Ways to Make Adoption Known to Your School
National Adoption Day
According to the National Adoption Day Coalition, this day occurs annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to encourage people to adopt children from foster care and raise awareness about the numerous children in foster care waiting to be adopted. In 2012, nearly 4,500 children were adopted from foster care on this day (National Adoption Day Coalition, 2013). National Adoption Day is a great time to remind your school about the importance of adoption! Check out one family's story from the 2013 National Adoption Day in the video to the left.
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School Assembly: Parent Guest Speaker
All parents want the best for their children, so adoptive parents are likely to want to inform others about what adoption is to prevent awkward questions and bullying later on in childhood. Having a parent of an adopted child talk to the school about what adoption is will help other children understand that child's differences (Klatzkin, 2001). Breaking the assembly up by grade level is helpful since different ages of children have different levels of understanding in relationship to adoption (Roth, 2003).
This is best to be done in kindergarten or first grade when the adopted children are still proud to be adopted and haven't reached the relinquishment stage yet. Also, when students are familiar with adoption at an earlier age, there should be less awkward questions related to adoption throughout childhood. When giving these talks, parents should first schedule a time with the teachers of that grade and the principal and then plan their talk. They should be aware that many children have never heard of adoption before, so a lot of background information needs to be covered. Parents should also talk about adoption in general--maybe by reading a book or bringing a setof dolls to act out a sample scenario--and not just about their specific child to prevent the adopted child from being embarrassed. Because children love to hear stories, it is likely that they will remain engaged throughout the talk (Klatzkin, 2001). Parents can also speak to older students (such as 4th and 5th graders) by portraying adoption as a social issue. After receiving some background info such as appropriate terminology to use in relation to adoption (birth mother, mother, etc.), the children will be well-prepared to have a panel discussion that includes adoptive parents, an adopted child, and a birth mother. This will not only allow them to hear someone's story but also have questions answered (Roth, 2003). |
Parental Involvement
Here is a sample letter to parents describing the school's plans to have assemblies for each grade to teach children about adoption. The letter also asks for parent volunteers who have previous experience with adoption to serve as additional resources at the assembly. A Spanish version of the letter is also included for ELL students.
adoption_note_to_parents.docx | |
File Size: | 12 kb |
File Type: | docx |
adoption_note_to_parents_spanish.docx | |
File Size: | 12 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Flyers
The following poster would be hung in the teachers' lounge so that teachers are aware of the adoption-friendly projects they should implement in their classrooms.
making_traditional_projects_adoption_friendly.docx | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | docx |
The following posters would be hung throughout the school to inform students about adoption and get them excited for National Adoption Month. The first two posters are in English while the second two are the Spanish versions for ELL students.
what_is_adoption.docx | |
File Size: | 46 kb |
File Type: | docx |
assembly_poster.docx | |
File Size: | 11 kb |
File Type: | docx |
what_is_adoption_spanish.docx | |
File Size: | 46 kb |
File Type: | docx |
assembly_poster_spanish.docx | |
File Size: | 11 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Resources available to students
- Books with adoption stories Children love to hear stories, so having stories about adoption will make it seem like a natural part of life (Klatzkin, 2001).
- School guidance counselors These workers should be trained to speak to any child about any issue that may arise.
References
Klatzkin, A. (2001). How I explained adoption to the first grade. Retrieved from http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=238.
National Adoption Day Coaliton. (2013). Celebrating the adoption of children in foster care. Retrieved from http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/about.
Roth, B. (2003). Can we talk: How to explain adoption at school--even to fifth graders. Retrieved from http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=727.
Klatzkin, A. (2001). How I explained adoption to the first grade. Retrieved from http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=238.
National Adoption Day Coaliton. (2013). Celebrating the adoption of children in foster care. Retrieved from http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/about.
Roth, B. (2003). Can we talk: How to explain adoption at school--even to fifth graders. Retrieved from http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=727.
Illinois State University |TCH 210 Sec 001 Spring 2014 | Amy Frederick, Spanish Education | Grace Heim, Speech-Language Pathology & Spanish | Created 3/26/14 | Last Updated 4/23/2014