One of the main worries parents have when considering moving abroad, is how will the children cope with the move, especially if they’re not too keen on the move in the first place. When I discovered “Me and My Big Move” on Instagram, I immediately though it was a good idea and could have used something like that when I had a very reluctant little girl refusing to move to France!
Marloes tells us more about their product, and the story behind it.
Me and My Big Move is a fun activity book that empowers children for their Big Move
A Big Move is exciting and for many children a step into the unknown. A new place, new school, new friends, new food, new surroundings, and possibly a new language? Every child reacts different to change. Experts state that is important to prepare your children and involve them in the process.
Me and My Big Move is designed just for that! To help prepare your kids and build a positive mindset for the move. The book covers every phase of the relocation process, from preparing children before they leave their current home, to exploring their new place and eventually journaling their trips and visits after they have settled in their new place.
Doing the fun and educational activities in this book will help create a positive mindset, build resilience, and let children feel more in control off their process of relocating. And it gives parents a tool to communicate about change.
How does it look?
The colorful book has 100 pages of fill in activities, over 250 stickers to use in the whole book, 3 postcards and a back pocket to store your memories!
For more information have a look at the website: https://www.meandmybigmove.com/workbook
The story behind the book
How did the book come to be?
It all started when Marloes Huijsmans, visual consultant and mom of 2 kids, experienced the impact of a life changing event on her child. “When my daughter was going to a new school, she experienced some anxiety, and I didn’t really know how to talk to her about it. It was then that I discovered the power of drawing and playing together to help her regulate her emotions and ultimately feel more in control.”
Moving to Taiwan
So, when we, as a family, decided to move from the Netherlands to Taiwan, I wanted to take this approach from the beginning, and prepare my children for this event. I searched for books about moving, collected all the good ideas that other families gave to me and then started to create templates and games which where applicable at that stage of the move.
Creating the workbook
I noticed again that these visual templates and fun games helped the conversation with my children and were a fun way for them to “work on the move” as well. It is like journaling in a visual way and learning through play. I shared the idea of a special big move workbook with Lonneke, Dutch mom of 2, who moved to Seattle, and we started creating and testing it with our friends. We were overwhelmed with interest from parents, so we decided to give every child and parent the opportunity to stay connected to their child through life changing events and to make a memorable workbook together.
A creative platform
Now, a few years later, we are proud owners of a platform where we share lots of free activities, mini workbooks and downloads that help children in the many challenges of a life abroad. For example: learning a new language. For this specific topic we joined forces with Flor Bréton-Garcia and created a fun and educational tool for children to have fun in learning a new language. To be open, learn and connect with the world.
We continue to love our journey of creating these amazing workbooks together with teachers, psychologists, and experienced moms. We are passionate about providing people with simple techniques and tools to help children to build resilience and settle in smoothly into their new environment. As visual experts we know that drawing makes the conversation with children much more effective than only talking. And that journaling helps to unwind and calm the mind. We hope these books can make a huge difference for your child as it did for us!
Visit our platform or follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/meandmybigmove
As a fellow mum who has travelled and moved abroad with my young children, as well as a fellow entrepreneur, I love absolutely everyting about this story! I wish Marloes and her team every success with their “Me and My Big Move” venture! They also share some great advice on their Instagram page , and have a great range of ressources available on their website, so make sure to check them out on their different platforms.
I would love to hear your thoughts and whether you have used Me and my Big Move ‘s ressources for your children prior to your move.
If you have a product or offer services that assist families moving abroad, and would like to submit a post for the blog, let me know and get in touch today with us to discuss this further.
Until then, have a great day and see you soon!
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