dd still so sad her best friend has left reception

[dinny]

she moved schools at half term - she and dd had been together for a year in the nursery bit of school and just love each other - and did tend to exclude others when they played, so now dd is really missing her at school, and is saying no-one will play with her. going to speak to teacher today but will this get better? finding it so hard seeing her lonely she says she plays a game she's made up called Rescue Cat at lunchtime, which involves running round and saving anyone who's been pushed over/fallen over. I can't help thinking it's a way of protecting herself from not having anyone to play with [sob] [sob]

or am I being too sensitive on het behalf???

ps a friend who is lunchtime supervisor says dd is one of the more confident ones and was suprised when I said she was feeling sad at school - could she be responding to me in a way she thinks I 'want'?? tia, dinny

My DD often tells me that she has no-one to play with at school, I hate to think of her wandering around feeling sad and lonely.
I work in the school, so I am able to reward children that look out for their classmates (my DD) by giving them stickers. There are a couple of loners so this goes for others too not just my DD.
I wonder if your DD's teacher could offer something similar in her class?

I never let my DD know it bothers me, when she says she had nobody to play with I tell her she should ask people if she can join in with their game. If she knew I was concerned by it, she would play on it even more, but she is older than your DD.

dd lost her best friend in reception - they moved to Canada. She was very down about it and still mentions her friend from time to time (she's now 12!).

I made more of an effort to have other class mates round after school which made me feel I was doing something to help.

Now the school has a "buddy bench" in the playground - a brightly painted picnic table where anyone feeling lonely can sit. And it works - other children seeing someone sitting on the bench will go and talk/invite them to join their game.

DD when in reception often used to tell me that noone would play with her and she was miserable. But other mums were telling me that their kids were playing with DD. So then I'd say to DD, "but x says she played with you". And DD would laugh and say yeah. I think she liked the attention of me getting worried!

asked the classroom assistant this morning to keep eye on who she's with - she (CA) said T never plays alone as they too have a buddy system whereby they intervene and anyone playing alone joins a group.
but that she tends to flit from group to group anyway...

sure her being at school is raking up my long-forgotten insecurities!