I do before and after school midning.
i currently have a 9 year old and 2 5/6 year olds (yar 1)
One of the year 1 children is from a single parents family and she is very clingy - understandably so - to the point where everything she does in my house she wants me to be with her whole time. Now my downstairs is a livign rooma nd dining room seperated by big double doors. The Doors are always open and sometimes older mindee will be in the living room part playing with lego for example and the younger boy will perhaps be between the 2 rooms with a railway track. The girl is always always at the table drawing. She won't do anything else, she wants to draw, always flowers or fairies for her mum.
if I move at all, to get down on floor to play with trains et/lego etc she starts crying in a - trying to think of right word - not in a really upset way, just the way that some chidlren do when they feel thigns aren't going their own way, and her bottom lip starts to tremble.
I have tried saying "oh look I am just playing with x playing trains, why don't you come down and join us"
We also get intreuppted (for want of a better word0 by the older child who can spend hours explaining a simple thing to me, and if I ask him to do something or explain how somehting works he stands there saying "I don't understand what you mean", and part of me feels that this is his way of trying to get my attention away from this little girl
Any suggestions on how to help her feel more able to let me leave her side?