Starting a new school year can make parents and kids anxious, especially when it comes to making friends at school. Here are some helpful tips for making new friends at school to encourage a positive experience for your child this year.
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Do you know the song “We’re Going to be friends” by Jack Hartman? It’s perfect for a the first Days of school. Take a peek at this video. The lyrics are quite adorable to learn along with your child and perhaps a few new friends.
“I can tell that we are going to be friends”.
Tips for Making Friends at School
Those are the words I want to hear about my daughter as she comes home from school this first week of school. Putting all things aside, I really worry about my children and the friends that they make at school. You want them to be happy, cared for and feel safe for the next 180 days in their classroom at their school.
This next week as parents it’s so hard to let them go, especially those of you who are enrolling your children into Kindergarten and Preschool this year. And you might be tempting this first week so see what they are doing and question why they are doing tasks that seem so simple.
I want to tell you as a classroom teacher for 10 years in some very difficult settings you spend the first week or so spending a lot of time building friendship and community in the classroom. Using familiar tasks where everyone feels confident helps create a safe setting for them to form those relationships.
How can you support at home?
Have your child try to remember just 1 child’s name from school that day. Write it down and then the next day encourage them to tell them hello when they go to school the next day. Then ask then to try and remember another child’s name to tell you when they come home. You’re building friendships and teaching your child to value of others as you help your child make friends in the classroom.
{TIP: I just snap a photo with my phone of the class list the teacher has up on the wall so I know too}
Here are a few books that I keep on the bookshelves to read before school starts and even after school starts. They are a great way to talk about the feelings we have at the beginning on school and also to discuss friendships we build.
Books About Friendship for Back to School
Make a Friendship Book
Create a fun book at home with your child about the things they like to do at school with friends. It’s a good way to also discuss when it’s the right time to chat with a friend and when it’s time to be paying attention to the teacher and completing tasks.
We’re going to use images of Curious George to inspire ways to be friends at school with others. ” With my school friends I can…….” What will your child add to the sentence?
Printable images of Curious George from pbskids.org
Wishing you and your child the best of friends this school year!
For more resources for making friends
Thanks for explanation about the main goal for the first week from the teacher's point of view. I often wondered why they start so "slow". I wish classes were not completely "recomposed" every year. I believe this would help kids grow as a team and not just as a temporary collection that will fall apart next year yet again.
Very useful — my daughter loves school, but social skills aren't her strong point. I like the idea of remembering one friend's name to share. Thanks for the pointers!
What great tips!! I am definitely going to try some this year.