--- title: "Interview a grandparent (or any elder) at Thanksgiving" published: "2026-10-18" updated: "2026-10-18" author: "Dad Field Manual editors (drafted with AI help)" time: "1 hour" cost: "$0" ages: "5 to 12" where: "A quiet room or corner during the Thanksgiving visit, away from the TV and the kitchen noise. It also works by video call." topics: ["dates"] print: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/print?p=interview-a-grandparent-at-thanksgiving" url: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/plans/interview-a-grandparent-at-thanksgiving/" --- # Interview a grandparent (or any elder) at Thanksgiving > Your kid picks a few questions, asks a grandparent or another elder at the Thanksgiving visit, and records the answers with the elder's yes. You keep the recording for good. ## What you need - A phone with a voice recorder or video app (have) - The question sheet from the card, or paper and a pencil (have) - A quiet corner and a glass of water for your kid and the elder (have) ## Before you start - **Ask before you record, and before you share.** Your kid asks, "Can I record our talk?" The recording stays in the family unless the elder says yes to sharing it. - **Keep it at home.** StoryCorps' Great Thanksgiving Listen is for people 13 and older, so this plan keeps the recording in your family and doesn't upload it there. - **Let them skip.** Any question can be passed. If a story turns sad, stop the recorder and listen. ## Steps 1. **Pick the questions** (Together) A few days before, sit down with your kid and the question sheet on the card. They circle 5 to 8 questions, and add one of their own. Put the rule first: "It's fine to skip any question." About 15 minutes. 2. **Ask for the interview** (Kid) Your kid asks the elder in their own words: "Can I interview you at Thanksgiving? It's for our family, and I'd like to record it." Agree on a time and a quiet spot. About 5 minutes. 3. **Set up and test** (Together) Pick a quiet spot, sit close, and put the phone on a table between you with the recorder on. Record a few seconds of test talk and play it back. Ask again: "Is it OK if I record?" About 10 minutes. 4. **Ask and listen** (Kid) Start a new recording and check the timer is running. Then your kid asks one question at a time, then listens. If the elder pauses, wait. If an answer is short, your kid asks, "Can you tell me more?" Stay nearby but don't answer for them. About 20 minutes. 5. **Say thank you and listen back** (Together) Stop the recorder and say thank you. Play a short piece back so the elder can hear it, and ask, "Is there anything you'd like left out?" If they ask to leave something out, trim or delete that part, then save it. Name the file with the elder's name and the date, and save a copy off the phone. About 10 minutes. ## Question sheet (circle 5 to 8, skip any) 1. Where did you grow up, and what was your house like? 2. What did you do for fun when you were my age? 3. What's a holiday you remember from when you were little? 4. Who taught you something important, and what was it? 5. What was school like for you? 6. What did you worry about as a kid? 7. What are you proud of? 8. What do you want me to remember? 9. My own question: ____________ ## If it stalls - If your kid gets shy, ask the first question yourself and let them follow with the next. - If the elder tells a long story, let it run, and ask your kid to remember one question for later. - If the recording is quiet or noisy, move the phone closer and try the next question again. - If it's a hard year, ask the elder to tell a favorite story about someone they miss. ## Variations - **Ages 5–7:** A shorter list: three or four questions is plenty, instead of 5 to 8. You read each one, your kid asks it in their own words, and you hold the phone. Your kid draws a picture of the story afterward. - **Ages 8–12:** They pick 5 to 8 questions and run the interview and the recorder, and the oldest add their own follow-ups. They write the elder's name and the date on the card, and a note about what they learned. - **Far away, gone or a split holiday:** Do it by phone or video call (on a video call, use the call app's record button once everyone says yes, or have the elder record their side on their own phone), or on whichever day you have with the elder; it doesn't have to be Thanksgiving. If there isn't a grandparent, interview another trusted elder, like a neighbor, a family friend, a coach or a mentor. If a loss is fresh, ask about a favorite memory of a person, let your kid skip any question, and don't use the interview to talk about the other house. ## Sources - **A kid-sized version of an elder interview.** StoryCorps' Great Thanksgiving Listen page invites people to record an interview with an elder, mentor or someone they admire, using its free app for in-person recordings or a browser tool for remote video conversations. It says to plan your questions and choose a quiet, uninterrupted space, and that people can mark an uploaded interview public or private. It says people 13 or older can take part, and it doesn't list interview questions. (checked 2026-10-18)