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Remembering Our WWI Ancestors

11/6/2018

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Remembering Our WWI Ancestors - GrowingLittleLeaves.com
The 100th anniversary of Armistice Day is nearly here, and a lot of nations and communities are commemorating the end of World War I and honoring the fallen in different ways - ceremonies, moments of silence, new statues and/or memorial sites, etc. On our own smaller scale, it's important to take the time to remember our family members who served in World War I - those who gave their lives for their countries and also those who survived, but had to live with the memories and other adverse effects of the war for the rest of their lives.

War was, unfortunately, a very real part of many of our ancestors' lives, and influenced their lives in sometimes very profound ways.  So, in order to help our kids understand our ancestors, we can't skip the discussion of war when we are talking about their lives, even though it IS a difficult topic to have with children.

My WWI veteran ancestor was Luigi Licciardi and he fought in the Italian Army during the War. We don't know much about his service, but by 1920 he was on a ship to America, with his wife and young daughters to follow in 1921. Had he always wanted to come to America, or did his experiences during the war push him to start a new life somewhere far from the destruction and chaos in Europe?  Enough Italian WWI veterans came to Cleveland, at least, that they started a social group/fraternal group known as Ex-Combattenti Italiani (Italian War Veterans), so perhaps that experience of serving and living through WWI did affect more peoples' decisions to emigrate out of Europe. Does your family have any ancestors that immigrated to America immediately after WWI? 

My husband had a great-uncle, Edward Tumbush, who served in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during the War. He was the grandchild of German immigrants who came from Northwest Germany. It's hard to think that he may have been fighting against some of his own cousins on the front lines. Unfortunately, a couple of my husband's ancestral towns in the Meuse department of Northeast France suffered damaged and enemy occupation during the war, as well.


I've made two simple worksheets kids can use if they want to write down some basic facts about their ancestors who served in World War I. Click on each image to download a PDF.

My WWI Veteran Ancestor Worksheet // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
My WWI Veteran Ancestor (2 pages)
My WWI Nurse Ancestor // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
My WWI Nurse Ancestor (1 page)
​Several years ago, I made some poppy crafts with my daughter while we talked about the war and what the poppy symbolizes. You can find that post at this link.

Below, I've listed some children's book recommendations for teaching children about WWI. It's a mix of non-fiction and fiction, for various ages, and certainly not comprehensive in scope, but it will give you a good start. Despite all the destruction and killing, there are actually some very inspirational and endearing stories from WWI, including several stories about how animals helped soldiers and the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914. (If you order through these links, a small portion of the sale will be returned to Growing Little Leaves. The sale price will be no different for you.)
©2018 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Matriarchal Elephant Herds

5/11/2018

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With Mother's Day around the corner, I wanted to create an activity that related to mothers, but that also reflected the mothering spirit that so many of our female family members possess, whether they be biological mothers or not.

I started thinking about elephants. Female elephants and juvenile males live in complex social groups that are matriarchal in hierarchy. One elder female elephant leads a multi-generational herd of related females and young males. They all travel together, and protect and care for each other. And since elephants can live as long as humans, and their behaviors suggest a deep emotional intelligence, the bonds they form with each other are just as strong as the bonds we form with our human family members. This PBS website discusses more about the social behaviors of African elements, and even includes a family pedigree chart of one particular herd!

Kids love watching and learning about elephants. And I think you can combine a science/nature lesson about elephants with a family history lesson, using the elephants' social structure has a jumping-off point. Here is a worksheet with some cute little elephants, where kids can write down the names of immediate and extended female family members who they feel sometimes act as a mother towards them. (Click on image to download PDF.)
Matriarchal Elephant Herds // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Modern families don't always live near their immediate and extended family members, but I think it is important for us to talk with our children about just how important female relationships were to many of our ancestors. Women raised children together, sewed together, grew food together, and relied on other women for essential medical care, especially during and immediately after childbirth. It's a good history lesson for all of us, to bring awareness to bonds without which many of our ancestors would not have survived.

