(Right picture) Kaya, Isaac and Elika.
(Bottom picture) Roan!
All of these children are cousins :)
For this activity you will need:
- Images of mother and images of their babies from around the world within various cultures.
- An image of a cat and her kittens.
- Card stock
- Glue stick
Prepare the cards and invite the child to try and match each mother and baby.
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| Jessica |
Some questions that you can ask the child:
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| Feona |
- What is different about the mother's faces?
- Why did they choose that mother to go with that child?
This activity is appropriate for ages 4-8. It can be discussed in further detail with the older children; like subjects of adoption, etc.
Whose mommy are they??
Then show the images of the cat and her kittens, explain to the child how the cat is still the mother even though they might look different from her.
Though the mommy kittens have orange and white fur, their babies can have light fur like theirs, but also black and spotted fur!
I chose this activity because I personally don't look like my mom, and I think it is important for children that come from interracial families to understand why and that it is okay that they might not look exactly like either one or both of their parents.
I think this activity could be done without the pictures of the kittens, and geared more towards families that have adopted, or children that have other caregivers or guardians.
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| Jessica with her babies; Kaya, Elika and Isaac. |
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| Feona with her baby Roan. |
This activity teaches children concepts such as:
- To recognize, appreciate, and respect the uniqueness, beauty, value and contribution to each child.
- There are different kinds of families.
- People are different.
- Help children live happily and cooperatively in a diverse world.
Books to use with this activity:
Black is Brown is Tan by Arnold Adoff.
"When it was first published in 1973, Black is Brown is Tan featured the first interracial family in children's books. Decades later, Arnold Adoff and Emily Arnold McCully continue to offer a joyous and loving celebration of all the colors of the race, now newly embellished with bright watercolor paintings that depict a contemporary family of the twenty-first century."
"black is brown is tan is girl is boy
is nose is face
is all the colors of the race"
Allison by Allen Say
Allison realizes she looks more like her doll Mei Mei, than she does her parents after she tries on a Kimono. Allison becomes angry, she breaks some of her parents things, and says that she doesn't belong to them. The author uses a stray cat that Allison wants to adopt to help her come to terms with the situation. It was then that Allison realizes everyone needs a family.
You're Not My REAL Mother! by Molly Friedrich
About a little Asian girl who tells her mom "You know, mom, you're not my real mother," this book is appropriate for children from adopted families.
The mother begins to answer her daughter by asking her what she thinks "real" means, then proceeds to ask her if real mothers teach their children the alphabet or how to count to a hundred, or if real mother loves and smothers her child in kisses?
The book's high point comes when the mother addresses the loaded question, "But why don't you look like me?"
With its love-builds-a-family message, this book is a good conversation starter and a reassuring read for adoptive children, especially in multiracial families.
Sources: http://carrotsareorange.com/bring-culture-anti-bias-learning-home-classroom/
http://www.babble.com/babble-voices/best-books-for-transracial-families/
http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/diversity/multiracial/multi_race_picbooks.html
