Hello, I’m Drake Ellis, and I’m 11 years old.  I enjoy sports and my do Yanni.  He likes to wake me up for school in the morning.  Recently, I’ve started making YouTube videos with my best friend Ben.  My parents are Rick and Tracy Ellis, and they sell a lot of houses.  I wasn’t very happy when my parents told us we were moving a couple years ago.  Actually, I was pretty mad. I mean, I lived next door to my best friend in the only house I’d ever known.  I knew most of the kids in my neighborhood, and it was hard to leave them, but I’m glad my
parents made sure we stayed in the same school.  I love our new house now! After my Mom started her magazine last year, I started thinking it would be cool to write my own section helping kids when they have to move like I did.  I hope these tips help make your move easier for you and your kids.

• Make sure you tell your kids as early as possible about the move.
• Let the kids be involved in picking paint colors and decorating their rooms.
• Show them cool places to visit around the new house.  Walk the neighborhood and introduce them to their new friends.
• Help your child make a scrapbook about their old house with photos of their friends and have everyone sign it.
• Little kids may not understand all of their toys are going with them.  Show them by packing a box of toys and telling them the movers will drive the box to the new house to be unloaded there.
• Remind your kids that not everything will change when they move.  They’ll still have their bed, clothes, and all their things.
• After you move, remind your children it’s okay to be sad, but make sure they know they’ll still get to visit their old friends and neighborhood.  If you move to another state, they can call each other and talk on the phone.
• My mom and dad made sure we stayed busy after the move, and that we had many play dates with the kids from the old neighborhood.  Even after the move, my old neighbor, Ben, is still my best friend!