A Personalized Family Calendar

This project is a good thing for children that are a little older to tackle. If you're going to hand this off to your kids then they'll need to at least be able to write legibly though you could make it up yourself and have small children illustrate it for you.

So . . . I give you the "On This Date" family calendar. You've seen the items in the newspaper where they will list significant events that happened on whatever day it is? "On this date in 1789 the first Constitutional Convention was held, in 1949 the invasion of Normandy began and in 2002 Sponge Bob Squarepants was born." Or something equally significant.

Well make up your own important events calendar for your family, go through your immediate and extended family and collect birthdays, anniversaries, death dates, anything of importance to your family history. Then add to that significant events that may not be listed in your vital records: the first day you met your husband, the first tooth, the first step, when you found out you were having a boy, the day you moved to your new house, the day of your first family vacation. Dates that make your family special.

Then take large, blank index cards and write the date and descriptions on separate cards. Punch a hole in the top of each card and bind them all together with a ring where you can flip through the important events each day and easily ad dates of future events.

Some examples from our own family include:

January 1

∙On this day in 1967 Aunt Camille was born in Pocatello, Idaho.

∙On this day in 1993 Andrew and Michelle drove through Kentucky, West Virginia, and Maryland.

∙On this day in 1998 the Mittons went snowmobiling at Summit Lake, Alaska.

January 4

∙On this day in 1993 Andrew and Michelle started work in Washington D.C.

∙On this day in 1997 the Mittons visited Minneapolis and spent the day at the Minnesota Zoo on a nice sunny day.

January 5

∙On this day in 1997 the Mittons spent the day at the Mall of America and went to Camp Snoopy. The weather was not as nice.

January 6

∙On this day in 1997 the Mittonss spent the day stuck in a hotel room during a blizzard.

January 7

∙On this day in 2000 David took his first step.

January 20

∙On this day in 1993 Andrew and Michelle attended President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural address.

January 24

∙On this day in 1976 Uncle Greg was born in Fairfax, Virginia.

January 28

∙On this day in 1991 Andrew and Michelle went to see the Peking Acrobats in Salt Lake City, Utah.

February 11

∙On this day in 1996 the Mittons discovered Spencer was coming to join the family.

February 14

∙On this day in 1992 Andrew and Michelle spent six hours stuck at the top of Vail pass on their way to Breckenridge.

We've accumulated enough family history to almost have an event for every day of the year but every time I read a page on the calendar it's like a tiny album of memories opens up in my mind and I can see every event listed. Kind of a fun way to keep connected with family history.

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