A Family Reunion Tradition To Connect and Keep You Learning
I’m sure most of you have heard about TED talks. They are awesome, and I love to learn from them. But let me introduce you to FRED talks- they are waaaay more cool! If you are planning for a family reunion, this is a unique way to learn about each other, what you are each involved in, and a great way to broaden your horizons.
F.R.E.D. talks stand for: Family Research, Education and Development. My siblings and parents do these at our family reunions and WE. LOVE. THEM! Here’s the theory behind it: We all have different specialties. We all have been learning different things, have different interests and live in different parts of the country. Why not share ourselves with everyone? If this sounds boring, I promise it’s not!
We’ve learned what it is like to live in Russia, have seen beautiful pictures from various hikes, and learned about different hobbies of various family members. Law and history, cool apps, estate planning, how to homeschool or help your kids sleep at night…it doesn’t have to be academic (though it can be) or stuffy (which they never are!). But no matter the topic, they are always fun!
WHY Learn from F.R.E.D. Talks?
My family is pretty awesome. We have stay-at-home moms, educators, therapists, lawyers, software developers, nurses, and more! I’ll bet your family has similarly fascinating people. Even though we try to keep in touch, sometimes we don’t always do a great job. I want to learn from all these cool people, and F.R.E.D. talks at our family reunions are a super fun way to do it.
The Rules
1. You only talk if you want to. This way, F.R.E.D. talks are super easy and low-pressure.
2. Talk about whatever you want.
3. Talk or lead a discussion for as long or as short a time as you want. The ideal for us has been 5-10 minutes. It’s not too long, and it doesn’t take a ton of time to prepare for it.
The Logistics
- Designate a time for the FRED talks. We like to do it at night after the little kids get in bed.
- Decide who is speaking. My family likes to do as many people as possible, so we try to do 3-4 people each night. This way, we aren’t burned out and they stay fun. (With 10 original members of the family, plus in-laws and grandkids, we have to pace ourselves!)
- Props are helpful. Computers hooked up to TVs for slides or other visual/audio aids are really great.
That’s it! Let the family love, bonding and learning begin!
I’m a huge fan of TED talks…this is a fantastic idea! (And you do have some pretty spectacular family members)