Mike Smith:
Hopefully you’ve been inspired this week to explore family and cultural heritage in your homeschool. If so, there are lots of hands-on projects and field trips that your kids can do to supplement a study of their cultural heritage.

Consider some field trips to go along with a study of family and cultural history. You might check for historical museums related to specific ethnic groups, either in your area or, if you go to visit relatives in another part of the country, where your family originally settled. Your family vacation might incorporate a pilgrimage to some places significant to your family, state, or cultural heritage.

Something you can do from home is to research cultural traditions related to significant events or holidays. Are there special foods, celebrations, or other customs associated with life events like births, marriages, or birthdays?

Holidays are another great way to focus on heritage. Many cultures have special Christmas traditions that your family would enjoy reviving in your home. Ethnic holidays like Chinese New Year, Saint Patrick’s Day, Cinquo de Mayo, or Oktoberfest are also good opportunities to explore historical culture.

Wondering how to celebrate? You could check for ethnic cookbooks and help your kids create tasty tributes to family history! If you have children young enough to enjoy dress-up, you could make some traditional costumes to show them what their ancestors would have worn.

Whatever you do, help your children experience the fun of family history! Until next time, I’m Mike Smith.