Help your shy preschooler feel a bit less alone when tackling the day by starting with a morning meeting with just her. When the student arrives at school, have her come to your desk and speak with her, giving her your undivided attention. Tell her how excited you are that she is at school and how much you hope she enjoys the day. Allow her to share her hopes for the day with you, warming her up to the idea of school and giving her time to get acclimated before she starts to deal with her friends.
If the preschool student in question has something to do, he may have less time to shy away from his peers. Ask the shy child to complete a simple task for you, such as passing out crayons to his classmates. While completing this task, which necessitates communication with others, he will likely begin to see that dealing with peers isn’t as scary as it may have seemed.
Instead of expecting the preschooler to approach would-be friends on her own, create more structured social interactions by pairing her with peers. When having students complete simple class assignments, pair them up, taking care to put this shy student with a particularly friendly peer. In doing so, you can give her some practice in interacting with peers and perhaps even help her find a friend upon which to rely.
Give the shy preschooler an engaging reason to interact with her peers. Instead of taking students out to recess and allowing them to determine what they want to do with this free time, engage all of your students in a social game, such as tag. As this shy youngster runs and plays with her classmates, she will likely become more accustomed to the act of socializing and shy away from it less.
When the preschooler whom you are trying to coach does exhibit outgoing behaviors, praise her for doing so. When you notice her playing with others without prompting, tell her how proud you are and how excited you are that she is making some new friends. This praise will create a positive association with socialization, likely making her more willing to socialize again in the future.