kodokan

My 14 yr old's history is a mishmash - I think he's done Egyptians and Greeks 3 or 4 times across the 3 countries he's been schooled in; last year in 8th grade he definitely did WWII as I remember a long and convoluted timeline homework project; this year in 9th grade he's done the Ancient Western World again for the first semester, and will be doing 20th C stuff for the next one. At some point, he must have done something on US government structure, as he knew about legislative, judiciary, executive one time when it came up in conversation.

Oh, hang on... Dim memory of him doing the Revolutionary War a couple of years ago, and having to go through contemporary accounts and then argue whether the Boston Massacre shootings were justified (he took the British side, naturally).

British history has come from watching Horrible Histories, and listening to This Sceptred Isle.

My 10 yr old has done local AZ stuff - Pueblo Indians and so on - and a gallop through government to tie in with a field trip they took to some govt building (State assembly..? *vague* I do remember it was the day that our mad Governer was deciding whether companies should be able to refuse service to gay people, and my daughter delightedly reported how uncomfortable the teachers were having to explain that )

Your kids have presumably already got the transferable skills down - ability to research, identify valid sources, distil relevant information, extrapolate 'what if', etc. It doesn't really matter if they learned those from US or UK history. As long as they know the basics in a storytelling fashion - the 13 Colonies, Revolutionary War, Wasihington, Civil War, Lincoln, slavery,etc, then they'll know as much as a 12 year old here. They only get into the nuanced stuff in high school.

Pulaski

All I said was that I wouldn't have done it (moved with children of the age of yours), and that you were making it difficult for your children. I am glad that your daughter is on track, but everything you say, every time the subject comes up, tacitly acknowledges that the move created additional challenges to be overcome. My view, then and now, is that moving a 14-17 year old internationally is unfair and should generally be avoided if at all possible.

To the OP, at the ages of 12-13 they will probably transition fairly easily, though personally I'd generally try to avoid moving after my daughter reaches her tenth birthday. A couple of years older and it could be much more challenging.

kodokan

'World History and Geography' here was most Greeks and Romans, and a skip through Comparative World Religions (which was apparently a hoot for my son, as in his deeply religious, mostly Mormon class, it was news to a few that there even WERE any other religions than 'Christian' and 'Muslim AKA Terrorist').

The SS teacher has already outlined that the 20th C next semester largely consists of the world wars, so I'm expecting heavy mentions of when Murica saved Europe, x2, and probably not a lot of talk about the internment of the Japanese.

petitefrancaise

Yep, you're right. She's having to use her college essays to explain why the GPA isn't as high as it could be. However, she is adamant that in spite of this it was the right decision to move here from France. So far UT Austin have admitted her to CS as a Turing scholar even though she wasn't in the top 7% of her year due to the GPA thing. Please note that the policy for getting credit for work done outside of the school district varies from district to district. Had we sent her to the high school in the other direction, this wouldn't have been a problem. But they didn't have the IB course.

My then 14 year old took to US high school like a duck to water. He's flying academically and socially thanks in part to the rigours of the french education system.

kodokan

Sometimes the international mobility works to their advantage. My 14 yr old won a place during the summer in a highly selective pre-college program run by our state uni's Honors college, which included an application essay about 'a time when you got excited about learning something'. He wrote his about moving to his French-speaking Swiss school, and gradually realizing he could understand the lessons, and then one day nailing giving a presentation to his classmates. Must make a nice change for the admissions people from reading about being captain of the football team, or head of the debating Soc.

Some kids honestly thrive on change; some at least genuinely don't mind it. I'd say my kids are somewhere between the two; for them normal IS constantly moving (my son's on his 8th school, across 3 countries). We're probably facing another relocation in 2015 (within the US) and the kids are moderately pleased and excited about it, as apparently they've inherited our 3-year gypsy itch. The nice thing about the earlier Swiss move is that it set the changing schools benchmark SUPER low - my son remarks now, about going to any new place, 'but they'll all speak English - how hard can it be? *shrug*'

I've also noticed (and others comment on it regularly) that our kids are much closer in their relationship than almost any other kids I know, despite them being opposite genders and 4 years apart. I think that stems almost exclusively from being thrown together emotionally and practically in new places, and having shared experiences unlike most other kids they know.

So there are a lot of upsides too, to this childhood moving lark.

Pulaski

I have no doubt, leaving France is always the right decision.

Sally Redux

Interesting about the closeness of the siblings comment. Mine are 3 years apart but they are not especially close, in fact I think because they reacted differently to the move they do not have a lot in common (my daughter wholeheartedly embraced the Calabasas/designer label/celebrity thing).

kodokan

Ah, perhaps it's more then because it was a foreign language environment. My son was more of an imaginative role play rather than a football sort of boy, and for a long time his 4 yr old sister was a better choice of playmate than his new 8 year old friends.

Redwing

I faced the same kinds of concern, as the OP, from the moaning Minnies of my family before we moved. However, all 3 of my elder ones quickly fitted in. My eldest daughter made friends with one girl right away, and they still stay in touch 36 years later. I wish the OP all the best with the move.

Mr Weeze

I moved (lots) as a kid and the last move was just before I turned 12, from Delaware back to Newcastle. That was the toughest, but was still OK - made friends again, etc. It really depends on the nature of your kids, in my opinion. If they are more outgoing then it would be more likely to be fine.

Sally Redux

Very true. If outgoing and sporty they will have less of an issue.

Bnet36

I figured that would be the case

Bnet36

Same stuff my 9 year old has been covering in 4th grade including the visit to the governors house

tipex

This is now our 3rd year living here, we live around 30 miles from Orlando.
My daughter was 12 when we moved and it was the best thing we have done.
Schools are Slightly different here imo but only in subjects like history, my daughter is in a nursing academy. They focus on careers here which I think is great.
Before we got here, USA, we applied to every charter school on the advice of a few friends we already new here and they said that they were better schools. A couple of days before we got here a charter school rang and said there was a place for her, as it tuns out it was a really good school and she was accepted straight away by the other kids just because she had a British accent. I always ask her do you miss England and she says no! I have noticed a difference in her grades and they are going up, she has a great social life and really good friends. Back in the UK we came from just outside London and her school was pretty good and then in the last couple of years her grades went down a lot, we got to the bottom of this and found on her table of 6, 4 couldn't speak proper English and that the teacher spent more time with these kids. we moved her in the class but didn't see a real change as now. Anyway, it is scary for them, do your research and put them in a school even if it's just for friends. I have friends and there children were home schooled and the kids are great but have no social skills and hang of there mums apron strings, they are 15 an 13. We used great schools and yes, it sort of works but I find if you move to a nicer area you get better schools. That's my opinion anyway.
Hope this helps

Suspended

Thank you all for your input - much appreciated!