Dear Ribbit,
My children are very inquisitive and want to find out about their father and their grandfather. We are all going to brunch at my parent’s house on Sunday. While we‘re there, they want to ask them questions, but don’t know exactly what to ask. Do you know of any questions/talking points I can give them to get the conversation started?
Thanks!
Ann Sirrs
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Dear Ann,
Father’s Day brings back a lot of memories for and about fathers and grandfathers. It is great that your children are interested in learning more about your husband and his father, and that they have the opportunity to share their experiences, memories, and guidance with them. As you know, part of that process is asking the right questions. Here are some they can use to get the conversation going:
- Where and when were you born, and do you remember anything about your early childhood?
- What do you remember about your siblings from growing up?
- What do you remember about your parents and grandparents?
- Did you have any dogs or cats (or other pets) growing up?
- What did you like to do for fun? Did you play any sports?
- Did you live in a house or an apartment? What was it like? What was your room like?
- Where did you go to school? Who were your best friends? What was your favorite subject, and who was your favorite teacher?
- What did you want to be when you grew up?
- Who were your heroes or role models when you were young?
- What big world events do you remember from when you were growing up?
- What kinds of clothes, hobbies, slang terms were popular when you were a teenager?
- Did you go to college? What did you study? If you didn’t go to college, do you wish you had had the opportunity? What did you do instead?
- What was your first job? What was your favorite job?
- How did you meet your spouse? How old were you when you met/got engaged/got married? What was the wedding like?
- Do you know any stories about the history of the family name, or the origins of the family?
There is a longer list of questions on the Legacy Project web page, as well as games and activities, from art projects to writing activities to guessing games.
Happy Father’s Day. Have fun sharing memories with your children!
Ribbit
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