First Time as a Kindergarten Classroom Volunteer

Volunteering for the first time as a parent can be an intimidating venture. As the parent of a kindergarten kid we are bombarded by massive amounts of repeated and occasional golden nuggets of information that all needs to be combed through in great detail. Meetings include the first orientation nights, PTA/PTSA meetings, other committees with more specific topics of discussion and so forth.

I remember being excited to fill in the first form that had on the top "Parent Volunteer" and all sorts of information about how helpful it was for the schools and so forth. One mysterious person is in theory organizing this, I think she is called the coordinator and while I haven't met her I respect what she does! I can't imagine trying to coordinate between hundreds of parents, dozens of teachers, and the multitude of events, fundraising efforts etc.

If you, like me, are unable to get a hold of this person, you can do what I did which was to first send a note to school with my daughter letting her teacher know that I had some available time to come in and volunteer. Whether or not a response is gotten, I think it is even more important to actually go to the school during the times you listed as available.

Showing up without anything planned or coordinated with anybody is exactly how I decided to get started, I figured that notice was given and if my child's teacher couldn't use me then maybe another class or the school library (or office!) could.

When first walking in, usually the office is the first stop, to fill in any visitor/volunteer forms required, and I'm sure in some schools some kind of criminal check is also required so be sure to look into that ahead of time. I explained to the woman that I wasn't sure if I was expected but that I was there to help, be it right there in the office, in the library, or in a classroom. In my case I was sent to my daughters classroom to see if her teacher needed help, I was concerned about potentially interrupting, it turned out that I was more than welcome however!

I was handed a box of paper with some shapes traced on it along with a pair of scissors and spent the next hour cutting out shapes that later the kids would be using to make letters! I enjoyed knowing that I was helping, and even more the curiosity of the kids when they saw what I was doing. It was fun to be doing some kind of mysterious project that they would later be able to do with the shapes they seemed to enjoy watching me cut out.

Every little thing helps when it comes to our kids schools, and being present is a big one. It shows that they are important, important enough for real "mommies" and "daddies" to want to come in and help during the day. Not to mention taking care of some of the tedious tasks so that our teachers can spend more time focusing on our little kids and what they are learning.

One of these days I will get in touch with this woman who is coordinating volunteers but until then I will keep right on showing up and serving however I can, hope to see you there!!