Kids in Classes Without Friends

This may be the best thing to help her with her shyness :) My son has been in the same class with his best friends for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. This year his teacher said that she is going to intentionally separate the group. Not because they are disruptive, but because she thinks it's important socially for them to make new friends every year. She will do GREAT!

Try not to amplify her anxiety by adding your own...just encourage her, and when she finds there's a kid your daughter thinks is neat, let her invite her (or him) for dinner or a movie night, or a trip to the park. New friends are everywhere!

Yes, me. I was extremely shy and a nervous little thing at that age. I remember going into the first grade not knowing anyone( apparently all of the friends I made were in the other class). The first couple days were a little hard for me, but I met some very good friends in that class. We are still friends today! I went to a very small school, k-12, and we all grew up together. I think that it helps us shy ones to come out of our shells a little when we have to make new friends again. She will do fine, I did! :)

Relax! I agree w/ Yolanda-don't put your fear on her!
I started new schools so many times it was the only thing normal to me:
Kindergarten, 2nd grade, 4th grade, 8th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade.
FUN TIMES!!! I was/am very shy.
Until I got to 8th grade it was not a problem-though until then I was in small private schools.
Kids make friends pretty easy.
Do you take your DD to the park? My DD (5) makes a new friend almost every time we go to the park...
It will be ok.
Just don't let on that there is anything to be worried about. ;)

Hi there! This was my concern last year. Much like your daughter she moved from K to 1st grade with only one friend and he wasn't a "true" friend. The 1st week I always asked her who she played with on the playground etc. Her answer? The girls from her old K class. It made me sad to think about it sometimes. Then she started talking about so and so from the bus, so and so from her morning program. Within a month she had some new friends and everything worked out great. That time came again for us this year and only one girl from her 1st grade class is in her 2nd grade class again. This year I know she will be o.k.!!

She will adjust.
This is how schools are.
They do not, keep all the friends in the same classes year after year, so that all the kids in each grade level, will get to know each other and other kids... and then once in middle school, they will look out for each other and help each other.... because they have known each other, per being in classes with them.
There is a reason for it. That is the reason, that my Daughter's school/Teachers have explained.

One year, in 1st grade, my daughter did not have ANY friends in her class. Plus, that class was full of obnoxious kids. My daughter, was not bothered by it at all. She even told me... she didn't care because she does her own thing and plays with her friends at recess. She did not want to make friends, with those obnoxious kids, anyway. She was totally, self-reliant about it. She enjoyed her class and the year, nonetheless.

My Daughter entered 1st Grade at 5 years old, and then turned 6 in 1st grade.

My Daughter, was Shy too.
She was fine.
Because she is also, self-assured. Shy... does not mean, insecure. Those are 2 different things.

I was proud of my daughter.
She handled it well.

Kids adjust. Even if their friends are not in class with them year after year.
They also make other friends too, and increase their social aptitude. Of which you guide them on it.

Don't worry. She'll do fine. I think a lot of thought goes in to class assignments. There may be a very good reason she was placed with this 1st grade teacher, or apart from her regular set of buddies. I'd just see it as a great opportunity to expand her circle of friends. Smile, be very positive, and happy for her, and tell her the same thing. "What a great opportunity to get to know some of the other nice girls that go to your school." is what I would say. Then get in early to volunteer to get to know her classmates too. Her school will likely still keep all the kids in the same grade together for lunch and recess, so she'll still see her old friends. Encourage her to make playdates with both old and new friends, and join some activities too.

Our son has ADHD and anxiety to begin with, so it was a real bummer to learn that of about 10 boys he was friends with on some level in first grade, none was assigned to his second grade class. There was one class jam-packed with kids he knew, but of course, he didn't get that room. Couldn't believe it.

He was pretty nervous about things at first, but it ended up working out fine. They don't really need to have friends in class; it's more about recess time. Our son just met up with his best friend at recess and lunch.

Ended up being not a big deal at all. They're focused on classwork in class, so it wasn't critical to have friends there. What was important was sharing the same recess.

P.S. You're VERY lucky to find out class assignments now! We don't find out until the Friday before school starts. We have to go to the school at a set time and there's a mad scramble to look at the class assignment boards.

It seems you already know the names of the kids in the class. How about spending the summer getting to know some of them? Pick some she already knows, and invite them over for play-dates.

This will encourage her to broaden her group of friends, also, and not be so dependent on just a few.