First of all, if you just adopted or are thinking of adopting an older child who does not speak English as their primary language, CONGRATULATIONS! You are taking on a large task that is eternally rewarding!
We have 8 children so far - 5 biological and 3 adopted. Our first adoption was of a 10 year old girl (now 16) from Kazakhstan. Annalise knew no English and had no education when we adopted her, so we were literally starting at square one. Below are things we have learned through our adoption process of an older, Russian-speaking child immediately after she arrived home.
In the beginning, the main focus should be on teaching the established household routine....wake times, bed times, prayer, devotions, hygiene, table manners, chores, etc. For us, our routine included starting our homeschool lessons immediately, even if it was just to learn basic things. I think that it is vitally important that every parent, who is adopting a foreign-born child who does not speak English, have their newly adopted child start at the beginning...preschool! It doesn't matter how old the child is. Just imagine how you would feel being thrown into their grade level in their home country. Basics need to be taught first in order to develop a healthy love for learning. We have seen many friends adopt non-English speaking children start their children at their age-appropriate grade level. They end up realizing that they unintentionally set their child up for failure. The children generally become discouraged, frustrated and angry when being thrown headfirst into a culture and language that is brand new. Do not be tempted to rush them into catching up. They will take off soon enough! Rushing them will only cause you and them a good bit of frustration.
For us, preschool is actually approached quite naturally, so nothing fancy is needed. Let your newly adopted foreign speaking child(ren) experience life and learn basic things as the names of objects, their colors, shapes, ABC's, numbers, common phrases, etc. When all the games have been played and all sorts of new vocabulary learned, consider purchasing a preschool workbook! One of the very first things we purchased after our first adoption was a preschool workbook from Wal-Mart for $4. When we adopted Annalise, I had Annalise and Kaitlyn (3, at the time) go through their preschool workbooks together, learning the basics. They both enjoyed showing off their accomplishments to Daddy in the evening. After Annalise's book was completed, we used ABeka's letter sound flashcards and had her master letter sounds. This led to the ABeka phonics workbooks and before we knew it, Annalise was READING English and her vocabulary had certainly grown! It had only been 3 months! During that time, we also started basic math and eventually used ABeka's mathematics, as well, omitting anything that she had mastered.
Most importantly, take on the important task to introduce the new child(ren) to your family’s routine of daily Bible study, devotions and family worship. Include some fun Bible songs and simple Bible story readings during these times, so that your new child(ren) can learn them and be slowly introduced to Jesus. The Picture Bible
is a great tool for introducing the excitement of the Bible to young children! Our children enjoy it greatly!
Remember, do not feel rushed in educating your child(ren)! Take the time to enjoy your new child and to watch them LIGHT UP as they learn and experience new things on a minute-by-minute basis. It's an absolutely amazing experience to adopt an older child who is not used to the simple things we take for granted!
Mark and Lisa Metzger
