Liv's Tree House

what is it? Studies have shown that having stronger family connections, including a personal understanding of your family’s history, can lead to increased  resilience, unity and self-confidence . In light of the current world situation with the Covid -19 pandemic, we, as a group of family historians, thought it would be an excellent time to do an informal study about how connecting with both living and deceased family members   can contribute positively to our overall emotional health and mental well being .  We’re not scientists, so this isn’t a scientific study, but we are interested in gathering data to show the results of an increased focus on family connections. These family connections come through family history activities which can be much more than charts and researching. Family history includes our living families, preserving our current lives, and connecting with family both living and deceased. Family history activities in this 21 DAY exper...

With all the craziness our world is experiencing I'm thrilled to write this post, first of all because it helps me remember simpler times (I'm a mom of 4 children--now doing school at home), but also because it just makes me so grateful that RootsTech was able to happen before things got too crazy with this virus situation. I thought it might be fun to bring you RootsTech from the perspective of a presenter, ambassador, and someone who just LOVES ROOTSTECH!! Hopefully this will help my friends and family see why I spend so much time preparing for, promoting and borderline obsessing over the conference every year; but also hopefully it will provide a glimpse of the conference for those #NotAtRootsTech and another opportunity to reminisce for those who did attend. So let's do this... Day 1: Tuesday RootsTech starts a little earlier for me each year. With the introduction of the presenters social and as a first time ambassador being invited to the ambassador dinner,...

Engaging the Family in Telling Your Family Stories Class Materials: Slides Syllabus Other Links: Liv's Animations

RootsTech for Newbies: Packing & Attending the Conference Part 3 of 3 See Part 1 here and Part 2 here . RootsTech is quickly approaching, so let's dig in to the last minute prep as well as the advice I have for newbies while at the conference. PACKING A list of things to consider, followed by a few recommendations as you pack your bags for RootsTech. Weather:  Salt Lake weather during   RootsTech can range from mild winter days in the 50s to sub-freezing daytime high temps, so pack warm clothes and layers. They do keep the conference center at comfortable temperatures so it's just getting to and from the building as well as to and from any other plans you have made that you'll need the extra layers. Activities:  RootsTech will keep you completely busy, but we discussed some other options in the last post . That said, be sure to keep all of these extra-curriculars in mind when packing. Meals:  The Salt Palace has several food options, ...

This is it, the reason I applied to be an Amassador at RootsTech . . . . I wanted the opportunity to bring RootsTech in a more complete way to those of you who simply can't make the conference. So follow me on my social channels as I bring you lots of live content and experiences from RootsTech. Here's a quick summary of all of the content you'll want to be aware of to be able to consume the most RootsTech from home: Live Streaming Schedule : RootsTech has a full schedule of Live Stream sessions so you can stay busy every hour that classes are in session.  They pull out all the stops with incredible keynotes and lectures from conference favorites like Crista Cowen. See Live Stream schedule here . Virtual Pass : New and improved virtual passes this year are a total steal as you can watch 30 streamed classes for only $129. That's an amazing deal since you can't even attend that many in person at the conference. See Virtual Pass info here . RootsTec...

RootsTech for Newbies: Pre-Conference Prep Part 2 of 3 See part 1 about registration, travel, and stay here . Let's jump right back in.  You've got your RootsTech pass, you've registered for your add-ons and your travel is booked. What next? INSTALL THE ROOTSTECH APP You'll want to visit your app store and download the RootsTech mobile app. The app has everything from the conference schedule, week at a glance info, exhibitors, speakers, class syllabus & slides, maps of the conference and more. You can connect with friends and relatives through the app, schedule out your desired classes, and receive notifications of updates and information throughout the conference. It's got tons of helpful resources so go ahead and install it now. ( Android | Apple ) PLANNING YOUR SCHEDULE This is important! Don't skip this. PLUS it's incredibly fun! Probably my favorite stage of prep for RootsTech, this is whe...

Picking Classes & Planning Your Schedule for RootsTech--A Guide for Newbies Coming to RootsTech? Get ready to have the ultimate learning experience. With over 300 breakout sessions for all levels of experience, the only challenge will be deciding which to attend. ( RootsTech Website )  I can attest to the ultimate in learning experiences at FamilySearch's annual RootsTech Conference, you will consume an incredible amount of information over the 4 days the conference is held, with classes covering DNA, Stories, Genealogy Tools, Organizing, Photos, and Discovery. But "the only challenge will be deciding which to attend," which is totally true, this guide is meant to help simplify that. A tried, tested, and proven approach developed over several years of attending the conference. You'll first want to install the RootsTech app ( Android | iPhone ), it will simplify the whole process with it's tools. Then I recommend taking this methodical approa...

