My kids all have varying interests: cooking, ballet, sewing and knitting...Oh, and did I mention I was talking about my sons as well?

Because I am an avid knitter, I thought teaching my oldest to knit when he was in kindergarten might help him strengthen the manual dexterity that often develops later in boys, and that in turn, would help him with writing. As it turned out, he enjoyed knitting. In fact, when he did his homeschool service project last year, he chose a knitting... more

Yesterday was my daughter's dress rehearsal for the first ever ballet recital! We had the actual performance this morning. I sat in the audience of 200 or so proud, beaming parents as their children danced to a variety of songs. Bows were lost, shoes came off, cues were missed, amid many missteps and forgotten routines. But, if you ask any parent who was in attendance, it was perfectly flawless!

Following up on the Mother-Daughter Bonding idea from yesterday, my daughter (obviously)... more

My daughter lost her first tooth before she came to us. Ironically, it occurred during one of our weekly phone calls to her foster home as we were getting to know the kids long distance. So, in a way, we got to participate in that first, but it was not the same as witnessing it in person.

For what seems like weeks, my youngest son has been giving us almost hourly status reports on his loose tooth. It's been wiggly; very wiggly; really, really wiggly...you get the idea! Today, however, after many false alarms, he finally lost his first tooth! Man, oh, man, was... more

What are the advantages of spending time in a classroom with your adopted child? It doesn’t matter if you choose to be a classroom mom at public school, participate in a homeschool cooperative, or teach a Sunday school class. The point is to see your child interacting with peers and to note how your child compares academically with similar aged peers. What can you expect to get out of this classroom experience with your child? Children adopted at an older age sometimes fall into odd patterns of communication with their parents. Unless you are an employed teacher in the current... more

As a kid, I loved board games, but never played the very popular Game of Life. Now, as an adult, I still love games, though I play more of them on the computer than anything else.

Imagine, then, my joy at finding a “newfangled” version of the game of Life for the computer! But, boy, is it ever fast-paced. With my ADD, there are times in the game where I just get mind-boggled with all the activity going on! At various stages of... more

Have you been accused of spoiling your adopted baby? Most adoptive families wait a long time for their baby. Many times, we are older than typical families. This may be because we may have tried to have children for several years before deciding on adoption. Of course if we waited until we were older we probably also have more time and money than younger parents still in their 20s. All of this adds up to a baby that is very much wanted, appreciated, loved, and yes, spoiled. I don’t think spoiling your adopted baby is a bad thing. That is if you are spoiling the child with... more

Though I am a crafty lady, and though I have tried my hand at rubber stamping and scrapbooking, I find I need something a little quicker and lower maintenance. Thus, I tend to blog as a way of chronicling my children’s lives.

Though I blog here at AdoptionBlogs, I have a personal blog for homeschooling, as well as a family site. Blogging provides a quick way to summarize each day, or events such as trips or special days. Most blogging tools allow the posting of multiple pictures. Best of all, most sites are free or offer a free version of their premium services.... more

When my first grandchild was born, I insisted that my daughter let me baby sit for her when she returned to work. She may have been a little surprised because she came to live with us as a teenager and we adopted her when she was 15. During those days just after my granddaughter’s birth, I went to visit her and rock her almost everyday. My daughter had to return to work when her daughter was only five weeks old to support her. As you can imagine, I really bonded with my granddaughter during those early weeks. Eventually, our daughter Ami was born and placed with us through... more

Should your family socialize with other adoptive families? What benefits are there to socializing with other adoptive families? Does your area have organized events specifically for adoptive families? If not, have you thought about organizing a support group or an event? Maybe you have never considered any of these questions. Because our adoption journey began through providing foster care to area children, attending social events for adoptive families seemed very natural. In the process of becoming licensed foster parents we were required to attend many hours of training and... more

Many teenagers were adopted as infants and might be the only adopted child in the family. Therefore, they wouldn’t have a clue what their parents went through so many years ago to adopt. Danea explains it quite well. “From the time your parents decided to adopt you, their lives have been scrutinized, analyzed, and picked apart by total strangers. Their destiny, and yours, was at the mercy of these strangers who searched for flaws in their personalities, abilities, intellect, and potential parenting skills.” That is pretty much what our adoptive family has gone through... more