Moving With Kids Before the School Year Starts in San Antonio

Summer is the season most families choose for a move, and it’s easy to see why, since nobody wants to pull a child out of a classroom halfway through the year. The trouble is that summer in San Antonio runs straight into the first day of school, and a move that felt comfortably far off in June can suddenly be sharing a calendar with new backpacks, school supply lists, and a brand new bus stop. At Veteran’s Best Movers we put this guide together for parents who want the house settled and the kids ready before that first school morning arrives.

Get the school paperwork moving first

The part of a back to school move that tends to cause the most last minute worry isn’t the furniture at all, but the enrollment. San Antonio and the towns around it are served by a number of different school districts, and it isn’t always obvious from a neighborhood’s name which one it belongs to, so the first step is to confirm which district and which campus serve your new address. Most districts have a school locator or attendance zone lookup on their own website, and a phone call to the district’s enrollment office will answer whatever the website doesn’t.

While you have them on the phone, ask what documents they will want to see when you register, and ask whether you can begin the process before you have moved in. Then reach out to your child’s current school and request their records, since schools often take a little while to send them along, and it’s much easier to sort out a missing form in July than on the first morning of class.

Talk about the move early and honestly

Children often handle a move better when they hear about it from you early on, rather than piecing it together from boxes appearing in the hallway. Younger kids do best with short, simple explanations of what is going to happen and when, while older kids and teenagers tend to want the full picture, including the parts they are unhappy about.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests letting children express their feelings and acknowledging their sadness, while also pointing out the good things waiting at the new place, and it helps to give both of those their due, because a child who is told that everything will be wonderful, while they are quietly grieving the friend down the street, often ends up feeling unheard, and that feeling can follow them into the new school.

Give your kids real choices

Much of what happens during a move is out of a child’s hands, which is exactly why it helps to give them a few decisions that truly belong to them. The AAP recommends letting children take part in choices like the color of their new room, and the same idea works for deciding where the bed goes, which toys travel in the car with them, or what goes on the walls first.

Packing can be part of this as well. A younger child can fill a box with their favorite stuffed animals and decorate the outside of it, and an older child can take charge of packing their own room, as long as you check it before it is taped shut.

Visit the new neighborhood before moving day

If the new home is close enough, it’s worth taking the kids for a visit before the move, which is another suggestion the AAP makes. Driving past the new school and stopping at the nearest park can turn a vague and slightly scary idea into a real place they recognize.

It also helps to keep the old neighborhood close for a while. Making plans for your child to call, video chat, or visit with old friends gives them something to look forward to, and it reminds them that moving away doesn’t mean losing the people they care about.

Keep the routine as steady as you can

The weeks around a move are naturally a little chaotic, but children find a lot of comfort in the parts of the day that stay the same. If dinner usually happens at six and bedtime comes after a story, try to keep those habits going through the packing, the moving day, and the first nights in the new house, even if dinner is takeout eaten on a stack of boxes.

As the first day of school gets close, it’s worth easing back toward the school year bedtime a week or two ahead, so the new routine and the new house aren’t both arriving on the same morning.

Plan moving day around the kids

Moving day itself is long, hot, and full of heavy things being carried through doorways, which makes it a hard day for small children to be underfoot. If a grandparent, friend, or sitter can keep younger kids busy for the day, everyone tends to have a calmer time of it, and the kids can arrive once the beds are in place. Older kids often enjoy having a job, such as checking that every box marked with their name made it into their room.

Whatever the plan, pack a bag for each child that rides with you rather than on the truck, with a change of clothes, toothbrushes, any medicine, a favorite toy or blanket, chargers, and snacks. On a summer day in San Antonio, plenty of water belongs in there too, and our post on moving in the Texas heat has more ideas for getting through a hot moving day.

Set up the bedrooms first

When you arrive, it’s tempting to start with the kitchen, but children settle in much faster when their own room is put together on the first night, with the bed made, the nightlight plugged in, and a few familiar things on the shelf. Our furniture assembly service can put the beds, dressers, and desks back together for you, so the kids’ rooms are ready to sleep in that same evening rather than leaning against the wall in pieces.

If you’re short on time before school starts, our professional packing team can take care of the boxes as well, which leaves you free for the enrollment forms and the school supply runs.

Ready to plan a summer move?

If your family is moving before the new school year, we would be glad to help you find a moving day that leaves room for everything else on your list. You can call us at (210) 761‑6595 or request a free quote online. We serve San Antonio and the surrounding towns, and you can read more about our local moving service here.