Black History Month has come to an end, but your child's learning does not have to stop. As parents, we are our childrens inspiration, their role model, and their first teacher.

We encourage you to complete our #UptownSquaresChallenge as a family. Our tips will help maintain a strong family bond, share experiences, and keep your family learning black history year round.

1. Interview living relatives and an elder The best way to teach children history is to begin by teaching them about their family's history. It makes learning history more relatable. Encourage children to talk to their living relatives, especially the older ones. Hearing stories about what life was like in the past helps young people connect to the past. This connection not only teaches history, but brings generations together and establishes strong family bonds.
2. Find a person in black history that shares their birthday As you celebrate a family members' birthday, have your kids research an African American that shares the same birthday. Sharing a birthday with someone might be a small thing, but it's one of those things they will always remember.
3. Highlight past events that relate to your everyday life The next time your child asks for a bag of potato chips tell them about George Crum. Or when they ask for a new video game tell them about Jerry Lawson. Expose them to Black contributions in STEM, arts, sports, and beyond to open their mind to all the extraordinary impacts Black Americans have had on this country.
4. Explore black culture through food Soul food is good for the spirit, but we rarely talk about its origins. For example, while they help you cook, tell them about the foods that came from West Africa to the United States, such as okra, black-eyed peas, watermelon, sesame seeds, rice, etc. Or about Georgia Gilmore, the Montgomery cook, midwife and activist whose secret kitchen fed the civil rights movement.
5. Have fun as a family discovering and learning together Black History is American History. Every American city has been impacted in some way by African Americans. Find the black history monuments, historical sites, museums, events, organizations, and celebrations in your city and start participating. If you can't find any, you can always seek guidance and suggestions from librarians, cultural experts, booksellers, or you can even start your own event.