An excellent genealogy project for kids that they are sure to find to be a lot of fun is creating a family photo collage. This is a great way for them to learn who their ancestors are, based on you going over identities and relationships with them as you sort through old photos together. Children love being able to put a face to a name just as much as you do. It also helps keep a genealogy project interesting for them. If someone is just a name and a date on a piece of paper, it isn’t nearly as interesting or engaging for them as being able to see the actual person and know they were real.
This may spark an interest in them to know more about the family and their other ancestors, maybe even the ones for whom no photos exist (or are known to exist…maybe your child or grandchild will be the one to find them). In any case, it is a delightful way for you to spend time together doing something that you will both undoubtedly enjoy.
There are a couple of solid ways to do a genealogy photo collage project with a child. You can do it freeform, on cardboard paper, and then frame it or pin it to a cork board when you’re done, or you can do it using one or more photo frames with shapes cut out in the matting for the placement of several photos in one frame. Either way makes a great photo collage project.
If you are doing it freeform, decide on a them for the collage, such as “moms and daughters,” “dads and sons,” “grandparents and grandchildren,” “multiple generations in one photo,” “childhood photos of all relatives for which you have childhood photos,” “holiday photos,” “vacation photos,” “school photos,” “photos with pets,” and even photos grouped by the decade they were taken. These are just some suggestions. Use your imagination to come up with the theme you like best.
You and your child or grandchild can go through these photos, group them and label them on different pieces of cardboard paper, decorate the paper with artwork or scrapbooking accessories, then tape the pieces of cardboard paper together (or glue or paste them) to form one large collage. The resulting collage can be framed, displayed as-is on a wall, or even gifted to a member of the family who would really love it. Kids are usually pretty excited about making something for a gift for someone they love.
It’s a little easier if you are using multi-photo frames. Your child can write in labels under the individual photos, or use a label maker to make the labels, and can even decorate the matting, if desired.
Either method of making a photo college is a terrific genealogy project that you and your child or grandchild can enjoy doing together. The child has fun while learning about genealogy, and when you’re done, you have a great family heirloom you can save or gift to someone. This is a winning genealogy project.