Awhile back I found an excellent article talking about the issues adopted kids face in classroom settings, and the difficulty they sometimes have completing projects about their families.

Creating a Classroom for Adopted and Non-Adopted Children is from the September 2006issue of RainbowKids magazine and was written by Elizabeth Hunt.

"I hear this story all the time," says Adam Pertman of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute in New York. "A teacher gives a family tree assignment, and she tries to be sensitive telling Johnny, who was adopted, 'You can choose... more

One of the challenges of parenting kids who have experienced loss in their lives is that sometimes they can have over-the-top reactions to perceived loss. Something as minor as getting a smaller piece of cake than a sibling can send them into paroxysms of misery.

Now, I’ve got enough kids to realize that most kids will complain about that type of thing. But an over-reactor does this to an extreme, and at an older age than is typical for an untraumatized child. He/she may be truly devastated when something like this happens, and his devastation may last for hours.

This type of behavior can drive even a patient parent to the brink some days. I have found that it helps... more

Here's a nice vegetarian dish that is affordable and easy to make. You can make it with either yellow or green split peas. I ate something like this at the Queen of Sheba restaurant in Portland, and made my own variation of it at home. Then when our girls came home from Ethiopia, they made yet another variation.

Atar Alecha: Spicy split peas

Ingredients

1 onion, pureed in food processor 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or mashed through a garlic press (And just in case you are in the market for a garlic press, I love my Zyliss!)... more

Almost every parent has to come up with consequences when kids do not cooperate, and parents of newly arrived children are no exception. During the first couple months of homeschooling this year, we've dealt with our fair share of attitudes and non-compliance during school time, enough that my 15 year old son sagely observed, "The honeymoon ends a lot quicker when you're homeschooling, doesn't it?"

No kidding.

It is only natural that kids will test the limits in a new situation. That's what kids do. We are still working out the kinks in our own situation, and I am in no way implying that we... more

One of the things I had to get used to when we switched from Korean adoption to Ethiopian adoption was the fact that we would not know our children's actual birthdates. Korea is good about documenting such facts. Not only do I know the dates that our Korean boys were born, I also know the time of day and how much they weighed at birth.

For our Ethiopian children there is no such precision. Some folks do indeed learn exact birthdates. And in the case of kids who came into care as tiny babies, you'll probably get a birthdate estimate that is within a few weeks of correct. But for older kids it is a very inexact guessing game.

The various methods of estimating children's... more

According to a recent story in the New York Times, relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea are deteriorating. In 1993 Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia after a bloody conflict. However, the two sides are recently accused each other of trying to start another war. Tens of thousands of troops are massed both in Ethiopia and in Eritrea, poised for conflict.

The treaty that ended the war included a new border drawn by the United Nations. In November the new border will go into effect. Ethiopia... more

Today a friend of mine asked me for my shiro recipe. I blogged a friend's recipe awhile back. It is quite good, but my girls have taught me a bit more streamlined version that I thought some other people might be interested in trying. With the help of my food processor, I can whip this recipe out in 15 minutes. It also reheats well in the microwave for those of you trying to keep comfort food handy for newly arrived kids.

Shiro

2 medium onions 1 tomato 1/2 cup oil 1/2 cup shiro powder water (1-1/2 to 2 cups) lots of berbere

Start by pureeing the onions... more

I am so pleased to be able to tell you about a really fun freebie! National Adoption Month is coming in November. It is a neat time to talk with people around you about the blessing of adoption. Recently I heard of a really neat company that just might make it easier for adoptive families to celebrate the gift of adoption. The company is called the Red Thread Adoption Boutique.

They offer a rather large variety of items, including some adorable adoption-related clothing for children. You can personalize a shirt with the name of your child's birth... more

A mom wrote me recently telling me that she and her husband are in the early stages of the adoption process. She learned recently that a fair number of the children being adopted out of Ethiopia still have living birth parents. She asked me why the children are being relinquished, if one or both parents are still living. And she asked me if I thought that the increase in adoptions from Ethiopia is encouraging poor, but fit parents to relinquish their children.

These are some really big questions, and I certainly don't claim to have all the answers. I know that there are many, many true orphans who desperately need families. But I also think that there are many situations where... more

I know I've blogged on this topic several times lately, but helping new children settle into the family seems to involve a fair bit of limit-setting. There are just so many rules to learn. No spitting food on the floor, not even the bad bits. No running in church (not even afterwards). Showers are required at least twice a week-- and yes, I WILL help you if you require it. Answer mom when she speaks to you, even if you're not happy with what she asked. And on and on. There are just so many things to learn about the culture of a new family.

Last evening I took my new 9 and 12 year old daughters to my 19 year old's college choir concert. Again there were rules that I hadn't... more