Magnetic Family Tree game, revised

After playing so much with their 4 generations magnetic family tree, I feel that my kids are ready for their 5th generation, which now calls for a bigger board.
So here is a 12x12 page version of it.

I have also decided to have a different board for each holiday, just to spruce things up a bit.
Kids and grown ups  will love playing with a magnetic family tree whose theme can be changed according to each holiday. The more they will play, the more their heart will be drawn into the desire to know more about their ancestors. 
Here is a possible Halloween Background:

Thanksgiving background

Christmas background:

Valentine's day back ground

St. Patrick day background

Easter back ground.

Independence Day background:

I thought to put together a tree with the flag where each ancestor came from. It just so happens that my ancestors are all Italian and my husband's first 4 generation ancestors were all already established in USA.

Another idea is to have an identical family tree with actually the pictures already on them, so that the kids can compare and see by themselves if they  matched all the right ancestors with their place in the family tree.
I will post more backgrounds on the CavaGenealogy facebook page, so be sure to like it to know first hand when I make more!

These12x12 pages can be switched back and forth on a magnetic sheet inserted in a shadow box

or on a 14x14 magnetic  board.

You can find the shadow box ready to decorate and the 14x14 magnetic board  at Micheal's for $4-$5 if you have a 50% coupon.
The magnetic sheet can be found in any hardware store like Home Depot or Lowe's, but also online in various craft stores for about $6.
I haven't put mine together yet, since I am creating more family tree pages to go with the magnetic tree and I will print a few of the ones that fit my family style most,  but I wanted to give you an idea of how it would look inside the shadow box, so I used one of the 12x12 family tree pages I already created and the magnets I had from the old magnetic tree and here it is:

It will need some decoration, maybe I could spray the frame of the shadow box with magnetic paint so that it will hold more magnets, or I could modge podge something related to the various holidays or a quote about genealogy.
I guess I will have to post again when I finally complete my work of art!^__^

Stay tuned!

EDIT: my shipment just came in! The pages are gorgeous! vibrant colors, high quality papers (not to mention acid free and archival quality)... As soon as I add the next generation magnets and paint the shadow box, I will post more pictures!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can get a free Publishing account by signing up at http://www.preservemyheritage.com and start creating unlimited projects at once!
Love my Creative Genealogy templates and ideas? 

My HM club members can have their favorite template transferred to their account for personal use, or  can have it completely personalized by me for them  for a reasonable fee.

Want more for less? Check out our incredible host rewards and My Club HM!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Easter family tree game

On Easter Sunday, how about making the egg hunt a little more meaningful?
You can fill the eggs not only with candy and money, but with pieces of the magnetic family tree game!
You can make your own rules, or follow mine:

Find the couple 1 point
Find the family group 3 points
Find one complete generation ( 2 x # of people in that generation) points
i.e: in the 3rd generation, you have 2 sets of grandparents= 4 people x2= 8 points

When the whole family tree is completed, each child will have a prize according to the points they accrued, and the whole family celebrates with ice cream or any traditional Easter dessert.

At my house, we are going to have pastiera!
This  game will be another way to get your family, especially your children a little more involved in genealogy and family history!
Make it fun, and you'll get more fans!^_^

Happy Easter everybody!!!

A family tree worth fighting for

I have been working on this portable family tree magnetic game, and finished it just in time for the 33rd Annual Florida State Genealogical Society Conference.

The family tree mat was created with a 8.5x11 page and the family face pieces using a 5x7 invitation.

I then cropped and glued them on 1 inch wood tassels, completing them by sticking a magnet behind each piece.

As a finishing touch, I applied a shiny layer of a clear gloss medium.

I was doing this while in the hotel room the night before the conference, and could hardly keep my kids away from them while the coating dried.

When they woke up this morning, the first thing they wanted to do was playing with their family tree.

They were still in their pajamas, not even caring about breakfast. They HAD to play...

I had to establish turns, as they started fighting on who was putting this or that picture on the tree.

Little by little, they started putting the faces in the right places.

My heart melted each time they would tell me who that person was, and even more when they got to the point that they would remember and just tell me "this is Nana's mom, my great grandma", "This is nonno Oreste!" and so on.

They didn't like it when I had to take the game to display at the genealogical conference, but I promised them they would play more tonight.

I am thinking to make more copies of this game, maybe personalizing it for each of my children, so there will be no more fighting, and I will be able to just enjoy seeing them playing while impressing the faces and names of their ancestors in their mind, and hopefully their heart too.