A Family Timeline

Mt. Rushmore photo © Getty; illustrations by Bryan Beach and Mark Robison

Learn more about your family by making a family history timeline. It’s easy! Just get a piece of paper for each year since your family started.

1. Date Your Papers

Write this year’s date at the top of the first piece of paper. Then write last year’s date on the next one. Work backward until you reach the year your family began.

2. Tell What Happened

For each year, write down or draw as many things as you can remember. You could use some of the stories you collected last month to help you! Here are a few ideas:

How did your family celebrate the holidays that year?
Who was your Primary teacher?
What school did you go to?
Did you take any trips?
What pets did you have?
What sports or activities did you like to do?
How did your mom and dad meet?
When and where did they get married?
When was each child born?

3. Add Your Badge

Put your timeline in your family history folder or box, and keep adding to it throughout the year. Remember to cut out your badge and add it to your badge keeper from January! Print past pages at FriendFHQ.lds.org.

Activity Idea: For a fun 3D timeline game, put pictures on plastic cups of things that happened. Then take turns shuffling the cups and putting them back in order!