I’m incredibly lucky to still have four sets of living grandparents – one set of great-grandparents and three sets of grandparents. My sons both have those four PLUS two sets of grandparents (our parents) that they’re very close to. Even though we’re all close, I wouldn’t necessarily say that my sons know that much about their grandparents. These fun family interview questions are a great way to get to know grandparents (or aunts and uncles) better. And right now when people are doing virtual scavenger hunts instead of real ones, playing math games with classmates over Zoom, and celebrating birthdays at home – getting to know family members over a phone call or FaceTime is a great activity. My son’s school does a social studies lesson for the kids each week and this week the lesson was all about being a leader and their roles in our families. As an extension of that discussion, I decided to do this family interview activity with him! The answers we learned were surprising to say the least, and I think it definitely helped my son get to know his grandparents and great grandparents better!
How to Do a Family Interview
Doing a family interview is easy! Just pick the time you want to do the interview, make sure the person is available (probably easy to do right now as long as they’re not an essential worker), and make the call! I personally think it’s more fun to do this via Zoom, FaceTime, or Google Hangout but you could also just do a phone call if you don’t want to actually have video (or your grandparent doesn’t know how to use any of those things). Just print out the cards (or the list of questions) and ask away. Record their answers on the cards provided and keep them as a record for later when you want to remember what they said!
You could even put a hole punch in each of the cards and bind them together with some string, a book ring, or other form of fastener. Make one for each of your grandparents or family members and create an entire family history library at home! If you’re going to save them for a while, I recommend laminating or putting them in book sleeves like these so that they last longer!
Family Interview Questions List
Here are the questions that are on the cards! I’ve kept these fairly simple but also included a blank card so you can add your own questions or notes. I also recommend having them begin by asking for their full name, birthdate, and where they were born. Those are always good things to know!
What did you like to do when you were a child? Tell me something about yourself that most people don’t know. What’s your favorite thing about my mom and dad? What is your favorite food? What is your favorite tradition? What’s one piece of advice you have for me? What is the funniest joke you have ever heard? What did you want to be when you grew up? Did you get to do that? If not, what did you do? If you could live anywhere, where would you want to live? (You could also ask about the different places they lived.) What is your favorite thing to do with me? What is something from your bucket list you still want to do? What is something from your bucket list that you were able to do?
If you need more question ideas, these pillow talk cards are full of great questions to ask as well!
Download the Printable Questions
Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the PDF with the family interview questions cards. You’ll be immediately taken to a PDF with the cards and receive a link to your email as well. If you do not see the form below, click here to get to it.
More Great Family Activities
Virtual scavenger hunt Service-themed family night A-Z family night activities Family Feud questions workout cards
Don’t forget to pin these family interview questions for later.
