Dear parents,

When transitioning to a new school, some children feel anxious and fearful, while others may experience anticipation and comfort, or a mix of emotions. In this story, “Tala” grappled with feelings of anxiety and fear, coupled with a sense of loneliness. This feeling is connected to the desire for social interaction and the need to establish a social standing. This development is inherent in a child and evolves with their growth in various developmental aspects—mental, physical, and emotional.

Fortunately, the heroine of the story had a supportive adult in her surroundings (the teacher) who noticed the challenges she faced and offered her a way to cope through the friendship bench. The friendship bench symbolizes the different stages of communication and building social relationships. Therefore, it’s important to have a supportive adult close to the child during transitional stages, someone who recognizes difficulties and challenges, instils a sense of belief in the child’s abilities, guides them according to their needs, and encourages them to persist and not give up.

Let’s Talk

• About Feelings: we can read the story with our children and talk about “Tala” and “Fadi’s” feelings from the beginning to the end. We can ask our children: How did they feel and how did these feelings change?
• About New Beginnings: we can share our feelings about new beginnings with our children, such as the first day of school or joining a new club. We can ask our children about their feelings in new beginnings: what makes them feel secure, and what helps them overcome feelings of fear or dread. We can remind them of situations where they adapted successfully.
• About Friendship: “Tala” was able to form a friendship with “” We can follow the text and illustrations with our children and ask them how that friendship formed, what they did together, and how friendships are made. We can also ask our children who their friends are and what they like to do with them.

Let’s Play and Work Together

We can initiate a fun and shared activity, such as recalling things we love to do together, like going on a family picnic, reading a book, or preparing a favorite dessert and more. We can try to allocate time during the week to enjoy an activity or more with our child.

Let’s Explore

• We can explore and learn about pets and how we can take care of them at home, and about the relationships that form between the animal and its owner.

Let’s Communicate

• We can invite one of our child’s friends to visit our home or participate in a shared activity, like a park trip, to strengthen social relationships and support them in building friendships.