This past Friday, my six year old son received his first set of stitches. He was playing on the playground set at school, slipped, and cut his cheek on a step. He did great at the ER, but was understandably scared, and he doesn't really like how he looked with the stitches on his face. My husband and I, of course, tried to make him feel better about it by showing him our childhood scars, which hopefully that did help him feel a little better.
Yesterday, after his soccer game, I pulled up one of my family history newspaper clippings on the computer and read it to him:
Yesterday, after his soccer game, I pulled up one of my family history newspaper clippings on the computer and read it to him:
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I told my son that this man named Nick was Great-Grandma Schroeder's grandpa. (I'm a big proponent of explaining family relations in terms that kids can understand; saying great-great-great-grandfather really doesn't mean anything to young children.) I also told him that this was in the newspaper at the time, and I asked him if he thought I should put his stitches accident in the newspaper. He sort of glared and frowned at me. "No, I don't want that!" I told him that they sometimes put this sort of stuff in the newspapers long ago, especially in small towns.
I also showed him a photo of Nick Grilliot. (If you have them, photos always help kids make better connections and keep them interested for longer.) My son asked if the photo showed his cut, and I had to explain that no, this photo was taken before the accident happened.
I also showed him a photo of Nick Grilliot. (If you have them, photos always help kids make better connections and keep them interested for longer.) My son asked if the photo showed his cut, and I had to explain that no, this photo was taken before the accident happened.
Nicholas Grilliot
We also talked a little about how much more painful getting stitches was back in the early 1940s as opposed to today. Thanks to the special numbing gel they put on his face, my son was spared most of the pain of the doctor sewing up his cut, but I told him that they didn't have that special medicine at this time, and getting stitches was probably more painful.
Had he remained interested in my little history lesson, I would have talked with him about how dangerous working on a farm could be, even in modern times. Maybe next time; he has plenty of farmers in his family tree that I can use as examples on that topic.
When you want to start introducing your kids to specific ancestors in their family tree, I think this is how you have to do it. You have to creatively look for ways to connect their lives to their ancestors' lives. It may mean only talking about one small event from a great-grandparent's life, but if you do that often enough, over time, kids will build up a fairly healthy knowledge of some of the experiences of the people who came before them, and the history too, for that matter. Even more importantly, kids will begin to understand that their lives really aren't THAT different from people who lived long ago, and maybe they will start to feel a more emotional connection to some of their ancestors.
Newspaper Clipping Source: The Minster Post, 11 Sep 1942, page 6, columns 4-5
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder.
Had he remained interested in my little history lesson, I would have talked with him about how dangerous working on a farm could be, even in modern times. Maybe next time; he has plenty of farmers in his family tree that I can use as examples on that topic.
When you want to start introducing your kids to specific ancestors in their family tree, I think this is how you have to do it. You have to creatively look for ways to connect their lives to their ancestors' lives. It may mean only talking about one small event from a great-grandparent's life, but if you do that often enough, over time, kids will build up a fairly healthy knowledge of some of the experiences of the people who came before them, and the history too, for that matter. Even more importantly, kids will begin to understand that their lives really aren't THAT different from people who lived long ago, and maybe they will start to feel a more emotional connection to some of their ancestors.
Newspaper Clipping Source: The Minster Post, 11 Sep 1942, page 6, columns 4-5
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder.
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