If you are looking for a meaningful project during quarantine to do with your loved ones, a video history of your family could be just that project. Using resources like Ancestry.com or Genealogy.com will make it easier for you and you loved ones to research.
Each family has a history unique to its members and preserving that history passes down traditions and important information to its youngest members. Today, recording that history is easy, and can be a fun, enjoyable experience for the senior member and the rest of the family. There are booklets and even apps that specialize in recording a person’s life story.
While there are companies who specialize in crafting video histories, using your smart phone’s video camera can record segments. Upload them to your channel on YouTube, accessible only to family members if you choose, and everyone can learn and enjoy the experiences and lessons of your family elders.
Ask how they would like to do the sessions: you could start chronologically with their memories about childhood (perhaps the homes they lived in, their parents and siblings, favorite school memories, etc) or with old photographs to prompt responses.
Set your smartphone on a tripod or stable surface, about three to four feet away; make sure there is no background noise. Sit near the smartphone and ask questions or engage in a conversation while you record. Let the conversation go where the memories take you!
If your loved one is a veteran, their history can also become part of the Library of Congress Veteran History Project. You can submit original, first-hand accounts in written stories, oral history audio files, photographs and memorabilia, and more.
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