©2018 Emily Kowalski Schroeder. All rights reserved.
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Opłatki: A Polish Christmas Tradition

12/19/2017

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Oplatki: A Polish Christmas Tradition // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
For the last Family History for Children Blog Hop, I talked about some of the traditional Polish foods my extended family eats during the holidays. Today, I'll talk a little bit about the Polish tradition of opłatki, thin wafers shared among family members at Christmas Eve. Opłatki, which is pronounced 'O-pwat-ki,' are similar in composition and taste to the hosts used in Catholic masses, but they have not been consecrated by a priest.

Traditionally, at Christmas Eve dinner, the eldest family member breaks off a piece of the
opłatki wafer and says a blessing. The wafer is then passed around to other family members around the table, each of whom breaks off a piece and eats it. Our family does it a little differently; each family member takes a piece of opłatki and then walks around the room to other family members. We individually share a hug and a 'Merry Christmas' and each person breaks off a small piece of opłatki from the other person's wafer. Here are a couple of photos of my uncle showing my 3 year old son how to do it.​

Oplatki: A Polish Christmas Tradition // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Oplatki: A Polish Christmas Tradition // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
This blog post is part of the December Family History for Children Blog Link-Up. Check out the other posts below!
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Embracing the Foods of Our Heritage

11/16/2017

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Embracing Heritage Foods // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
It's time for another Family History For Children blog link-up and this month's theme is family recipes. In every family, food is such a big part of our traditions and culture and introducing kids to foods and recipes unique to your own family can be a great way to get them interested in family history!

My dad and his siblings are grandchildren of Polish immigrants, and when we all get together as an extended family, especially for Christmas, we still eat traditional Polish foods. We typically have two types of kielbasa along with a couple of types of pierogi (and don't forget the beet horseradish!). For dessert, we have kruschiki, which is a flaky pastry covered with powdered sugar, and kolache, which are Eastern European pastry rolls with sweet fruit fillings.

Embracing Heritage Foods // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Polish Kielbasa
Embracing Heritage Foods // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Heavily-Sugared Kolache with Other Holiday Goodies
Embracing Heritage Foods // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Pierogi and Beet Horseradish
Embracing Heritage Foods // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Enjoying some kruschiki

Introduce Ethnic Foods to Your Family

Your family might not regularly eat the ethnic foods of your Old World ancestors, but have you ever thought of bringing some of those foods into your family gatherings, as a way in which to reconnect with and honor your roots? Whether your family has been in America for 50 or 250 years, there are benefits to reintroducing your family members to their ancestors' food traditions.

How?

The Internet makes it easy to find traditional ethnic foods and recipes for virtually any culture or nationality imaginable. Of course, making those recipes may prove more challenging than simply finding them, but there's no better thing in the world than to learn something new alongside your kids, who can and should be a part of preparing these recipes and sampling the results. And don't be afraid to ask for help or cheat a little. My family still lives in an area where there are Polish bakeries and butchers around, so we get a lot of our food from them instead of making it from scratch.

​Since we're in the season of large family gatherings, Try to get everyone involved! Arrange a friendly competition among your extended family members to each bring a new-to-the-family 'heritage' dish as part of a pot luck holiday event. Ask the kids to help judge the food and then be sure to swap those recipes with each other, and maybe suggest ways in which to improve the recipes.

Why?

If you dig a little deeper, and learn about how some of these foods were traditionally prepared without modern kitchen conveniences, it will tell you a lot about the culinary talents and work ethics of your ancestors. Learning about what foods were staples of the diet when people couldn't travel long distances or import goods from elsewhere will tell you a lot about your ancestors' lifestyles - what types of crops they were able to cultivate, livestock they were able to successfully breed, and fish or wildlife they were able to hunt and catch. 

