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I Survived the First Grade Today

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Well, I did it. In spite of how often I talk about adoption, I was nervous about going to Meg’s first-grade classroom, where her classmates had been pressing her about whether she was adopted and who her “real” mom was. (I talked about this in a recent blog.) I’ve done presentations on Korean heritage in the past, sometimes including adoption and sometimes sticking strictly to describing the holiday or customs, (You can read my blog about these presentations by clicking here.) I learned that it’s not easy to decide what’s right for your child, no matter how well-informed you may … Continue reading →

Book Review: Love, Adoption, and Brownies with Sprinkles

Sometimes a book comes along that manages to write about a single experience, but one that is so ubiquitous that we think, “Why didn’t anyone write a book like this before?” Star of the Week: a Story of Love, Adoption, and Brownies with Sprinkles is based on the authors’ own daughter. She has some unique circumstances not shared by her classmates, but the setting is one almost all kids in early school-age can relate to. I n preschool, kindergarten and early elementary school, a frequent occurrence is for each student to be assigned a week to be the “Star”. They … Continue reading →

Being Adopted at School

As children settle into the new school year this week, some will encounter curiosity from classmates. Younger children may be asked, “is that your real mom and dad?” If they are from a non-diverse area, they may have comments about skin color or physical features. Older children may have teachers ask if their parents speak English. One middle-schooler found that her teachers’ attitude toward her changed when they met her white mother. The teachers had assumed that the girl was an illegal alien and that they wouldn’t be able to communicate with her parents. One of our blogger’s wrote about … Continue reading →

Bozo the Clown Dead at 83

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Another death this week in addition to former Senator Jesse Helms was Larry Harmon, better known as Bozo the Clown, the character that enchanted children for more than 50 years. Harmon died at his home Thursday due to congestive heart failure. The character of Bozo the Clown was originated by Pinto Colvig back in 1946; however, it was Harmon that made countless appearances as Bozo and eventually licensed the character (after having bought the rights to Bozo) to others. Bozo the Clown was seen on stations all over the country, played by other actors. All in all, Harmon trained over … Continue reading →

George Carlin Dies

George Carlin the famously laid-back bearded, ponytailed comedian whose use of foul language made him a hit with fans and a target for critics died of heart failure late today. He was 71. According to Carlin’s publicist, the funnyman who stand-up act was immortalized in his “Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV” routine had a history of heart trouble. Reports say Carlin walked into a California hospital this afternoon complaining of chest pain and died a few hours later. The unapologetically irreverent comedian constantly took aim at people who tried to regulate his routine. When Carlin debuted his … Continue reading →

Taking Pictures of Sick Kids

This blog was inspired by a recent series Valorie did in BABY about the emotional strain of having your child end up in the NICU. It reminded me of one of my best friends whose newborn spent nearly four months of his life in the NICU. My pal’s routine pregnancy became anything but near the mid-point of her fifth month. A previously undetected health condition put her life in jeopardy and she was forced to give birth more than four months prior to her due date. The end result: She survived, but the early labor meant her first-born child had … Continue reading →

Parent Heritage Presentation: Smoothing the Way

I had signed up to do a presentation in Meg’s class on Korea. I planned to do this no matter what country Meg chose to write about in her Heritage Report. Last year some of her classmates had distressed her by asking questions about adoption and about her “real mom”. I responding by reading some adoption books to her class, but this year I wanted the presentation to be on Korea and not to put Meg on the spot about adoption. I went to talk to our school principal, whose children, now in college, had also been adopted from Korea. … Continue reading →

Heritage Report, Take Three

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I’m still putting off getting started on Meg’s heritage report. I keep hoping that she’ll change her mind and do Korea, but she’s resisting. She’s practicing drawing her maple leaf for the Canadian flag. I’ve been worried that she feels embarrassed about being different, but I guess I’m the one who needs to let go of worrying about what other people think. But then, I guess I’m the one who needs to let go of worrying about what other people think. I’ve written before about how I felt compelled to bring two dishes to my son and daughter’s preschool ethnic … Continue reading →

It’s Heritage Report Time for My Korean Daughter

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It’s heritage presentation time again. Time for reports, class presentations, potlucks featuring food from students’ family heritages. This year the second grade Heritage Unit and Ethnic Feast will be the time for my daughter Meg, adopted as a one-year-old, to write a report on a country from our family’s heritage, and bring a typical food to the Ethnic Feast which will be held for all second graders and their families. I’ve written a previous blog about my son’s experience with this project two years ago when, after giving the instruction to research “a country that is part of your family’s … Continue reading →

“Being Adopted Means Being Born in Another State”….??

It’s hard to tell what kids know, remember, or are in denial about. My almost-eight-year-old is very intelligent. She has pictures of her foster mother and a whole scrapbook about her adoption, which she presented to her preschool class. She seemed happy to have me read books explaining adoption to her first grade class last year. Recently a new friend, who wasn’t at the school last year when I did the presentation, asked me (in front of Meg), “Is Meg adopted?” I tried to deflect the question to Meg, trying to avoid a repeat of the “Can she speak English” … Continue reading →