Sunday, November 15, 2015

Day 7 with Fay: Encouraging Appreciation of Heritage

In September, my husband and I were blessed to visit New England, a long-sought after vacation. I had learned a few of my ancestors arrived in America on the 1620 Mayflower, settling in Plymouth, Massachusetts. I wanted to see and learn more about the area where they lived.

Celebrated Author
Fay Klingler

I was in awe to learn of their courage, industry, and stamina. I wanted to share some of what I learned with my grandchildren so they might appreciate their roots. After all, don’t we attempt to program our grandchildren for success by noticing their good works and reminding them they are strong and worthy? We want to inspire them to know they are more capable than they ever thought possible. We give hugs and make comments like, “I know that was hard for you, but look how well that turned out!”

With the Thanksgiving season upon us, I chose to take some of what I learned about our ancestors and put it in a small, easy-to-print pamphlet that I could mail to each of my grandchildren—a pamphlet with their individual names linked with our family heroes of the past. I included pictures from my trip to Plymouth.

Every one of us has a number of heroes in our family. One may have fought for religious freedom, another his or her country’s independence. Do we talk about our ancestry (or current-time heroes) and what they gave up to choose the right? When we share those real-life stories with our grandchildren, we empower them to stand up to their own challenges, for they recognize those strong character traits to be a part of themselves. We teach them that those traits of courage, kindness, and integrity run through their veins!



I took these ideas from my book The LDS Grandparents’ Idea Book, published by Deseret Book. http://www.amazon.com/LDS-Grandparents-Idea-Book-ebook/dp/B00HCN9FPE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1446501153&sr=8-3&keywords=fay+klingler


Fay A. Klingler is the author of the best-selling book The LDS Grandparents’ Idea Book, I Am Strong! I Am Smart! and many other books and articles (www.fayklingler.com). She can be contacted on her Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/FayKlingler.


  


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