10 Tips to make moving with children easier

I know when every time we have moved (and it hasn’t been that many) I thought I was going to lose my mind.  My husband was already across the country working at his job and I was back at “home” trying to sell one house, pick another online, handle being a single parent with two children under the age of 2 and third child in elementary, run my own business and did I mention get ready for the move?  The last thing I needed to happen, was exactly what happened because we didn’t trust our move to experts.

Mr. AtoZ tried to locate a moving company we could afford and that would move us when we wanted to move.   We thought we found one but it took hours of online searches and telephone calls.  We filled out forms over and over again.  And, the day of the big pack us up and move they didn’t show up.  Now, I have to handle the children and the packing.   I never want to do that again.   Not only is working with a moving company hard work, and moving your children to a new home, but finding the right moving company is obviously the biggest challenge.

Cue Unpakt.com, a price comparison site for moving services, where you can find reputable moving companies in several cities including Houston, compare prices and reviews, and book online. Instantly!

Receive 5% instant cash back on your next move! Enter promo code: SPRING5 on Unpakt.com when booking and save. Must book by 6/30/13.

If only I knew then what I know now about moving with children.   Unpakt.com not only helps with the process of finding a mover but it also offers up helpful advice like this list of 10 tips to make the move with children a whole lot easier.

1.       Contact the new school prior to moving – Make sure all paperwork for your child, such as immunization forms, have been completed and provided to the school. Additionally, consider asking for a tour of the school with the child’s new teacher to help your child get acclimated.

2.       Change your address before you move – It will take some time for all of your mail to be sent to your new address. Making the change ahead of time will ensure you receive your mail after you move.

3       Book your move early – Hiring a moving company will make your move quicker and more efficient. For help, consider Unpakt to help you make the transition. You can worry about the children and let your movers worry about the rest.

 4.       Subscribe to/pick up the town paper – Local papers carry great information about recreational activities for children as well as family events in town. Pick out some fun things to do and sign up for to get your child excited about moving to a new town. This will also allow them to meet other children in the neighborhood.

 5.       Don’t pack important papers and documents into random boxes – Keep documents such as birth certificates, closing papers, credit card information, etc. on hand so you can easily access them at all times, particularly if any documents must be provided to your child’s school district for enrollment.

 6.       Pack up your child’s favorite belongings in one box ­– Keep this box with you for your child to open as soon as you move in. This will help to create a familiar place for your child in the new home.

 7.       Pick up some fun stickers and let the kids label their boxes – Involving your children in fun ways will help them associate moving with fun. Additionally, when the boxes head to the new house, they will be able to get excited about finding the ones that belong to them.

 8.       Pack with your child in mind – Moving takes time so be sure to pack at least two days worth of necessary items you will need for your children in a separate box, eliminating the hassle of digging through numerous boxes to find specific items.

 9.       Keep the kids away from the moving site – With all of the commotion on moving day, it can be dangerous for your children to be running around in the middle of it all. To keep your children safe and to help you focus on your move, set up a play date with other children in the neighborhood or hire a babysitter / ask a family member or close friend to take your children to their favorite places in town, like the park, a toy store, a do-it-yourself or studio and the movies.

 10.       Unpack your child’s room first – Moving is exhausting for everyone, but organizing your child’s belongings first will help to keep them calm while you unpack the remainder of the house.

What advice do you have for making a move with children easier?

 

 

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Adjective Bulletin Board and Language Arts Ideas for Spring and Easter

language art activities

c 2013 Angela LaFon

Language Arts Descriptive Words Lesson Plans for Spring

Teachers know that many students have some common adjectives that they rely on heavily. Words like “big,” “pretty,” and “fun” permeate many student’s writing. These language arts activities work to expand vocabulary and improve writing skills while creating a big, pretty and fun bulletin board. Make that a giant, eye-catching and enjoyable bulletin board! These lesson plan ideas can really be personalized for 2nd through 6th grade.

  • For each of these spring and Easter activities and bulletin boards there are three options.
    Each student could be given one word and asked to find several synonyms.
  • Each student could be asked to find one alternative for each word.
  • Students could work in small groups to find many adjectives that could be better descriptive words.
  • To reinforce the vocabulary building and create a bulletin board for spring, students will create a model to display what they’ve learned.

