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Jaimie Schmeling of Edina Realty offers tips to ease the transition.
Moving when you have school-aged kids is usually a mixture of nerves and excitement. Jaimie Schmeling of Edina Realty offers these tips to help make moving with kids easier for everyone.
- Moving to a new community during the summer is a natural way to ease the transition to a new school. If a move during summer isn’t possible, there are positives to being able to leave the old school a few weeks early and start at the new school during the last weeks of the year. This allows kids to make friends that will take them into summer and allow for a less stressful start to the next school year.
- If possible, time your move to coincide with when kids are going from elementary school to middle school or middle school to high school. That way, all the students coming into the school are new to the environment and are naturally making new friends.
- If your children are younger, take them to their new school before the official first day. Walk around, find out where their classroom, lunchroom and other important spots are. Introduce them to office staff and the principal. Talk about the daily details like which doors they will use so they can visualize the start of their day.
- Consider volunteering. Having a parent visible at school can help kids feel more comfortable. As students get older, they don’t necessarily want their parents so close. It’s all individual to each family, and families can arrange for what is comfortable for them.
With some planning and initiative, moving with kids can be a positive experience.
