Climb Your Family Tree With a Heritage Project
Homework assignments that encourage kids to trace their family background are common — for good reason.
Three years ago, Patti Smith of Cary, NC, couldn't wait to get started when her son Harry was assigned a family heritage project in 5th grade. Now she's enjoying helping her younger son, Nick, create one that she hopes will last forever.
"We all keep the things our kids make, but this is a good keepsake. And I love scrapbooking. I wanted to make sure we were using the right acid-free paper. I pulled out all my stickers and offered a ton of suggestions. Then I sat with him and said, ‘let's do this.'"
Parental involvement is encouraged in this project, which takes families on a journey back in time. Although heritage projects can take on several forms (think family trees or personal timelines), an elementary school version often focuses on the child, and directs them to dig deep into their family roots. Typically, the concept is aimed at complementing social studies lessons on westward expansion, and emphasizes how families emigrated to the U.S. from other countries. A personal heritage project makes the subject more relevant to the kids because if they are able to research deep enough, they may find new information on how their family came to the United States. (Family heritage projects can be difficult for children who were adopted, but a sensitive, flexible approach can turn a negative into a positive.)
The family heritage project has even more benefits. Because the emphasis is on the child, it forces her to think about herself, which builds self esteem. It helps her recognize her place in her family's history by encouraging her to seek out important documents like birth, death and wedding certificates, as well as immigration papers. Children gather stories, photos, family recipes, and anything else that is relevant to their family and can further tell their family's story.
Because the project is highly individualized, children can tap into their creativity to create their tree, poster, presentation, or book as they see fit. It can also be a chance to showcase an artistic skill, such as scrapbooking, photography, or drawing. Children who enjoy writing can express that interest in the stories they tell.
Perhaps the most interesting benefit of the heritage project is that it encourages children to reach out to relatives and ask questions about their past. "It was so cute to watch them interview their grandparents," recalls Patti. "We talked about the questions they would ask ahead of time, but the kids ran the interview. It was neat to hear what each child was interested in. And we all learned something from the experience. Nick asked my mom questions about when she grew up and she said she used to be a great pool player. I never realized that was something she could do. I learned something about my mother I never knew."
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