Be sure to talk to your parents about the way you feel about the move. Sometimes when we feel lonely we want to keep all our feelings inside, but please don't do this. The best idea is to talk to your mother or father about your concerns and then plan ways together that will make the move become a nice experience for the whole family.

A fun activity that will help you be a little more excited about the move is to plan your new bedroom. If you know the measurements of your new room, with the aid of your parents you can make a practice layout of the room and pencil in your bedroom furniture. You can also think about the colors you want to use and easy ways to decorate your room.

When you get to your new school, you will make friends there just as you did at your old school. It may take some time to feel comfortable with new people, but teachers are used to lots of new students and are usually willing and able to help you settle in.

Remember that students who move are more sensitive to the needs of other outsiders, having been one themselves. Therefore, be sure to "be there" for other new kids coming into your school.

You can make a list of school activities and sports at your new school that you think you'll want to take part in.

Preparing for Your Move

Ask your parents what you can do to help with the packing and other chores that moving requires. Write down the chores you can do.

One chore our children often took charge of was the care of our cat and dog. If you have a pet, consider that moving is hard on animals as well. You can do a lot to reassure your pet during the moving process. There is a checklist in Chapter Four for the items that pets need for a trip.

You can also help your parents on moving day by offering to take charge of your pet and keep him or her safe while the movers are packing. Movers leave doors open while loading furniture, and animals can wander outside and be harmed or lost. So keep your pet in a confined area or on a leash to avoid an accident. Make a list of things to do for your pet.

Survival Boxes

Each time my family moved, my children would put together what we called Survival Boxes. What were these? Well, they were a small box, bag or backpack containing whatever each child felt he or she needed during the travel to our new city or at our new house before all their stuff was unpacked. The size of the Survival Box depended on whether we were driving or flying to our new home (since it took us longer to drive, for instance, and they needed more things to keep them occupied during the travel, the container was bigger).

When my children were very small, their boxes usually held a favorite stuffed toy or game that they wanted to take with them to the new house. As they grew older, and especially if school was due to start as soon as we arrived, the box contained school supplies, report cards and anything required for the first day of school.

Why don't you make a list of all the things you want to put in your survival box in these spaces. You might consider books or magazines, stationery so you can write your friends and tell them all about your trip to the new city, a portable cassette player and a favorite tape or two (don't forget the headphones) or a must-have security blanket or pillow.

Travel Activities

When you plan the activities for the trip to your new home, bring games that have few pieces or ones that will be easy to play in a moving car or on an airplane. Board games with magnetic pieces make good travel games. A few other fun pastimes for travel are:

Car Games

Find the car with a certain description.

Examples of things you can look for are: 1) a luggage rack on top of the car; 2) a convertible top; 3) one, two or three passengers; 4) cars of a certain color; or 5) license plates from your new state. Use your imagination for other car descriptions.

Count Moving Company Trucks

See who can find the most moving company trucks traveling the same way (or the opposite way) that you are traveling. See who can find a truck like the one that moved your family.

Airplane Activities

Take paper and pen with you and use your travel time to write to your friends. A deck of playing cards is manageable on an airplane, or take along a book about your new city to read.

Safety Tips

• These tips are to assure that your experience within your new city is a safe and positive one. The following points will be very important for you to know and remember.
• Whenever you travel into any new area, know your complete name and both your parent's full names as well. When exploring the city, it is always important to stay very close to your parents and family, especially in crowded areas.
• If you will be temporarily staying in a hotel, know the name and telephone number of your hotel. A good idea is to carry a hotel brochure with you or a map that has the hotel circled on it.
• Keeping a list of phone numbers is very important, especially if you should ever get lost or separated from your family. Write down family names, telephone numbers and addresses as well as the new office telephone numbers for your parents.
• Know your new school bus number and the exact location of the bus stop. It is a very good idea to do several practice runs from your new home to your bus stop and back before the first day of school. This way you'll remember your new route.