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We will be moving to Charlotte in a month and I am overwhelmed. I do not know how to even approach this move. What experiences and advice (good and bad) can people pass on to me to help me make this as painless as possible.
I would also like to try and ease the transition for our 2.5 yr old dd. Does anyone have any recommendations for the following things?
We will be moving to Charlotte in a month and I am overwhelmed. I do not know how to even approach this move. What experiences and advice (good and bad) can people pass on to me to help me make this as painless as possible.
I would also like to try and ease the transition for our 2.5 yr old dd. Does anyone have any recommendations for the following things?
Dance class
Gymnastics
Speech Therapist
Art class
TIA!!!
I'm assuming you have temporary housing lined up? (renting, moving in w/in-laws/relatives, etc) Hopefully you do so mommy and daddy can get their bearings and scope out the area....
I can't help you in any of those categories, but I do know my daughter (who's around the same age) loves "storytime" at our local library. Check it out, its really good for the kids. And it's free to boot!
No housing lined up. We have a lump sum relo package so everything is up to us. When we came to visit a couple of months ago we stayed at the Ballantyne Resort. I am thinking that we could stay there for a couple of weeks if we had to.
What library has story time? We go now and my daughter loves it.
The Library in Indian Trail (I believe on Tuesday mornings..). About 20min from Ballantyne approx (down 485)...my daughter loves it. I think its either 9 or 10am...? If you didn't want to travel, I'd look into libraries in that area and see what their schedules are or if they have anything similar....check them out, it'll give you something positive to do rather than sweating out the move!
Hmm, I know you said in another thread you were looking for a home and are very picky (who isn't? lol). All I can suggest is that you take your time. Don't settle! Scope out and get used to the area. Many people make the mistake of moving somewhere and jumping into something (ie purchasing a house) before they exhausted all options...
Your daughter is very young and will be ok when everything shakes out....again, look at all your options and take your time...
My daughter loves Miss Donna's School of Dancing in Indian Trail. The teachers there are excellent, the priced reasonable, and the kids have fun while learning. Also once you know what area you will be living in call the local school district for speech therapy recommendations. They were most helpful to us when we were looking for a speech therapist. The library storytime is also another excellent idea. My daughter really enjoys going to it. Best of luck in your move! =0)
I can't help with all the classes, my daughters are older and we're in Indian Trail, too far to go when there must me many options in the Ballantyne area where you are looking to settle.
For the speech, check out the NC birth to 3 program North Carolina Early Intervention Services
It is MUCH easier to transition to preschool coming from a birth to 3 program (public school preschool-- if the speech issues are not resolved) than to come in directly to the schools at the preschool level looking for speech services.
This experience was not in NC but CT, however I imagine the paperwork/testing/red tape, etc is similar everywhere. Again, CT experience, but don't let them put you off because of her age, they may try to delay things so that she won't be their "problem" and age out of birth to 3 services, but, as I said get things started now, before she turns 3 and things should be easier later.
For the person who said that was a lot of classes for a 2 yr old, it may sound like a lot, but a lot of 2 yr olds go to all day daycare and have many of these activities during their day while there. The socialization is a good thing, even more so if there are speech issues.
Good luck.
Last edited by joanchris2000; 11-07-2007 at 05:07 AM..
Reason: addition to b-3 info
Thanks for the info. My daughter is in Early Intervention here but will probably not requalify. Her therapist would like her to get a few more months under her belt so that she doesn't backslide.
I know it sounds like a lot...if I told you our schedule you would probably die. We have always done a lot of activities and she seems to love them. I am hoping that starting her in new things right away will help her with the transition. There are a few kids that we hang out with everyday and leaving them is going to be hard on both of us.
Thanks again for the info, it gives me more to research. Somehow, a month to move across country does not seem like enough time.
HI, we moved here (Indian Trail) about 3 months ago. My best advice would be to buy a good local map of Charlotte and whatever county you are picking. The main roads, i.e. RT 74 back up often during the peak driving hours and finding a secondary route has saved my sanity many times.
We are renting right now with the expectation of buying soon. I would suggest you rent also. The area is huge! And there are many areas that are very lovely. For us, it is full of possiblilities. But we need time to research each area fully- houses, schools,work, community.
We also made the move rather quickly (once we decided to come) and getting settled takes time. My 10 yr old was upset about the lack of friends to play with but has now made some and is much happier. (WE knew she would but it is heartbraking to leave behind family and friends). Our 4 yr old has made the move the best out of all of us. But even she had some adjustment trouble.
What areas are you looking into? Your child is still young but please don't make the mistake of buying without looking into the school system in that area. There is some great info on NC schools websites to help you decide.
A local paper is available here called "Charlotte Parent" It's free at every library and most supermarkets. It's full of advertisments from children services. The articles are well written and it is a great resource. Topics covered each month have included "Balancing Act- work-life-family"; Back to school topics; Teens Today, and more
Good luck with your move. Wishing you the best.
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good resources