RootsTech for Newbies: Registration, Travel, & Stay Part 1 of 3 Considering attending RootsTech for the first time? I was recently asked if I had any advice for newbies, and instantly my answer was, YES!! So I figured I'd share a few "pro tips" here. I have been attending for seven years now, so I've learned a few tricks along the way. First of all, if you're still on the fence about attending, first read, Countdown to RootsTech2020--Yes This Conference is For You .  If you've ever attended a conference of this magnitude in the past you know that there's an energy that can't be recreated online or in any other setting, and the spirit associated with family history creates an unparalleled experience, which alone is worth the price of admission. That said, if you just can't make it this year, watch for my #NotAtRootsTech series coming soon, where I'll do my best to help you recreate the experience from home this February. So le...

It's time for another BYU Family History Library Webinar.  This month I'll be presenting Preserving Family History in Fun & Modern Ways Thursday, March 28th at 3 PM Other Resources: Collectionaire Coupon Code: livs2019 50% Discount Expires May 31st, 2019 Doodly  Special Price FHTL.BYU.edu Feel free to let me know in the comments if you would like me to teach any of these products more step by step in a future webinar. To learn more about the BYU Family History Webinar Series and for more information: https://sites.lib.byu.edu/familyhistory/classes-and-webinars/online-webinars/  *See the side panel of my blog for other upcoming classes.

Today I'm going to add to my #CrazyBusyHelps series with some tools provided from Adobe Spark.  I'm going to focus on their use from a family history angle, but certainly there are many other uses. So I've been teaching about using Adobe Spark for Family History for a few years now and I really do love it, so I thought blogging about it was long overdue. Adobe Spark has 3 different projects you can create, posts, pages and videos.  I've used all three for Family History purposes and I'll give you a quick example of each: GRAPHIC Are the easiest and quickest creations you can make, basically think of it as creating a meme, collage or social media post of some kind.  I've used it mostly for making images to go along with my posts on the blog but my friend Jana Greenhaulgh from the Genealogy Kids blog gave me the idea of creating posts for holiday's and other events to share with your family about their ancestors.  There are many ideas out there, but...

**If you liked my classes, I'd sure appreciate it if you would be willing to rate them on the RootsTech app.** Untangling the Knots in Your Family Tree Resources: FamilySearch.org Fan Chart mobile ap p Tree Sweeper Family Group Sheet & Research Log  (PDF) Family Group Sheet & Research Log (Google Sheets/electronic) Ancestry :  mobile app MyHeritage :  mobile app FindMyPast :  mobile app RootsFinder Record Seek One Tab Extension Sharing Family History in Fun & Modern Ways Power Hour Resources: Nicole Dyer:  Discovering Family History in Your Home Jana Greenhalgh:  Discovering Family History on the Road Olivia's section: Adobe Spark Enwoven Twile Doodly Special Price Collectionaire Google Photos Families Discovering Family History Together Power Hour Resources: Olivia's section: Discovering Family History Amidst Your Crazy-busy Life Family & Personal Histor...

Thanks for coming to my classes today, I hope you got some useful ideas and techniques for moving forward with your family history. Below are the slides and syllabuses from the 3 classes I taught today.  Let me know if you have questions or if you need any additional help. I'd also love any constructive feedback on the classes, especially "Untangling the Knots in Your Family Tree," as I'm teaching that class at RootsTech later this month.  If you're willing to give me some feedback, please fill out this survey: I Untangling the Knots in Your Family Tree: Preserving & Sharing Your Family History in Fun & Modern Ways: Discovery ~ Gather ~ Connect: Is there an App for that?

One after another. There seems to be a huge influx of awesome opportunities to learn this time of year every year, it always gets me rejuvenated and excited to share and build my family tree. Spanish Fork is hosting their annual Family Discovery Day which is always an amazing event.  I'll be teaching a few classes there and participating in all of the fun happenings. Here's some info if you'd like to join me:

I'm excited to share some fun news... This year I've been invited to participate in the BYU Family History Library Webinar series. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to reach friends near and far.  Hopefully this will give more people an opportunity to learn that Family History can be fun, exciting and most importantly that it can be done now in the busiest time of your life. This Thursday I'll be teaching one of, if not the most popular class that I've offered over the past few years, an oldie, but goodie: "Family History for the Crazy-busy Life". Join me to learn about all the cool tools, mostly apps, that you can use to make family history easy to sneak into this, the busiest time of your life. #CrazyBusyHelps Class description: So you've caught the bug, you love family history and would love to work on it all the time, BUT you struggle to find the balance because life is just so DARN busy. Take it from me, a crazy-busy mom of thr...

I haven't joined the blog link up for a while but I really didn't want to miss this one because I LOVE the topic.  Admittedly, I could step up my game when it comes to teaching my own children genealogy skills, but as I got to thinking about the topic I realized that while I haven't ever sat down and tried to work on the family tree with them, I have taught them some valuable skills through regular play. I'm honestly pretty averse to a lot of the family history for kids ideas out there because so many require a lot of front end work just to prepare said activity before you can start doing it with your kids.  Due to my #CrazyBusy life, usually finding an activity like that just ends up NEVER HAPPENING. :)  So . . . over the years I've found some great games for teaching and learning family history alongside my kids, which I love!!  So for this post I'll share 5 of my faves: Roots & Branches : Built for ages 4 and up, Roots & Branches is an awesome way to...