Having a family is something most American adults view as a priority. One of the best ways to increase the love and excitement in your life is by adopting a child. Each year, over 135,000 children are adopted in the United States. The main goal you should have when adopting a child is giving them a home and a firm foundation to build on.
As you and your newly adopted child start to bond, you will need to find ways to help them look forward to the future while keeping in touch with their past. If the child you have adopted is in school, you may be tasked with helping them develop a family tree. Many schools encourage students to make these family trees as a way to find out more about where they came from. The following are some of the things you can do when trying to develop a beautiful family tree with your adopted child.
Stick to Chronological Order
Before you and your child sit down to make a family tree, you need to figure out what approach to take. Rather than jumping around from year to year, you need to focus on going in chronological order. Keeping everything in order can help you and your child avoid getting frustrated or overwhelmed with this process.
If your adoption was an open one, you may need to contact the birth parents of your child for some help. They may be willing to provide information and some pictures of their ancestors. Keeping them involved will also mean a lot to your child. If you get a ton of pictures and need to scan them and turn them into digital files, be sure to use EverPresent. Putting pictures in your family tree can make it more appealing and informative.
Highlight Important Moments
Some parents have a tendency to take over a project like this, but this is usually a mistake. You need to take a supportive role and let your child do all of the work involved. When asked about how to make the family tree special, you should recommend highlighting important moments in your child’s life. Putting important moments on the family tree can make your child feel like they are being represented.
These events should include things like your child’s birth and the day they were adopted. Not only will including these important moments be great for your adopted child, it can also help them tell their classmates their story. Sitting down and creating a detailed outline of the family tree is a great way to keep this project on track. With this outline, all your child has to do is fill in the information on the tree.
Help Your Child Write a Presentation
After the family tree is completed, you may need to help your child write a presentation. Often times, the teacher your child has will want them to get up in front of the class and present their family tree. This is why making note cards and helping your child rehearse their speech is so important. By rehearsing the speech a few times, you can put your child’s mind at ease about speaking in front of others. Ideally, you want your child to commit most of the presentation they have written to memory. This is why starting practice well before the project is due is crucial.
Make This Project Fun
While developing a family tree with your child can be difficult, you need to make sure it is also a fun experience. By making this experience fun for your child, you can create memories they will cherish for a lifetime.
This is a guest post from Wendy Dessler. Wendy is an award-winning writer who discovered her passion for providing knowledge to readers worldwide on topics closest to her heart – all things digital. Since her first high school award in Creative Writing, she continues to deliver awesome content through various niches touching the digital sphere.