Porch Stories

Questions to ask · Childhood · for your Grandpa

Were you ever in trouble as a boy? Tell me about one time.

Why this question matters

Early memories are the ones that fade first, and nobody else can fill them in. Asking about the beginning gives your grandpa permission to go slowly, and one small detail usually brings ten more with it.

Ask it on a quiet afternoon, give time for the answer, and write down the small details. That is where the story lives.

  1. Who was the grown-up you looked up to most as a child, and why?
  2. When and where were you born? What do you know about the day you arrived?
  3. What were your parents like? Describe each of them in a few words.
  4. What is the very first thing you can remember?
  5. What did the house you grew up in look, sound and smell like?

From the journal

Keep Grandpa’s answers in one book.

This is one of the 100 guided questions in Tell Me Your Story, Grandpa. Every page has room to write the answer by hand.

Buy on Etsy

Free printable

25 Questions to Ask Your Grandparents Before It’s Too Late

The questions families most wish they had asked, on one page to print or keep on your phone. Free when you join the porch list.