Most families have wonderful stories and experiences that have happened to them in their lives. Unfortunately, too often, these stories and experiences are never shared with their families and once the person has passed, it has become too late. One way to ensure that these stories and lessons get passed on, is to put them into a book.
This is something we have recently started in our family and are having a lot of fun doing. At each family gathering, the kids are to ask family members for a story from their life. It can be about a person they knew, a lesson they learned, somewhere they travelled, etc. The kids take notes and later come home and write the story out. Another way it can be done is to simply ask all family members to write/type out a story from their life and send it to you. We just like the added connection of the kids talking with the person. For us, we are also including a page for each person in the family that contains basic information about them and a list of their "favorites" (color, activity, food, etc). The kids interview the family member when they call them on their birthday and then draw pictures of the "guest of honor" as well. It helps the kids get to know their extended family members better and it helps make sure the birthday person feels special on their birthday (the adults especially react well to their birthday interview). Don't forget to include your household in the book too. We keep all the stories in a binder for now, but may eventually work toward binding them.
A Family Book of Stories will be a wonderful way to remember people and experiences. It's also a great way for future generations to learn about who they come from. Don't forget the benefit of learning more about those we love now and being able to create a deeper bond while they are still here to do so.
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