I can’t think of a better way to get to the heart of the song, Family History I am Doing It (archives) than by listening to stories about our ancestors!
For a neat way to introduce or review this song in primary, invite a special guest to share a story about one of their ancestors, or have the children bring in their own family story to share!
**See ALL Family History I Am Doing It Teaching Ideas!**
Family History-I am Doing It Ancestor Stories
The joy for family history work comes so naturally to some! I often find that we are more excited to engage in family history work when we learn about our ancestors. As we read or hear their stories, we begin to feel a sense of closeness to them.
To help your primary children understand the message of this cute song, share stories about your ancestors during singing time. Hopefully this spiritual connections idea will help your primary children better understand the message of this song.
There are many ways to do this! In this post, I’ll share a few options to create a meaningful singing time lesson about family history to pair with this song. Then, it’s up to you to decide how you’ll use this idea in your primary room!
Option 1: Special Guest
Primary kiddos are always so excited when someone new comes into primary! Having a special guest tell a story about one of their ancestors can be a great way to invite the Spirit as you learn this song.
For this option, you’ll want to reach out to someone ahead of time. Ask a member of the Bishopric, your ward missionaries, or another member of your ward to come in and share a short story of someone in their family tree.
Feel free to bring pictures, props, or anything else that will make the story more engaging for the primary children!
Option 2: Stories from Friends
Have the children bring in their own family stories! This can be a great way to get the kids involved in a more personal way!
For this option, you may invite a few families or send out a message in advance encouraging the children to bring in one ancestral story to share. This can be as simple as bringing in a picture of grandparents or great-grandparents!
Have your primary children listen as their friends share stories from their own family history. If you get lots of participants, split the class into groups and have the children share in small groups.
Here are some questions you can share to encourage the children to ask a family member:
- Where were you born?
- Did someone in our family immigrate here?
- What’s your earliest childhood memory?
- What’s your favorite story with your parents or siblings?
- What birthday or holiday traditions did your family have?
- What was your wedding day like?
- What do you remember about an important world event you lived through?
Option 3: Stories from Conference
Many church leaders have shared personal stories from their own family history in General Conference. This option will take a little bit more prep work on your end, but it can be just as meaningful! Look for stories about ancestors in recent General Conference talks. Print and cut out these short snippets and read them together in primary!
One way to do this is by finding 2-3 stories for each group to read together. Then, have each class summarize their story each time you sing through Family History-I am Doing It (flip chart).
There are many great examples to choose from! In his talk, Follow Jesus Christ With Footsteps of Faith, M. Russell Ballard shares a simple story about his pioneer ancestors.
Another great example is this talk by Elder Gerrit W. Gong entitled, “We Each Have a Story.” Elder Gong shares some stories from his own family tree and talks about the importance of family history work!
Extension Activities:
- Invite your ward family history consultant to come share a little bit about the importance of learning about our ancestors!
- Bring in some pictures or stories from your own family history! The kids will love getting to know you better and listening to family stories.
- Why do we do family history work? Talk about it together in primary! Teach the children about temple work and the importance of sealing families for eternity.
- Play a silly game of “Guess Who!” Have each teacher bring in a picture of a parent, grandparent, or other ancestor. See if the kids can guess which ancestors belong to each teacher! This is an awesome way to get your teachers involved!
- Have the Primary Children take home a My Ancestor Questionnaire and encourage them to call a grandparent and interview them!
For another spiritual connections activity, head over to see this Nephi’s Courage Words of a Prophet singing time activity!
Family History-I Am Doing It Ancestor Stories Printable Song Helps
There are no free printables for this post. You can find lots of ideas for using this activity above!
Join INSTANT Primary Singing for extended printables including a My Ancestors Questionnaire with 20 different questions to ask and a cute fill-in interview form. You’ll find these bonus files included when Family History-I Am Doing It is the featured song of the month.
Get more out of singing time with the INSTANT Primary Singing membership that includes printable lesson plans, tons of extended printables and an ad-free experience for each featured song of the month, or get immediate access to the entire song list for the year!
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You don’t want to miss this next fun lesson plan – a Family History I Am Doing It Melody Map! It’s a great way to have fun with the melody of the song and decode the icons!
Do you have any cool ancestor stories to share with your primary children? I’d love to hear how you’ll be using this idea in primary!
