There are so many types of story projects. Let’s use one of my projects as an example. Many months ago I decided I wanted to learn more about my great-great-grandmother, Mary Taylor and share some of that with my family. This has lead to several story projects about her that I’ve already done and many more that I would like to do. I’m sure there are even more that I haven’t even thought of yet. Let’s see how many different story projects I can come up with about Mary Taylor:
- go to Martin’s Cove for a hands on experience (did that)
- make a video from our experience in Martin’s Cove
- make a simple book to share with family about her life and her journey with the Martin handcart company (did that)
- build a handcart replica
- live for one day or even one meal on the rations that the Martin Handcart company had
- reenact the journey of the Martin Handcart company from its start in Liverpool England to its arrival in the Salt Lake Valley
- build a diorama of Coton-on-the-Elms
- build a model of the ship Horizon
- follow the journey of the Martin Handcart company day by day in 1856 (did that)
- make a serial graphic novel based on the experiences of the hardcart pioneers
- share it to coincide with Mary’s journey to Zion
- travel to England the area that Mary grew up
- write about my experiences and share it with my family
- use google earth to take a virtual journey to Mary’s birthplace
- use google earth to follow Mary’s journey with the Martin Handcart company
- make it into a video to share with others
- using google earth create a virtual scavenger hunt about Mary’s life and the places she has been
- make a story book with illustration of Mary’s childhood and journey to Zion (did that – it is so close to being ready to publish)
- make that story book into an ebook
- make that story book into an enhanced ebook with sound etc.
- make that story book into a video with narration and background music
- using family members make a video about Mary Taylor
- make a music video with Mary favorite song “The Handcart Song”
- learn the Mary’s childhood song “In the Merry Green Fields of Oland” similar to “Old McDonald“
- make an illustrated video of “In the Merry Green Fields of Oland”
- make an illustrated children’s book inspired by “In the Merry Green Fields of Oland”
- create a board game inspired by the handcart pioneers
- learn and then teach how to play the game “Going to Zion”
- learn to make simple toys from Mary’s time and share them with my family
- make a video game inspired by the experiences of the handcart pioneers
- Gather photos of all the known possessions of Mary Taylor and put them into a book form to share with family, including stories about each item
- also share that book as an ebook
- learn about cooking in the late 19th century in England and Utah
- make how to videos to share what I learn
- make a cookbook with recipes that Mary probably cooked
- learn homemaking skills for the late 19th century
- learn about dressmaking in the 1850s
- learn about the French surge dress we have that Mary made
- create a modern-day pattern for her dress
- create craft and/or home decor ideas using Mary’s dress making skills
- make a quilt about Mary’s Life
- make a quilt about the Martin Handcart Company
- make patterns for those quilts to share with others including the stories behind the blocks chosen
- learn about the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when that Mary joined the church in England
- watch “Seventeen Miracles” and/or other pioneer movies as a family
- organize a Mary Taylor descendants reunion
- compile all the descendants of Mary Taylor into a book
- make a Facebook page for the descendants of Mary Taylor
- design a charm necklace/key chain in honor of Mary Taylor
- visit Mary’s grave site
- visit all know locations that she lived
- do a “decades” book about Mary’s life
- do something everyday for one year to honor Mary
- compile those experiences into a book
- compile those experiences into a video
- write a book about what Mary has taught me
- design surprise balls that tell a story about Mary Taylor
- create a memory jar in honor of Mary and/or my experiences learning about her
- put together a story box about Mary Taylor
- make a music cd inspire by Mary Taylor including “The Handcart Song”, “In the Merry Green Fields of Oland” and other songs from the late 19th century
- make a shadow box about Mary Taylor (I’ve sort of done this with a tea-cup that was hers but there is much more that I could do)
- make a coloring book about Mary’s life (I could probably adapt the illustration from “My Grandma Mary” for this)
- give a gift basket inspired by Mary Taylor – include other story project like “My Grandma Mary” in the basket
- make a memory wreath about Mary Taylor
- make an old-fashioned Christmas wreath inspired by Mary Taylor with decoration from the late 19th century
- make a doll house inspired by one of Mary Taylor’s homes
- research the history of each of Mary’s last names: Taylor, Upton, Simmons and Robinson
- put together a book about Mary’s names
- find any coat of arms from Mary’s history or design a coat of arms inspired by her life
- make t-shirts inspired by Mary Taylor
- find and/or create maps about Mary Taylor’s life
- make a calendar for the coming year with all the important dates in Mary Taylor’s life
- celebrate Mary Taylor’s birthday
- make a trivia game with facts about Mary Taylor and life in the late 19th century
- make an audio record of stories about Mary Taylor – recruit family members to help with this project
- make puppets to act out stories from Mary Taylor’s life
- make a video of the puppet show
- pick one of Mary’s home and research the history of that spot
- make duplicates of the photo we have of Mary Taylor and make sure everyone in the family has a copy
- create a collage about Mary Taylor
- make a Christmas ornament with Mary Taylor’s photo
- make or find Christmas ornaments like those common in Mary’s Life time
- plan a Christmas meal similar to what Mary Taylor would have enjoyed
- decorate your house and/or Christmas tree in the way in would have been done in the late 19th century
- make flash cards about Mary Taylor’s life
- make flash cards about the Willie and Martin Handcart companies
- make a memory game inspired by Mary Taylor
- gather family traditions from the late 19th century and choose a few to make a part of your traditions in honor of Mary Taylor
- keep a record of your new family traditions so that future generations will know where they came from
- set up a photo shoot inspired by the late 19th century and invite family members to get their photos taken
- compile these photos into a book to share with everyone
- make an advent calendar inspired by Mary Taylor and/or the late 19th century
- make a puzzle with Mary Taylor’s picture or a collage or a set of puzzles from the illustrations in “My Grandma Mary” book
- make a family tree that shows the connection between Mary Taylor and each family member
- make a Christmas card inspire by Mary Taylor (did that)
- make a time capsule with all the things we all the Mary Taylor story projects
- write a song about Mary Taylor and what she means to me
- make a family planner with facts about Mary Taylor and important dates in her life
- make an infographic about Mary Taylor
- have “Mary Taylor” come for dinner
Most of these idea could be applied to your ancestor and there are many more story project ideas that you could come up with. There is no shortage of ideas. The challenge is to choose one and make it happen. Remember to start with smaller simpler projects.
Did my list inspire you? If you don’t already have a story project you are working on, I challenge you to decide on one today.
This was a print and save!!!
Thanks for the great feedback. I’m so glad that you found it that good.
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