Whatever type of food traditions your family enjoys, it is important to talk about those traditions together, especially when the kids are around. Kids so often think of a tradition as something you DO, not necessarily something you EAT. It's up to us adults to show them that a family traditions can involve actions, things, people, foods, etc. I created this worksheet a couple of years ago for a program in which we talked about different cultural holiday traditions. It's been on the 
Printables page for awhile, but I thought this was a perfect time to highlight it, in the hopes someone out there might find it useful during this holiday season.
Picture
At this link, there is also the 'In Grandma's Kitchen' printable, which I highlighted several months ago as part of an Italian Heritage program I organized. It's great for encouraging kids to document family recipes.

​Check out these other entries to this blog hop and submit your own!
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful holiday season!

©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Honoring Ancestors on Day of the Dead

10/25/2017

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Honoring Ancestors on the Day of the Dead // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated between October 31 and November 2 each year. Drawing on both indigenous and Catholic traditions, Día de los Meurtos festivities remember, celebrate, and welcome back the spirits of dead loved ones. Family members build altars (ofrendas) to honor their ancestors and visit cemeteries to clean and decorate grave sites. Though individual traditions can vary from place to place, most Día de los Muertos festivities generally take on a happy, celebratory tone, instead of a mournful one.  

Our family does not have Mexican roots, but we are Catholic and our family has been for many, many generations. All Saints Day (Nov 1) and All Souls Day (Nov  2) are a big deal in the Catholic faith. These days give us a chance to remember and honor our loved ones who are deceased, and I just love the Mexican traditions during the Day of the Dead of filling these days with music, dance, parades, food, prayer, and memories. And I think celebrating the memories of those who have passed on can be a very positive and healing experience for all people, especially children.

Last year, we spent a day in Cozumel, Mexico, and one of the villages we visited had a traditional ofrenda on display. It's important to say that these ofrendas are NOT made in order to worship ancestors; they are made to honor them and remember them.  

Honoring Ancestors on the Day of the Dead // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Authentic Mexican Ofrenda
This year, as late Oct and early November approached, I decided that my kids and I would try to create our own ancestor ofrenda and share it with you.

We used several online sources (links below) to help us learn what to include in our ofrenda. However, from what I have read, it seems that there is no 'wrong' way to create an ofrenda to honor your ancestor(s), and that every family has their own style and uses their own ideas and creativity to do it.

The Day of the Dead Ofrenda from Inside Mexico

Build a Day of the Dead Ofrenda to Honor Your Departed Loved Ones from Zinnia Folk Arts
How To Make a Day of the Dead Altar from TripSavvy
​
​So, here is a photo of our ofrenda. We covered a bench with a white bed sheet and placed a large  photograph of our ancestor (my grandmother, my kids' great-grandmother) in the center. We've included bread, water, salt, and fruit, along with various symbols of our Catholic faith, such as a cross, a statue of the Virgin Mary, and a rosary. We also have scented candles, which we lit (with adult supervision only!).  We included one of my grandmother's books, because she loved to read, and a deck of playing cards, because she also enjoyed card parties with her friends. You can also include a few smaller photos, if you like.
Honoring Ancestor on the Day of the Dead // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Traditional ofrendas are decorated with cempasúchitl flowers, sometimes known as Mexican marigolds. We used some orange-colored silk flowers instead of real ones, but I still think it looks nice. You can also use mums, which are easy to find during this time of the year. Mexican ofrendas also typically include colorful papel picado banners. It is easy to make simple banners using string and tissue paper, but I found a good deal on Amazon for a small pre-made banner.

Day of the Dead ofrendas are also often decorated with artistic representations of human skulls, also known as calaveras or sugar skulls, because they are often made of candy or dough and edible. We did not make sugar skulls, but we did color some paper ones to include on our ofrenda. I found a public domain image of a black-and-white calavera, so I copied it to a document (in two sizes) and made a printable for you to download.
Sugar Skull Download
Here are a few other links at which you can download sugar skull templates or other free Day of the Dead printables and activities for kids:

Free Printable Dia de los Muertos Coloring Page
​Day of the Dead Printable Craft
​
Dia de los Muertos Sugar Skull Boxes
​Free Day of the Dead Printable
​
Day of the Dead Felt Craft for Kids
Elementary-Level Day of the Dead Vocabulary Worksheet & Word Search

​And, of course, don't forget that your local library likely has some great kid-friendly picture books about Day of the Dead festivities and what they mean. Some of these are bilingual, too, so they are great if you are trying to introduce your child(ren) to Spanish. I've featured a few below, and if you click on the image, you will be directed to the book's Amazon.com page. Purchasing through these links provides Growing Little Leaves with a small portion of the sale (at no extra cost to you).
Does your family regularly participate in Day of the Dead festivities? If so, I'd love to hear about your traditions and see photos! As always, thank you for reading!

