to be engaged and present for your kids every second of every day. They and you will survive a little separation!
Scan old photos onto FamilySearch. This activity can be done with or without kids. FamilySearch wants you to share your photos and stories with others. They have an easy way to upload those photos to certain ancestors on your public tree. If you don’t know how to do this, then go to their Wiki page or their Help center to learn more.
Conclusion
These are just a few ways that you can prepare and plan on doing for spring break or any school holiday. Don’t let your brain tell you that your family doesn’t want to do these activities. They actually want to hear the family stories. Therefore, make an effort to plan fun ways to share those stories. It doesn’t have to be every day nor does it have to be big. Just make an effort and try different things until one activity fits. Genealogy can be for the whole family. I’ve created a list of simple genealogy activities that the whole family can do. So give it a try!
In the meantime…good luck and happy hunting!
Tiffany
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for my free list of my favorite American and Scandinavian genealogy websites.