Now you can build your boards with Easy Easter Language Arts Bulletin Board, Blooming Spring Language Arts Bulletin Board or Bird’s Nest Spring Bulletin Board.   

Continue reading Adjective Bulletin Board Ideas for Spring and Easter

 


Teach Your Child to Read Online

The power of the ‘PIN’ code on your television

television remote control

No matter how many crafts, games or other fun activities you may plan it can be hard to fight the allure of the television.  After several weeks of reminding the children to do their chores, to pick up after themselves and to stop watching so much television I had an idea.  Why not use the pin code?  Thinking it over, I couldn’t see a “downside” and so the pin code was set on many of their favorite channels, like Disney and Nickelodeon.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  There are plenty of shows on television that I don’t mind the girls watching.  I also have nothing against Nickelodeon or Disney, and often enjoy a show or two with the girls, but what I did object to was sneaking up in the morning to turn the television on first thing, attempting to do homework while watching television and being too busy watching it to pick up their toys and complete other chores and tasks like brushing teeth before bedtime.

It’s been two weeks now that I’ve discovered the power of the pin code and I plan to continue to weild the mighty remote control selectively.

Here’s a few things I’ve noticed:

Parenting place: In the news hot saucing, deadbeat dad, depression and death

thumbs downthumbs up

I admit, I make my share of parenting mistakes.  I sometimes question my own judgment and parenting decisions and yes, even anguish over did I do the right things, say the right thing  or act the right way.   Don’t all parents?   Well, maybe not all as this week’s round up in the news doesn’t have a whole lot of good news about parenting to share.

To hot sauce or not to hot sauce, that is the question

Is hot sauce the new “I’ll wash your mouth out with soap?”  It is for some parents, like “Survivor” and former child star from ‘The Facts of Life” Lisa Whelchel is an advocate for hotsaucing,  talking about using hot sauce as a method of discipline in her book “Creative Correction: Extraordinary Ideas for Everyday Discipline.”   However, this Utah mom allegedly took hot saucing one step further, pouring it into her child’s eyes as a method of discipline.   According to the ABC News report “This is not discipline that any child should have to go through,” West Valley Police Sgt. Jason Hauer said. “It’s definitely abuse.”  However grandma says that it’s part of an on-going custody disagreement and an effort to discredit this parent. Investigators can find no sign of a custody battle.

Would you hot sauce? 

Xanax ‘helps me be a better mom’  

From this CNN article,  Depression and anxiety live everywhere. One in every 10 Americans reports being depressed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the U.S.”

“Depression…can have serious biological, psychological, behavioral, and social consequences, especially on children who rely on a parent for caregiving, support, and nurturance,” according to “Depression in Parents, Parenting and Children,” published in 2009 by the National Research Council.

One mom admits to using anti-depressants, only to decide to stop and try to find other ways of controlling her depression.  Her new drug of choice has been five minutes in the laundry room.  (I know I have taken a time out on more than one occassion).  I admire these parents that were able to share so openly their desire and techniques for dealing with depression.  It take a lot of courage, because parenting skills and your coping mechanisms easily come under attack.

Related content:  Seven stress management tips for parents

What helps you be a better mom or dad?

 

No. 1 deadbeat parent pleads guilty to owing $1.2 million Continue Reading …

Family and faith: Lenten activities for the family

lenten activities

It can be hard to keep up with all the important aspect of Lent.  Families get busy and while we start of with the best of intentions at the beginning of Lent, we may be, by the end losing “faith” in our ability to participate in  reconciliation, abstinence, and charity.  Lent is 40 days long, and these 15 activities to do together as a family will not only make the time fly by but will strengthen your family and family bonds.

  • Begin with a jar with friends and family’s names.  Pull a name each day and say a prayer.
  • Cook together.  Here’s a recipe for Cheesy Rotini Pasta or Garden Primavera Pasta.  (If it has pasta I’m pretty sure my children will eat it.)
  • Create an offering jar.  Each day change goes into the jar and each Sunday one of the children takes a turn placing it in the offering.
  • Leave the Bible on the coffee table, or other highly noticeable spot to remember to do Lenten readings. Let each family take a turn each day.
  • Turn it off. One evening declare it a electronic free night.  See what your family can find to do without the distractions of television, iPads, PC’s, mp3 players and cell phones.
  • Choose one extra service during Lent to perform, some ideas include extra offerings on Sunday mass, working in a soup kitchen, leaving an extra special tip when dining out, or cutting the grass for an elderly neighbor.

