It is hard to believe that we are already well into August. Summer vacation where we live will come to an end in just two short weeks, and the kids will be back in school.

We have had a wonderful summer vacation full of traveling, swimming, hiking, playing, staying up late, visiting friends and family and getting good and dirty.

The break from school and activities has been a welcome one, and yet the excitement of a new school year has been fun this last week or so, too. I have a formidable pile of new backpacks, notebooks, crayons and clothing. We have met some new teachers and gone to a few school orientations. We are just about ready for the new school year.

This year I will have Mercy entering middle school as a seventh grader, Nate staying in his current school (for fourth, fifth and sixth graders) and going into sixth grade, Ryan and Des moving up into Nate's school as fourth graders, Shane and Ben staying in their school (for Kindergarten through third graders) and going into second grade, Maggie and Amanda starting Kindergarten and Marcus and Belane will be going to our child development center preschool two days a week for a few hours (they both need help with speech).

As I send my kids off to school, my concerns go beyond those of the "average" parent. I do worry about racism and the thoughtless comments other kids can make. While all of my kids have had wonderful experiences in our school district thus far and their teachers have been great and very sensitive to their situations, I still worry some.

So when I go in and visit with my children's teachers, I always ensure that the lines of communication are open. I volunteer in my kids' classes. I offer to be a resource for lessons on race, adoption and culture. I have had several teachers call me in school years past and asked if I was o.k. with the class reading a book involving slavery, or with a family tree project, or if I would come in and give a lesson on adoption. I have found that while many teachers in our area have not had a lot of experience with having transracial adoptees in their classrooms, that they are excited about it and want to do what is best for all of their students.

When parents are involved and work with their children's teachers, it usually has a wonderful outcome for all involved.

I think that all parents who send their kids to school instead of homeschooling need to be active participants in their children's educations, and for parents of transracially adopted children, I think that this is especially true.

Here are some other posts I have written on school and adoption:


Schooling and Adoption - Part One

Schooling and Adoption - Part Two

Adoption ABCs - School