WorkNotes

Adopting From Russia, Latin America, China!



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NewsFlash

1.    Please be part of our next book: BY, FOR, and ABOUT children adopted from Russian-speaking
      countries!  A student of mine (10-year-old Katie  -- Ekatarina) and my son (13-year-old 
      Paul Sergei), and I have a new book in the works. We invite your child, you, and other 
      family members to submit intriguing stories from your adoption adventure! We want 
      fascinating "snippets" of your experiences, especially stories that will be of interest 
      and/or help to other families adopting from Russian-speaking countries.  Please email to 
      learn how to be a part of this exciting project!  

We're excited because we've already heard from 15 families and the stories are starting to roll
in.  Of particular interest are fun, funny, and inspiring stories about and by children as they
transition(ed) from their orphanage to their new home, family, language, and culture.

Topics?  Anything and everything from challenges overcome to successes to "firsts" to     
       adjustments.  Whatever your child would like to share with others about his/her experience
       will be meaningful to others who have shared the adoption experience.

Length of Stories?  Anywhere from a paragraph to 2 pages.  It's likely that what young children 
       write will be short, and that older children may have more to say.

Who can contribute?  Anyone adopted, no matter what his/her age or "stage" in the adoption 
       process.  Whether a child was adopted 15 years ago or 6 weeks ago, his/her story will be 
       welcomed and valued.  We hope to include at least one story from each contributor, and 
       it's likely that we'll be able to include all stories submitted.

Can family members contribute too?  By all means!  My son is including a story about when his 
       Russian cousin was adopted by his aunt and uncle.  Parents, grandparents, siblings, and 
       other family members may submit stories.  (We may edit in the interest of space, etc., but
       we will ask your approval before any significant changes are made.  Most stories will be 
       included just the way they come to us.)

Children's last names will not be included (unless parents specifically request their inclusion). 

I can email a more complete list of ideas and guidelines so that you will know what to expect and
how to submit stories.  Please be in touch and I'll write back soon.  Thanks!

 Adopttlc@aol.com   :-) Teresa


Tentative timeline:  Stories accepted until Summer of 2008.  
                     Publication tentatively scheduled for Spring 2009.

Other interesting info:  My very artistic daughter (20 years old) will be the illustrator 
                    of the book.  It will be a beautiful keepsake for all adopted children. 
                    Most contributors to date were adopted from Russian-speaking countries, but
                    we want to include all stories that will give adopted children a voice.
                    The book will surely have special meaning to those who have their own stories
                    included.   :-)


We hope you and your family will choose to be part of this fascinating project.  We think it will be
a precious keepsake for adopted children.  We'll look forward to hearing from you soon.    Teresa,
Paul, and Katie  (As with all of my books and CDs, 10% or more of the profits will benefit children
in orphanages around the world.)


	
2.    A grrrreat product just got even better!  In order to meet the needs of adoptive parents, 
     I keep improving my adoption-specific language guides.  :-)  A new component is now part of
     the _Adopting From Russia_ language set: Phrases You Can Use in Court.  This is the second 
     recent improvement...added in August 2007. Last year we added illustrated, bilingual 
     flashcards to complement the CD and handbook. You'll learn Russian even faster now that you 
     can practice with flashcards.  Parents who want to read Cyrillic have a handy and 
     user-friendly set of flashcards to study with and refer to.  They are another great addition
     to my adoption-specific language sets, which I consider 'works in progress' to help adoptive
     families get to know each other better/faster, and to communicate with one another from the
     very beginning.  You'll think they're neat!   'Adopting From Russia, a Language and 
     Parenting Guide' now includes a set of illustrated bilingual flashcards...AND Phrases You 
     Can Use in Court.     :-)

     Alexia writes, 'My husband and I greatly appreciated receiving the flashcards 
     and lovely notecards.  You are a shining light in this long, arduous process.  
     We will recommend you and your company to any and all we come in contact with 
     who are adopting.  We love the flashcards!  The pictures, Russian spelling, and 
     pronunciation are extremely helpful.  Thank you again.'

     Lauren says, 'Thank you very much for getting this set out to us so quickly! It's 
     excellent, and the flashcards are just what I was looking for.'

3.   'RUSH Into English, Russian to English for Children' now comes with 'TLC 
     Little Books,' bilingual mini-readers to help your child/ren know what to
     expect:  'On the Plane,'  'The Long Trip Home,'  'My New Home,' 
     'My Family,'  'Changes,'  etc.  (7 mini-readers are included, English on 
     one side and Russian on the other -- Grreat for kids who can already read
     and for all adoptive children so they know what to expect in their first 
     weeks with you in their 'whole new world.')  A wonderful addition; no
     increase in cost!
 
     Click on  'RUSH Into English' above for complete details or on 'Order Form' 
     above to place your order.  Email if you have questions.  Thanks!  Teresa    
     Adopttlc@aol.com

4.   You MUST see the Matryoshka Family Portrait that my daughter painted for
      me!  (Click on 'Photos/Docs' above and look at 'Teresa's Family' and then 'Matryoshka 
      Portrait.'  Please also see 'Another Happy Family' and 'Another Happy Family's Matryoshka 
      Portrait.')  My daughter (19 years old) is quite the artist, isn't she?  If you want one 
      of these masterpieces of your family, please contact me via email me and we'll get you on 
      my daughter's waiting list!  Teresa  Adopttlc@aol.com  
      Mora (my daughter) is painting  these little treasures as fast as she can to earn money
      for college.  Email to find out the approximate date when she will be able to have your 
      family's portrait for you.
      Please contact us at   Adopttlc@aol.com  Teresa & Mora
      5-piece sets, 7-piece sets, 10-piece sets.  Let your imagination run wild:  include 
      an extended family member, a beloved pet, or a typicalRussian matryoshka doll as the 
      tiniest member of your Matryoshka Family Portrait!  Your children will treasure these 
      links with their culture for the rest of their lives.  :-)  Discounts available if you 
      order 2 or  more sets for your family.  Very reasonably priced.  A keepsake for a
      lifetime!

5.   HARVARD UNIVERSITY CONTACTED ME TO HELP THEM FIND PARENTS WHO WOULD LIKE
     TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR LANGUAGE STUDY.  (I FELT HONORED!) THEY NEED 
     FEEDBACK FROM PARENTS: ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S ACQUISITION OF ENGLISH IN YOUR 
     EARLY MONTHS TOGETHER.  THEY PARTICULARLY NEED/WANT INFORMATION FROM 
     PARENTS OF CHILDREN ADOPTED FROM RUSSIA AND CHINA.

     Joy Geren from Harvard University Latoratory for Developmental Studies 
     writes, 'I wanted to thank you for helping us with recruiting families
     for our language study in the past and to see if you would be interested
     in helping again.  We have expanded our study so that we are now looking
     at children adopted as infants as well as children that came into the US
     when they were preschool age.'

     IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN HARVARD'S LANGUAGE STUDY, PLEASE 
     CONTACT JOY GEREN AT    langdev@wjh.harvard.edu       THANK YOU!


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Last Modified: Tuesday June 03 2008

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