Welcome to another day at Awesome Academy! Today, we’re going to explore family heritage with fun questions that will help you learn more about your family members and why it’s important to discover your background.

By asking different questions, you’ll discover how much the world has changed, hear interesting stories that your mom, dad, or grandparents have experienced, and feel much closer to everyone around you.

Before we begin, let’s take a look at what we’re talking about when we say family heritage.

What Does Family Heritage Mean?

Family heritage is the background that you and your family come from. And it’s not just your parents or grandparents, but your great-great-great grandparents (who are known as your ancestors) too. They can all be from different countries and have different nationalities, like Australian, Egyptian, Norwegian, and many others.

When learning about your heritage, you can tell you which parts of the world your ancestors lived in, if they celebrated different holidays or traditions, and it can help you discover new information about yourself that you didn’t already know.

How Can I Learn About My Family History?

One of the best ways to understand more about your history is to ask your family members the right questions, which can lead to new knowledge, valuable lessons, and even playful activities.

Our friend Avia learned that her ancestors were from Sofia, Bulgaria. And she even tried a traditional snack called Lyutenitsa that she made with her grandmother. It’s a mix of tomatoes and peppers that can be spread on toast or crackers and was a very popular food choice with children!

To help you get started, we prepared a printable worksheet of questions along with other fun options from the categories below. The best part about these questions is that you can ask them anywhere: at the dinner table, family gatherings, or even on a picnic.

Family Questions

1. Where did you grow up?

2. Did you share a room with your siblings?

3. What is the most important lesson your parents taught you?

Generational Questions

1. Tell me about some of your favorite songs (can also be books, movies, and television shows).

2. Do you remember any trends from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?

3. How is the world different today than it was when you were younger?

School Questions

1. Did you have a lot of homework when you were younger?

2. Did you wear a uniform?

3. What school activities or sports did you participate in?

Career Questions

1. How did you choose your career?

2. What did you do with your first paycheck?

3. If you could have had any other job, what would it have been?

Hobbies Questions

1. What was your favorite toy and why?

2. What was your favorite thing to do for fun?

3. What is one activity that you always had trouble doing?

Personal Questions

1. What world events had the most impact on you when you were a child?

2. What’s your recipe for creativity?

3. What are you most proud of in your life?

Every activity deserves a round of entertainment! We added a few silly questions to help you and your family explore fun possibilities. And we think some of their answers might surprise you.

Silly Questions

1. If you could have one free hour in the day, what would you do with it?

2. If you could choose any super power, what would it be and why?

3. Would you rather be able to breathe under water or fly?

4. Would you choose to go to the past and meet your ancestors or travel to the future to meet your great-great grandchildren?

There goes the bell! We hope you enjoyed today’s lesson, and that you’ve learned a lot more about family heritage. We’ll be back with more fun learning at Awesome Academy very soon!