1. CONVERSATION Have your children talk to their aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Some of my own fondest memories are candid conversations that I had with my father. Many of my beliefs have been formed and shaped simply from the talks that I remember having with him.
2. READ Read to your children, and let them read to you. Intentionally pick out books that they can relate to. Choose books that educate them about their own culture.
3. RESEARCH Go on the internet to search for information about your own culture. My daughters and I love to do this and often find ourselves diverted on several rabbit trails. It’s fun and educational. Anything from articles to YouTube videos.
4. PROMINENT PEOPLE Study prominent people with your children. Are their people in your own family that played important roles in history? Perhaps a grandparent fought in a war. Interview them and make a video for the family keepsakes. Whether war stories, or just ramblings of their own childhood memories…these are the words that influence and impact our children.
5. WRITE Have your children reflect and write their memories and experiences. I can recall my parents taking me to Mexico to visit my grandparents when I was only a child. Many of my ideas for writing have come from that trip alone. The featured image up above, is of my abuelitos (my paternal grandparents) from Mexico.

What other ways can you think of to pass down and preserve our family history?

Contact me at:

candidchicana@gmail.com

dstatam63@bethelu.edu