©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Jack O Lantern Family Tree

9/15/2017

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Jack O'Lantern FREE Family Tree Printable from GrowingLittleLeaves.com
I was going to wait until later in October to post this new little family tree printable, but I thought I would do so earlier, so people would have plenty of time to use it as Halloween approaches. It's pretty simple; the child's name goes in the box at the bottom, and then his/her parents,' grandparents,' and great-grandparents' names are written within the other boxes. (Great-grandparent couples must share their box.) 

There is a version both with and without the little black cat peeking out from behind the child's jack-o'-lantern. My daughter wanted a kitty in hers, so that's how it ended up there. (Click on either image to download the two-page PDF with both versions.)

Jack O' Lantern FREE Family Tree Printable from GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Jack O'Lantern FREE Family Tree Printable from GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Sometimes it's fun for kids to visualize a family 'tree' in different ways, so I thought my kids would enjoy this new take on a genealogy chart and I'm happy to pass it on to you! Enjoy!
©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Grandparents As Teachers

8/24/2017

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Grandparents As Teachers with FREE Printables from GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Grandparents Day is coming up on Sunday, September 10, so I have been thinking a lot about ways in which to remember, honor, and document our relationships with our grandparents. 

When my brother and I were young children, there was a period during which both of our parents were working full time and our grandparents watched us during the day. And I was thinking about that time the other day and realized how much our grandma and grandpa taught us while they were caring for us.

Naturally, my grandparents had a role in teaching us how to be nice to each other and how to use good manners and things of that nature, but they also taught us a lot of practical skills. My grandmother taught me how to sew a button. She would give me an old sock and her tin of random buttons, and I would just keep sewing on buttons until my fingers hurt. My grandfather taught us how to play the card game, Uno. He also taught my brother how to play chess, but I didn't have the patience for it at the time. He was a woodworking hobbyist, and he taught us how to hammer a nail and use a vise to hold things while you were working on them.

These may seem like small little everyday memories, but now that my grandparents are gone, they mean the world to me. I want to document those memories, so my kids have some insights into my relationship with my grandparents. I also want my kids to think about what their grandparents have taught them (and are still teaching them). 

I created these simple printables for getting kids to think about how their grandparents have been a teacher to them. Please feel free to use them with your family, playgroup, or church group. This activity is not limited to children - adults can and should also write about or draw what their grandparents taught them. My intents for these worksheets are: 1.) To get families talking about the importance of the grandparent-grandchild relationship and 2.) To provide a concrete, kid-friendly way in which to document some of our everyday memories of our grandparents. (Click on either image to download the two-page PDF.)

What Grandma Taught Me FREE Printable from GrowingLittleLeaves.com
What Grandpa Taught Me FREE Printable from GrowingLittleLeaves.com
If you are a grandparent or grandparent-to-be, here are a few resources I found online that speak to a grandparent's role as a teacher: 

​Five Important Things Grandparents Can Teach Grandchildren

10 Things Grandchildren Can Learn From Their Grandparents
Grandparents Are Teachers, Too (Infographic)​
I also want to draw your attention to a Grandparents Day campaign organized by CaringAcrossGenerations.org, to let your lawmakers know how much we value the aging population AND the caregivers who dedicate their lives to upholding their quality of life. If you go to this website (postcards.care), you can create a postcard. Upload a photo of a loved one, briefly tell their story or say why they matter to you, and the postcard will be sent to your Senators, free of charge. 

