Last spring, I wrote this blog post about why it is important to regularly take children to cemeteries. Unfortunately, we do not live anywhere near where our ancestors are buried, but that doesn't mean that I can't still take them to local cemeteries and teach them cemetery etiquette. I came up with a way in which to make a cemetery trip interactive and a little more exciting than it would normally be for a child.
I had visited Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis with my daughter over the summer. The HUGE cemetery has a wide variety of monument engravings and sculptures, so I thought it would be the perfect place to come back with my kids and have them look for some of the unique statues and symbols found throughout the cemetery.
Before arranging a cemetery scavenger hunt with your child(ren), I highly recommend first visiting the cemetery on your own to decide which section(s) will be part of your hunt. At that time, you can look for interesting statues and monument shapes and engravings that you want your child(ren) to search for. If you plan on bringing along a larger group of children and adults (like a scouting group, for instance), stop by the cemetery office, too, to ask permission and to make sure they know when you will be there.
On the way to the cemetery, I also reminded my kids (ages 4 and 6 1/2) how to act at the cemetery. No stepping or climbing on the gravestones (unless the monument includes a bench), no running, and to be quiet if we see someone paying respects at a grave.
Here is the checklist I wrote and printed out for my son before we left for the cemetery. I gave it to him he read through it on the drive to the cemetery.
I had visited Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis with my daughter over the summer. The HUGE cemetery has a wide variety of monument engravings and sculptures, so I thought it would be the perfect place to come back with my kids and have them look for some of the unique statues and symbols found throughout the cemetery.
Before arranging a cemetery scavenger hunt with your child(ren), I highly recommend first visiting the cemetery on your own to decide which section(s) will be part of your hunt. At that time, you can look for interesting statues and monument shapes and engravings that you want your child(ren) to search for. If you plan on bringing along a larger group of children and adults (like a scouting group, for instance), stop by the cemetery office, too, to ask permission and to make sure they know when you will be there.
On the way to the cemetery, I also reminded my kids (ages 4 and 6 1/2) how to act at the cemetery. No stepping or climbing on the gravestones (unless the monument includes a bench), no running, and to be quiet if we see someone paying respects at a grave.
Here is the checklist I wrote and printed out for my son before we left for the cemetery. I gave it to him he read through it on the drive to the cemetery.
I printed out two checklists for my 4 year old daughter. One listed colors and the other listed the letters of the alphabet. She can recognize most of the letters, but I had to help her read the color words. Since I knew what we were searching for and where those items were located, I guided them to the right sections and gave hints when necessary. Since this cemetery is so large, I did drive us around to interesting sections that were not adjacent to each other.
My son ended up finding everything on his list, and my daughter found all of the letters. There were a couple of colors we did not see, but overall, the hunt went very well.
My son ended up finding everything on his list, and my daughter found all of the letters. There were a couple of colors we did not see, but overall, the hunt went very well.
Coins on James Whitcomb Riley's Grave
A Tennis Racquet!
Indiana State Flag!
Statue of A Woman
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Indianapolis Colts owner Robert Irsay
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An Angel and a Cross
Checking Off Letters on Her List
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Soldier's Grave (We brought a flag to share.)
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©2014, Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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