Continue reading Faith and families: Lenten activities

 

Free Christmas Family Fun

As we flip the calendar over to December, it’s time to start enjoying some family fun activities.  Unlike a lot of Christmas traditions, these are all free.  Don’t let the busyness of the Christmas season rob your family of some quality family fun time.  Try these 7 Free Family Fun Activities for the Christmas season.

Planning for college: Financial aid and private student loans

During this time of the year many seniors are wondering which college they will apply to and which they will attend.  However, as they complete their applications, parents are wondering “How will we pay for college?”   Some families have set saved, but rarely is it enough to cover all four years of room and board, books and tuition.  Other families hope for scholarships, whether they are academic, athletic or extracurricular activity related doesn’t really matter.  Still other families hope for the best when it comes to financial aid including state funded assistance and student loans.  But it is becoming even rarer that a college student (and their family) encounters a financial aid package that is complete.   With these financial gaps and need, many students and their parents turn to places like studentloan.com private student loans for information and services on loan services available to college students and their parents.

As the thoughts turn towards how are you going to pay for college, the first place to start is to complete your FAFSA application.  The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)  is a rather detailed form which every student desiring any type of financial aid must complete.  It determines what federal aid is available and how much as well as helps in determining other financial factors such as state, local and scholarship financial aid.

After all the pieces to the financial aid “pie” is put together studentloan.com private student loans can be looked at since you will know how much aid you have available to you, and how much you will still need.  Not only will you know how much you need but you can also find out which are the private student loan choices available to you with all the facts such as repayment options, interest rates and information on those instances that require a co-signer on your loan.

It is a complicated process.  Your financial aid package for your college education takes a great deal of attention to detail, information, and determination to find the best possible financial options for your continued education.

Tips for getting your child to try new foods

As the holiday approaches your children may be introduced to some new foods.  They probably won’t eat them either!  But there are a few things you can do to make it a little easier on you and everyone at the dinner table as you use these tips to teach your child, “Try it, You may like it!”

 

It doesn’t matter if they are a toddler or teen, getting children to try new foods can be difficult. Here are few tips to make “try it — you will like it” a lot more fun than it was in “Green Eggs and Ham”!

Don’t baby them with baby food. Your child will probably show a distinct preference for certain flavors or tastes from a very young age. Instead of “babying” them with the things you know they love, be sure to introduce new flavors and combinations.

Drop the drinks. Cut back on the milks and juices, even if they are the ones that includes vegetables in them, during the day and in between meals. Not only is it bad for their teeth, but it also fills their stomach, often leaving them with no desire to eat the food in front of them.

Continue reading Try it You may like it!

Cell and smartphone safety tips for children

More and more children are using cell phones. Our lives are busy and it’s a convenient way of communicating. For some families, the parents are divorced and it is much easier for a parent to call a child directly using a cell phone instead of having to go “through” the other parent. For still others, it is to help adapt to rapidly changing schedules for school, work, and activities. What can you do to keep your child safe with their smartphone and cell phone use?

Know the lingo. Text talk is everywhere from IM’s to cell phones. It is possibly a more popular method of communicating that talking because it’s short and to the point. But text talk also means lots of shortcuts, ones that parents should know. There are a number of online sites that can give a list of the lingo so you can know what your child is texting about, “kwim?”

Continue reading “Cell and smartphone safety tips for children 

How to tell if your child is unhappy at school

Is your child unhappy at school? Tips for finding out

Do you ever wonder if there is more to your child’s typical responses to “how was your day?”  Are they unhappy at school?  Is there a better way for you to talk to them to find out what they are really thinking?

Excerpt . . .Did you just get your report card and found out that John or Jill didn’t “go up the hill” with their grades? Maybe you recently had a parent-teacher conference that revealed information that was “news” to you. How can you find out if your child really is happy at school long before the big announcement is made?

Continue reading Is your child unhappy at school? Tips for finding out