Our 6 year old daughter is really bright and very friendly and outgoing to those in her immediate family (parents, siblings, uncles and grandparents).
But when she is in social situations where she has to interact with those outside this well known circle she becomes very shy and introverted. If she is among those her age she will never go forward and introduce herself and try to make friends. If an adult tries to interact with her, like Dad's friend saying "Hi, how are you?",she will just look down and not even reply. If a waiter brings her a balloon in a restaurant she will not even say thank you.
I think part of the problem is we are currently home schooling her and so she doesn't get much exposure to people outside her home and close family members.
But when we do take her out, how can we give her the chance to interact? Do we point to people and tell her to go talk to them? Someone suggested for example telling her to ask the librarian for a book she likes. Is this the way to go or is there a better way?