Classroom assignments for my daughter's school came out a few days ago, and within minutes, I was inundated with texts and emails from moms of other soon-to-be first-graders, all asking the big question: which teacher did my daughter get? I logged onto our elementary school's Home Access site and was excited to see she had been placed with a much-loved and well-regarded teacher.
The only catch? Of the 15 or so moms of her former classmates, close friends, and same-aged neighbors who reached out to me, only one neighbor was assigned to my daughter's class. None of her kindergarten besties were in her first-grade class. I'm lucky that my kid is outgoing and makes new friends easily — she's actually kind of amped at her classroom's new buddy potential — but I couldn't help feeling a little bummed every time a message came in confirming that yet another of her friends wouldn't be in her class. As her mom, I want her transition into a new grade to be as easy as possible — wouldn't more familiar, friendly faces make it so?
In the days since class assignments came out, I've heard similar separation anxiety stories from many other moms. Most of their children did not take my daughter's "Yay! New faces" approach to their classroom assignments. Tears, desperate pleas to switch rooms, and dramatic refusals to continue their grade-school educations seemed to be the more common responses. If you have a child who's feeling like their new classroom is friendship Siberia, here are some things to consider before racing to the principal to beg for a transfer.