Do you remember making a family tree when you were in school? I remember making several family trees over the school years. They were always fun to do and I learned more about different relatives from the past that I did not know.

But, what does an adopted child do when it is time to make a family tree? I’ve actually had this discussion with A before. She has always said that she would love to have any of the genealogy information that we have from when my Dad and I traced our family line. She expressed that in doing a family tree in school that she would want Charlie to include his biological family in it as well, as long as he felt comfortable with it. I thought this (including the biological family) is a great idea but wondered how you would incorporate that into the typical family tree from grade school.

Tana who used to write the LDS blog shared a family tree layout where the adoptive family’s names are on the branches of the tree and the birth family’s names are on the roots.

Another issue that comes up for some adoptive mothers during the school year is talking to her child’s teachers and class about adoption. This has been mentioned numerous times here in the blogs. Apparently there are some different theories and on this and not all adoptive parents are in agree of the best way to approach this. Since I’m not an adoptive mom, I can’t offer any personal experience in this area but I feel that Charlie’s adoptive mom will do what is best for him in this area if something comes up.

I recently asked her if she talked to Charlie’s sister’s class about adoption before and she said that she did when she was in the 2nd grade and she probably would when Charlie was around that age too just depending on how he handles everything. I don’t know if it would be appropriate for me as a birthparent to assist A in this or even to go with her so I just told her that if she needed any help or input or anything at all when the time came to let me know and I’d do whatever she needed or wanted me to.

In the birth/first parent blog, Jenna recently brought up the subject of birthparents who are parenting children talking to their parented child’s teacher about their sibling which is a great idea. I’ve never gotten into a big discussion with a teacher about it but just mentioned it to Noah’s teachers when I felt it was necessary. Check out Jenna’s post if you are facing this challenge this school year.

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It's Back to School Time
Encouraging your Child in School