June 13, 2011, dawned clear but smoggy in Shanghai. My husband and I sat in a stuffy government buildingfillingoutyetanotherpiece
of official paper, when out of the
corner of my eye I caught the movement
of a little boy at the door and glanced
up;to;see;the;frightened;look;of;my;new
son. This was our “Gotcha Day,” the day
we;met;our;sixth;child,;a;7-year-old;who
lived in China.
As a homeschooling family, we had
learned about many countries and cul-
tures,;yet;nothing;we;had;studied;previ-
ously;had;been;quite;as;complete;as;our
study of China was that year. I was on
my;computer;one;day;when;I;first;saw
the;face;of;my;son:;a;special;needs;child
living in Shanghai. I had never thought
much;about;international;adoption,;yet
on this day I knew that the boy I saw
was;my;son.;I;shared;the;picture;with
my;youngest;boy,;then;7;years;old,;tell-
ing;him,;“No,;the;package;delivery;truck
could not bring his new brother,” and
thus;began;our;family’s;first;lesson;in;the
unit;study;I;called;“Adoption.”
Adopting;a;child;from;a;foreign;coun-
try;is;a;long;and;complex;process.;Our
adoption;took;exactly;a;year,;beginning
in;June;of;2010,;and;during;those;twelve
months, the lessons on Chinese culture
came;frequently;and;included;geography,
Mandarin,;and;the;plight;of;orphans;in
the world.
One;of;the;first;things;I;did;when;we
took;that;initial;step;into;the;world;of
international adoption was to hang a
large;world;map;on;the;wall.;I;had;pre-viously stashed mine away in a closet
because of space, but it now became
the;focal;point;of;my;dining;room,;and
all the countries we studied during our
homeschooling day were now discussed
in;relation;to;China.;For;example,;if;our
math book mentioned Mongolia, I could
say,;“Mongolia;is;on;China’s;northern
border.” My older kids, who knew where
Adoption:
The Ultimate Unit Study
By;Mary;Beth
Osowski
I had never thought much
about;international;adoption,
yet on this day I knew that the
boy I saw was my son.
