Every year we like to post something to help ease families back into the school year. Adoptive families who are starting school for the first time may want to make sure their teachers are informed about what it’s like to be an adopted child so that all kids feel welcome and included in classroom activities, especially those activities that explore what it means to be a family.
Scholastic recommends books about families for teachers of Pre-K and Kindergarten, since it is during this age that the family is an especially valuable to teaching tool to help children understand the shape of their world. We’ve gone through to highlight the books that address adopted families. Pointing teachers to this blog can help make sure that they include adopted families in their lessons.
Books about Adoption for Pre-K to Kindergarten
Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born
by Jamie Lee Curtis; illustrated by Laura Cornell
A young girl asks her parents to tell her again the story of her birth and adoption.
Classroom Tip: For homework, have children ask their parent to tell them the story about the night they were born. Have them draw a picture and share in class their retelling of the story.
Families Are Different: Big Book & Teaching Guide
by Nina Pellegrini
An adopted girl learns that some children live with one parent, two parents, or grandparents, and that some children have stepsiblings and parents who look different from one another.
Classroom Tip: Make a Families web, listing the various families in the book and others.
For more ideas, check out Amazon’s bestsellers about adoption and be sure to shop with Amazon Smile to benefit Adoption & Beyond. You can also ask your local bookstore for recommendations; they love to help! Stay tuned for a blog post about local children’s bookstores in Kansas and Missouri.
