[cnshornsby]

Hi, everyone! I haven't visited the forum for quite some time now. We have 2 little girls we adopted from Guatemala last year, along with 3 bio boys.

My question today is... I am giving a presentation for my son's 1st grade class about adoption, and I was wondering if anyone had any input or ideas? I would like to talk about adoption in general, and discuss correct terminology, etc. I would welcome any ideas or resources anyone could recommend!

Thanks in advance for your ideas!
Shannon

[mildredjohn]

The other day I explained to my nephew the following:

That our baby girl has a tummy mommy and a mommy who's me. The tummy mommy took care of her when she was growing in the tummy and then when she was ready to born, me her mommy, was waiting for her to take care of her the rest of her life.
He asked me why tummy mommy couldn't take care of our baby and I explained that because she's a poor person with no resources for food, school, clothing, etc... her tummy mommy who loves her so much wanted us to be her mommy and daddy and give her all those resources.

I hope this helps you!

[au06]

i also like the children's book "over the moon" by Katz (?) it really explains the adoption a little and the adopted child is from Guatemala my daughter at first thought they were pictures of her (she is older now and realizes that they are not actually her!)
I can look up the exact author after the kids get up if you need it.

[brink]

I think you have to be cautious about how and how much to share. We as adoptive moms seem to love to talk about our kids and adoption, but it's important to protect our children's privacy, too. I haven't given talks on adoption to our kids' classes, but about citizenship when they were studying that in 3rd grade. Our kids were happy to have me there, enjoyed the attention they got for being from Guatemala. But I also know they don't want to feel "different". Since it's hard for adults to even understand the dynamics surrounding a birth mother relinquishing her child in hopes of a better life, it's pretty tough to expect children to understand. I'd just keep it light and simple and positive. As much as adoption is a wonderful part of our lives, it still holds some very confusing emotions and conflicting feelings for children. Not saying anything that would cause my children to later suffer any repercussions, even from well meaning questions and comments was my biggest concern. Good luck. I do think it's great you are trying to "educate". It's just an ongoing process, that's for sure.

[jenniem]

There is a great article in Adoptive Families magazine this month about a mom who presented adoption (with her son) to his class. It's the October 2006 issue.