Ancestor Stories
Big Ideas

• Ancestors can be family members, cultural elders, or even ancient life forms.
• Myths and stories help us remember those who came before us.
• In science, every living thing has ancestors—even single-celled organisms billions of years ago.
  
  

When the Shadbush Blooms by Carla Messinger
Lenape life past and present; cycles of time and family

The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros
A gentle metaphor for memory and elders). Warning: This book deals with memory lost in a child friendly way, but could still be triggering for some people.
Eyes That Speak to the Stars by Joanna Ho
Generational pride, identity, and strength passed through ancestry

Opening Discussion – What Is an Ancestor? 

• Who are your ancestors? (Let kids define this broadly.)
• How do we remember people who came before us?
• Do you think people in the past told stories about where they came from?

Introduce two ways of thinking about “ancestors”:

• Family & cultural ancestors (human history and heritage)
• Ancestors in science (the life-forms that led to us, back to the first cell)

Read-Aloud 1: When the Shadbush Blooms

• What do you notice about the past and present in this story?
• How do the family members connect across time?
• What are some ways they honor the seasons, land, and stories?

Discuss how stories, language, and traditions are passed down from ancestors.

Read-Aloud 2: The Remember Balloons

• What do the balloons represent?
• Why is it important to share our memories?
• How does this story help us understand memory and family?

You can connect this to myths or oral storytelling as balloons we pass down—stories that carry ideas, feelings, and lessons.

Read-Aloud 3: Eyes That Speak to the Stars

• How does the boy feel about his family and where he comes from?
• What strengths are passed down through generations?
• What does it mean to "see with our ancestors’ eyes"?

Science Connection: The First Life (Microbial Ancestors)

• In science, we also talk about ancestors—not just our grandparents, but the earliest forms of life.
• The first life forms were tiny microbes that lived in water over 3.5 billion years ago.
• All living things today—plants, animals, humans—descended from those early ancestors!

Optional Visuals: Tree of life (basic version)
Ask:

• How is that like remembering a great-great-great-great grandparent?
• What do myths and science both try to explain?

ActivitiesAncestor Web
Create a visual “web” of ancestors:

• One side: family or cultural ancestors (draw or write)
• Other side: scientific ancestors (single cell → fish → mammal → human)
• Show that we are connected through both story and biology

Memory & Myth Balloon Activity
Draw balloons and write a memory or a story you’ve been told by someone older.Compare to how myths are passed on—what are some stories that explain “how we got here”?

Myth or Science? Card Sort
Give kids examples and let them sort:

• “A grandmother told me our people came from the stars.” → Myth
• “Life began in the ocean as single-celled organisms.” → Science
• “We come from a great turtle’s back.” → MythThen ask: “What does each kind of story teach us?”
  
  

Wrap-Up 

• What is one story or memory you want to pass down?
• How are we connected to the people before us?
• How are we connected to all living things?