Preppie Making Friends With Grade 3s - Am I Being Silly?

[Heaven]

I wouldn't worry. I think it's a good thing to be interacting with kids from different age groups, rather than only having friends your own age. If the girl is nice she is probably a good little role model for her too and someone to look up to. Maybe she feels safe with her while she's finding her feet at school? I think it will sort it's self out anyway. She has to spend all of the class time with her own class so it's not that much time with this other girl anyway. I would only worry if the girl started to cause and problems somehow but for now it sounds like it's all working out for both of them

[Cherished]

My DS is not in school so you may wish to take my advice with a grain of salt Seeing it's a new year and the prep's have just started school maybe you could organise a play date / party type of thing where you invite all the girls in her class over. Or you could do a few weekends in a row of one on one play dates with different girls in her class and each week ask her which friend she'd like to invite over on Sat morning etc that way she gets some solid interaction with the girls in her class and a chance to form some friendships without distraction? If she doesn't have a preference of who to invite over maybe you could suggest the girls who have mums that you like

[fionas]

Cherished - not sure if you saw my second post but she already knows at least 13 kids in her class from kinder/childcare and has had playdates with a few of them when they were in kinder together. The issue isn't that she doesn't like them or they don't like her - it's just that she prefers the big kids.

DP reckons it's just that the bigger kids are more physical and I think he's probably right. DD1's the kid who's hanging upside down off the monkey bars, sliding down the school railings, circling down the fireman's pole etc. etc.

[Novella]

I also have a very active climber and she often played with the older kids when she was in her first year of school as most of her classmates didn't have the same interest or skill level with the climbing equipment and monkey bars

Personally I'd sit back and watch for a bit and continue to encourage play dates with similar aged friends as well as the older girl. Monitor it and if it seems her otheR friendships are suffering for it talk with the teachers

Dd's school is small so she knows all the students there which is nice but they have one day each week for reception to grade2 to pay on the big equipment and one day for the older classes so they do get their space and opportunity to play with their peers