HELP: Starting school without knowing any other kids or mums

[plentysunshine]

I need some experienced mum to give me advice.

My son is starting Reception in Sep, he is going to a village school 5 minute drive from home. We don't know anyone in the village, he hasn't been to their preschool either.

I felt like an alien in today's parents meeting, and my son was nervous and a bit scared. How can I help him and myself to overcome this new start alien period?

Any advice on how to get to know other mums,especially they all seem know each other already?

Please don't worry. I am sure yr DS will be fine. Kids make friends quickly at that age and new friends will quickly be accepted.

Are you dropping off and picking up yourself? If so that will help you to make new friends too (if you want to).

I guess all the other mums know each other because they live in the village?

Why not get a few contact numbers (through school maybe?) and see if anyone fancies a summer meet-up in the park?

And once term starts, how about a get-together in the local pub for the mums? It will be a great way to feel more involved.

Also I would consider joining the PTA or at least helping at school events.

HTH

Ask school for PTA mums numbers/emails and explain you don't know anyone and would like to meet up with a couple of mums and their kids before term starts in the autumn.
We did that when we moved back to the UK and it made the first days at the school gate much easier for me and DD.

Yes, it is a good plan to try and make some connections before the holidays. When my dd started school we had moved to Australia weeks earlier and we knew nobody at all. I was worried as she is really shy and all of the other children in the class had been coming in for an afternoon a week for a term. But it was fine. She setttled in straight away.

As for you, strike while the iron is hot I say. Use the fact that you are new to your advantage. Ask questions to get to talk to people. i asked about five different people about swimming lessons Ask them to your house etc. Our class has a phone number list, organised by the parents. Somebody puts a list in the classroom and then everybody who wants to adds their contact details and then it gets copied and distributed. I love it as it takes the awkwardness out of those initial contacts. It's sort of like dating, making new friends.

You really have to push yourself to do it at the start I think. Really I would be saying to people that you would love to go to the park or whatever in the holidays so that your ds can make some new friends.

Does the village have a park? If it does then if you head to the park on a sunny day in the school holidays, you will almost certainly bump into families from the village.

Thanks for all the replies. I will take your advice.

Now I understand how scary this is, for both me and my DS.