Moms Who've Moved While Homeschooling---NEED your wisdom here!!

[UnPrairieMuffin]

My husband, four kids, two cats, and boat load of furniture are moving to Texas in nearly two weeks. Kind of daunting and exciting all in the same moment. In the midst of all of my boxes and trying to pack, I figured that some of ya'll here might be able to give me some good tips. I'd appreciate it! How do you home school in a sea of boxes? What about keeping your books straight?

Thanks,
Erin

[Elaine]

We moved from NJ to NC in March 2006 and I can tell you that it was sooo much fun.:rolleyes:

Seriously, I just reminded myself that insanity was not an option and gave up any lofty ideas of homeschoolong while moving down the eastern seaboard. You will get back into the swing of things in no time.:)

I have a packing system- I keep a legal pad close at hand and I write down everything that goes into the box. I then number the boxes and the list number corresponds to the box. For example:
1. Kitchen utensils, pot holders, extra dish towels.
2. Large kitchen pots and pans, trivets
3. Homeschool- John Grammar, spelling.


etc...

This makes it extremely easy to unpack because you know exactly where things are and you don't waste time unpacking a fondue pot when what you really need is the coffee pot. ;)

HTH and best of luck to you!

P.S. Here are some handy packing tips.:p
http://laneygardner.blogspot.com/2006/02/packing-lessons.html

[Quiver0f10]

We have moved too many times in 7 years LOL and twice that was across states. I packed everything that was non-essential. We did bare bones school and packed the rest. Label boxes with what room they are to go in once you arrive. It also wont hurt to take a week or two off from school to get settled. Have fun!

[chai]

We moved this fall. I highly recommend taking the entire time off from school. There is so much to keep you busy and plenty of growth opportunities for the kids. My dd's schooling was all about the economics of the housing market; learning to organize and pack; and clean.

In one box, I put the essential homeschooling books that we used everyday. In the next, I put supplemental books that I wanted to have available. The next one held books that I wanted to use to plan or use in the next six months. Everything else made it into the "later" box. (I still haven't unpacked that one, six months after the move.)

[Sue in TX]

Moving isn't a lot of fun, but there are ways to make it easier on yourself...

I tried to label each box so that it was easier to unpack and stay somewhat organized.
I took time off school but I did take the kids to the library at least once a week for books- we even tried to find some books about Texas before we moved here.
I found a home school group in our new community before we even arrived.

Welcome to Texas- I hope you & your family like it. For me, it has been a big adjustment.

Susan

[j.griff]

Here's a link to my post about moving, there were LOTS of helpful ideas in that thread. HTH
http://www.welltrainedmind.com//forums/showthread.php?t=2946&highlight=moving+tips

[Jennifer in MI]

We moved last fall. We moved one mile from our previous house to be in a better location and to have a yard!

TAKE TIME OFF!!!! Seriously, I cannot stress that enough! I was fortunate enough to have enough notice that we were moving that I didn't need to take much time off before the move. I could homeschool and then pack a few boxes in the afternoon.

But, after the move, I really needed the time to unpack and not have to worry about school in the process. My dh and I spent a week of non-stop unpacking and got it ALL done. So, we took off only about 1 1/2 weeks total. (But, then again, we only moved across town!)

Good luck with your move!!!

[nukeswife]

Well I move way too much. My dh is in the Navy and we move about every 2 years now, in the beginning it was more often. We've been married 10.5 years and have moved 8 times.

I always have a moving company (the Navy assigns one so I don't get to decide who) but I always make up labels of different colors so that I know immeadiately which room the box belongs in.

We just moved this past Nov from FL to VA. We took off the 2 weeks before and the 2 weeks after the move. I also took much stuff with us in a Uhaul as some things I just didn't want to send with the company because we've had our stuff go missing for a few weeks in the past. I made sure I took all our school stuff, a few pots and pans, enough dishes for us for 1 meal (I washed them a lot before we were fully unpacked :eek:)

My biggest tip: Enjoy the adventure of it. If I didn't learn to relax and enjoy the adventure I would be bald by now :D