©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Mother's Day Adjective Worksheets

4/20/2017

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FREE Mother's Day Adjective Worksheets from GrowingLittleLeaves.com
The other day, my Kindergartner brought home a worksheet about adjectives ('describing words,' as they call them). And that gave me an idea for some Mother's Day-themed worksheets involving adjectives. 

I always love it when my kids bring home crafts, worksheets, or other projects from school that show they were thinking of me or another family member. These worksheets will encourage kids to think of words to describe their mom, or a person in their life who acts as a mother figure.

The first worksheet is very simple and includes ten boxes in which a child can write descriptive words about their mom and draw a picture of her. (If a child is not yet writing, have an adult write down what they say.)

​The second worksheet includes a flower on which the child can draw or glue a photo (of any mother figure in their lives) in the center and write a descriptive word in each flower petal. The flower can then be cut out and given to that person for Mother's Day. This flower worksheet may also be used to honor a deceased mother figure in your family. Encouraging kids to write down their memories of loved ones, even if it is just one word at a time, is an important step in learning how to document family history and memories.

Click on each image to download a PDF.

Picture
Picture
I hope that you and the children in your life find these worksheets helpful and enjoyable as you and your family prepare to celebrate Mother's Day next month. 

©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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Book Review: Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

4/20/2017

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Book Review: Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier // GrowingLittleLeaves.comGhosts by Raina Telgemeier
Part of honoring your family's history involves remembering family members who have passed away. Dealing with the loss of family members and processing the subsequent grief can be difficult for the younger members of our families. Ghosts, a graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier, explores themes of death, loss, fear, and family heritage and tradition.

Cat is an average California teenager who is apprehensive over having to move upstate with her mom, dad, and younger sister, Maya, who suffers from cystic fibrosis. As Cat and Maya soon find out, their new town, Bah
ía de la Luna, is historically known for the thin veil that exists between the worlds of the living and the dead. 

Through the course of the book, Cat and Maya, who are part Hispanic, learn a little about their maternal grandmother, who passed away before they were born. The girls' mother laments over her troubled relationship with her mother, and expresses regret over not learning about or taking pride in her mother's Mexican traditions and recipes. With the help of neighbors and new friends, the girls start to learn a little more about traditional Mexican food and celebrations. They even build a traditional ofrenda for their grandmother in their home.


Like other Hispanic communities, every year, Bahía de la Luna hosts a festival to commemorate Día de los Muertos. Unlike at other community festivals, though, the ghosts of loved ones actually DO make themselves visible and speak and sing and dance with the living like they were any other party guests. Cat attends the festival saddened that Maya is too sick to join the party, but still hoping to find and speak with her deceased grandmother. 

Throughout the story, Maya struggles with the physical limitations of her cystic fibrosis, and Cat struggles with her fears of ghosts, the unknown, and losing her sister. In addition to the theme of 'resurrecting' family tradition and culture, this book has a unique, but comforting way of using the folklore of D
ía de los Muertos to paint a picture of what the afterlife might be like, AND to emphasize that our loved ones are still with us, even after they leave their mortal lives.

I recommend this graphic novel for Grades 3 and up. 

©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Easter Memories

4/15/2017

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A little last minute, but I've created a little interview sheet for kids take with them tomorrow for family Easter festivities. There are a few simple questions, along with spaces to record the names of the person being interviewed and the interviewer. The questions are about favorite Easter family traditions, food, and childhood memories. Click on the image below for a PDF to download. The PDF includes both this color version and a black-and-white version, depending on your printing abilities/needs.
Easter Memories Interview FREE Download // GrowingLittleLeaves.com
Click on image to be directed to PDF.
Family holidays and gatherings are great times to share of family traditions and memories, and kids can get the conversations going! Encourage your children and grandchildren to keep asking questions about your family's past, and get them in the habit of recording those memories!
©2017 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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    Emily Kowalski Schroeder

    Founder and Author of Growing Little Leaves

    Emily Kowalski Schroeder / Founder and Author of GrowingLittleLeaves.com

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