Thinkabara

📖 Life story interview

The grandkids become reporters: print the booklet, pick a chapter, and ask Grandma and Grandpa about their lives. Write the answers on the lines — or record them.

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Interviewer: ____________________   Interviewing: ____________________   Date: __________

🧒 Chapter 1: Childhood

  1. When and where were you born?
  2. What is your earliest memory?
  3. What games did you play as a child?
  4. Who were your best friends?
  5. What was your favorite toy?
  6. What did you want to be when you grew up?
  7. Did you have a pet?

🏡 Chapter 2: The home where you grew up

  1. What did your house look like?
  2. Who lived with you?
  3. What did your family eat for dinner on a typical night?
  4. What chores did you have?
  5. What did you do on weekends?
  6. What did your neighborhood sound and smell like?

🏫 Chapter 3: School

  1. What was your school like?
  2. Who was your favorite teacher, and why?
  3. What was your favorite subject — and your least favorite?
  4. How did you get to school?
  5. Did you ever get in trouble at school?
  6. What did kids bring for lunch?

🗺️ Chapter 4: Where you grew up, and how you got here

  1. What town or city did you grow up in?
  2. Did your family ever move? Why?
  3. Where did your parents and grandparents come from?
  4. What was the biggest change you saw in your town?
  5. How did you end up where you live now?

❤️ Chapter 5: Love and family

  1. How did you meet Grandma / Grandpa?
  2. What was your first date like?
  3. What do you remember about your wedding day?
  4. What was it like when your first child was born?
  5. What makes a family strong?

💼 Chapter 6: Work

  1. What was your first job? How much did you earn?
  2. What jobs have you had?
  3. What job did you enjoy most?
  4. What did you learn from your work?
  5. If you could have any job, what would it be?

🎉 Chapter 7: Holidays and traditions

  1. What was your favorite holiday as a child?
  2. What special foods did your family make?
  3. Which family traditions do you still keep?
  4. What was the best gift you ever received?
  5. What tradition would you like us to continue?

💡 Chapter 8: Advice for the grandkids

  1. What is the best advice you ever got?
  2. What are you most proud of?
  3. What do you wish you had known at my age?
  4. What makes you happy?
  5. What would you like me to remember about you?
  6. What do you hope for my future?

Every family has stories that live only in the grandparents’ memories: how they met, what school was like, the first job, the holiday dishes. This booklet turns those stories into a project for the grandkids, one chapter at a time.

Print it, staple it, and bring it to the next visit or video call. Younger kids can draw a picture for each answer; older kids can record the conversation on a phone and type it up later as a keepsake for the whole family.

Questions and answers

What are good questions to ask grandparents?

Start with easy, happy topics: childhood games, a favorite teacher, a first job, how they met. Save bigger questions — advice, hopes, regrets — for later sessions.

How long should each interview be?

Keep it short: one chapter (5–7 questions) per sitting, about 20–30 minutes. Stories come out better when nobody is tired.

Is this good for a school project?

Yes. Many US schools assign a family history or “interview an elder” project, especially around Grandparents Day in September.