When Grandkids Start Asking About Great-Grandfathers - Yay!

The Ancestor Wall in Living Room

Yes brainwashing telling grandkids about ancestors does pay off! As many of my readers know, I brainwash tell genealogy stories to my grandkids every time I see them. We play genealogy games. We go on cemetery hunts. We play the Genealogy Board Game I created.

Yesterday it all paid off. My 7 year old grandson was sitting on the couch with me and he looked up at our walls of ancestor photos, then asked, "Grandma, do I have any great-grandpas up there?"

I showed him the photo of my dad in his army uniform, and explained that was his great-grandpa McGinnis. Then he asked who all the people were in the rest of the pictures. So we went through them one by one. "This is my great grandmother, so she is your great-great-great grandma!" He was fascinated and asked questions such as "What is she to my Daddy?" and "How do you get to be a great-great-great grandpa?" and "How old do you have to be to be a grandpa?"

These questions allowed for an explanation of different generations, which he seemed to understand.  I can't wait for the next round of questions!