Thursday, April 28, 2016

Family History for Kids: Object/Story Match


This is my favorite game of all. It is pretty simple, but young children like simple! I've started with just my husband and me, but the "game" can be expanded later to include our parents and grandparents on back. I merely have to collect more stories, objects and pictures. The point is to listen to very short stories and then find a simple object that matches the story and place it on the correct picture.

I began by brainstorming stories for both of us. I included a story of my husband working in a gas station in high school, another of my husband's love of spooky ghost stories, a story of when I stepped on a nail and one of how I came to love geology and rocks, etc. Just really simple memories. Stories can be short or long, depending on the age and interest of the children. I wrote these stories on slips of paper and folded them. Then I located a little object to represent each story. For example, the fish represents a story of a fishing trip my husband remembers with his grandfather. Because I have to multiply the game for each of my children, these objects have to be very simple and inexpensive. With just the two pictures, the family would divide into teams. With additional pictures and objects, each person might have a picture of their own to tend.

So you play the game in turns with someone picking up a paper and reading the story. Then everyone can decide which object goes with that story and the person with the correct picture collects the object and places it on their picture. Play continues until all the stories, objects and pictures are matched. If you have a lot of time and interest, more stories can be included. If time is short or the children have limited attention, just decrease the number of stories, saving the others for another time.

I like the aspect of being able to add to the game, sending additional stories, objects, and pictures of other family members as I get them finished.


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