Kids on the Move can make an adventure of it

You’re moving! Join the club of Kids on the Move. Did you know that almost one in five families will move this year? That’s a lot of packing, boxes, new schools, new rooms and new friends.
While moving can be exciting in a way, it can also be pretty stressful – for kids and their parents. Think of the whole thing as a kind of “Moving Survivor” show. You’ll have a ton of stuff to do, but it’ll be kind of fun if you think about it the right way. To start with, here are some tips for your Moving Survivor adventure:

1. There’s good stuff and there’s bad stuff.

Maybe your parents are finally going to let you have a dog. Or maybe you’re going to get a room of your own. Or a pool. Or a new city to explore. There’s almost always something good about moving, if you think hard enough. Take a sheet of paper and draw a line through the middle. Start to write down the good stuff and the bad stuff about moving. Your parents may not have a list on paper, but they have one in their heads. They know there’s good and bad stuff about moving, too. Ask them to write their list, then you can compare notes and talk about it.

2. Make a scrapbook.

It can feel hard to leave behind people and places that you’ve learned to like. It helps to make a scrapbook of the things you’re leaving behind. Take pictures of friends, your old school, your soccer team, your old room, the tree in the back yard… whatever you want to remember when you move away. Get friends to write notes beside their photos, or help you think up ideas for things to put in your scrapbook. Design a cool cover for your scrapbook, and a title -- like Our House on Oak Street. If your parents are really busy, take some photos or write down some things that you think they’ll miss, too.

3. Start an address book.

If you don’t already have an address book started, this is the time to get one. You can ask your parents to get the real, alphabetized ones, or you can use a small notebook. Get names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses for any of your friends. What’s really fun is if your parents will let you have a goodbye party, because it’s a great time to see everyone and get their addresses. Find out if any of your friends have MSN or some other messaging service. If you’re old enough to use MSN, it’s almost like talking to your friend standing right beside you. Make sure you write down the email addresses PERFECTLY.

4. Get rich; have a yard sale.

If your parents will let you, plan a yard sale to get rid of all the stuff that you and your parents don’t want to take to the new place. Old toys, books, games, your old bike, furniture you don’t want… it’s unbelievable how much stuff is hanging around the house and garage. Your parents might even let you keep the money for anything that you clean up yourself. When you’re getting stuff ready, if something is broken, you can still try to sell it, but you need to put a sign on that says what’s broken. People will sometimes buy a busted VHS player because they know someone who can fix it. You never know. Make posters for your sale and put them up around the neighbourhood to tell people where and when your sale is. If stuff doesn’t sell, you can give it away to a charity, or just put up a big sign that says FREE! at the end of the day for anything that’s left. Some important advice: make sure your parents know what you’re doing and that one of them can help on the day of the sale.

5. Find a club to join at your new place.

If you’re used to taking karate, swim class or playing soccer at your old place, ask your parents to help you find a new club after you move. You’ll still need to figure out which kids would be good friends, but at least you know that you like some of the same things. At your school, they might have an after-school program. That’s another great way to find some new kids to hang out with. Before you know it, you’ll be feeling right at home!

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