Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Older Child Adoption v Academics

I've had a few people ask so I thought I'd give you a little lookie-loo into what that looks like for us.

Joey:
Home 18 months.
English ability pre-adoption consisted of,
"Hello. How are you? I am fine. Thank You."
And thassit.
Joey, do you want a cookie?
"How are you?"
Joey, are you ready for bed?
"Hello." 
Joey, do you want to go outside?
"Thank you. Hello. I am fine. Thank you."
Yep.
But now this:

He began reading simple sight words about 2 weeks after he started school last year and is now reading somewhat fluently.

Jacob:
Home 18 months.
First day of 2nd grade a month after we got home the teacher stops me after school and says that she was watching Jacob do his math and thought he was struggling when all of a sudden he just starts writing down the answers to double digit addition and subtraction without showing his work.
Homeboy was doing all the math
in
his
head.
He also already had his times tables memorized through 12. 

Alrighty then.

Joshua:
Home 11 months.
Pre-Adoption English ability: Non-existent.



And then of course there are the children that emerged from me.
They beee reeely smart 2.



While researching older child adoption the "experts" will tell you to place them in the grade appropriate level for their age.
Even if they don't know a lick of English you put them where they belong based solely on age(unless there are some systemic learning disabilities in which case you make concessions for that).
To which I thought they were crazy...
but ummm....they are totally correct.
These kids really do catch up and they do it quickly at that.

I've gotta go now and sign 8.2 million papers....
and practice my multiplication tables.
Peace.

16 comments:

  1. I LOVE VIDEOS!!! These are just precious... and I am ROLLING over the last one. SO FUNNY!!

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  2. Wow, those boy of yours are so good at math and reading and lounging. :) But seriously, how is homework-time so calm at your house?! i am envious and I only have two in school!

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  3. We have Joseph one grade behind his age level. I think it was a good choice since we go to a smaller private school.

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  4. So fun to see video of your sweet boys! The last one made me crack up because I was sure they were going to be reciting Shakespeare or something! Too funny!

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  5. Whew. Can your boys come and tutor my child?? Um, the one that came right outta me? She needs some serious Math help, and apparently, I don't seem to be doing such a great job...maybe I should ask my 4 year old that we brought home in '09 from China to help her...That was an awesome post - loved it! :-)

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  6. Oh my goodness! Joey reading!!! So adorable. And Jacob--you always said he was really smart. He looks so different now. And Joshua already reading. I can't believe he's been home for 11 months. Except for what seemed like a year in the hospital, the time has flown. 7 boys doing homework at the same time (kinda) and you cool as a cucumber. What were you given that I missed out on?????
    Blessings...

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  7. Shucks! Couldn't see the video. I'd say our LongGang kiddos are just pretty cotton picking smart!!

    If you get a chance...we are having a fundraiser on our blog. 31 Products and Scentsy Products...the Scentsy products could make your boy smells much better!

    Anyway..hope over to our blog and follow the links to the parties!! Thanks!

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  8. Thank you for this! This is already confirming some things I have noticed in Judah and answering some doubts I had. Love you, Man!!! ;)

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  9. I can feel the pride oozing from you while filming those birthed children of yours....snort

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  10. Thank you SO much for this! We are just months from bringing home a 6 year old boy and this is the thing that has me most concerned. I originally thought age 4 would be our "cap" because I had this picture in my head of giving him a year to learn english before starting school. HA! God had other plans and our son is 6. And, if we do this again...it would most likely be for his friend who would be 8 by the time he came home. So, it's super great to hear of your rather positive experience in this area!

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  11. This gives me hope. And yes, I agree about the age based classes. We wanted them in elementary school because of their lack of education. But so glad they are in middle school because they need to be around kids their own age. Yes, our girls are 1 & 2 years behind in the grade they "should" be in. But for them, this is the perfect situation. They are still close to the kids their own age, but also getting the education they need to catch up. It's only been 3 days and MAN!!! They are writing everything they see on the boards, and Hope is a math super star. I can't wait to see what this next month and the months to come will do to the girls. It's amazing how these awesome kids adapt and learn. Only God! He is there with them and helping them succeed. Such miracles!!!!! I'm so thankful to have connected with families like yours, because not only do our kids need encouragement, but so do us mommies. :-) Hugs my sweet friend!

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  12. Thanks so much for sharing this. I just love to read your posts - they are so refreshingly honest and real. So many of them could have been written about the craziness that goes on around here. We have two Ethiopian daughters who entered school a year behind. They have done very well with few gaps. Our Chinese daughter will arrive home next year in the middle of what would be her kindergarten year but will start that a year late. Can't wait to teach another child English - love the emerging language/mistakes and the accents!!

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  13. I found this to be REALLY encouraging to hear/see because this is a source of MAJOR...I'm talkin' MAJOR anxiety as we prepare to bring our two brothers home from Haiti (ages 8 and 5 1/2)! So, whatcha think about the whole "adopting outta birth order" debate? (Can't remember if you did that or not)

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  14. I hope you aren't away too much longer I miss your posts!

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  15. Hope everything is okay with you...

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  16. Hope everything is going well there! Miss your posts!

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