This morning I volunteered in Diva Jr.’s school. I was there and “working” by about 9:30am- no biggy, right? Well, this just happened to be after writing for hours and then finally going to bed at 3am the night before…I was worried what 20 restless 2nd graders might do to me.

(Not) surprisingly, I was treated to three of hours of beautiful, gorgeously behaved quiet and calm 2nd graders. Now, the fire drill really woke me out of my stupor once, but other than that, it was a super, non-eventful day.

I know (god do I know) how hard it is to get into your child’s school to volunteer. But, I also know, from first hand research and experience how very important it can be.

Volunteering in your child’s preschool/school will:

• Demonstrate that you value their education
• Give an indication of solidarity with the teacher and their rules
• Teach you the kind of language and directions used by the staff (that you can then replicate at home for reinforcement. I’ve found this works very well on the preschool level.)
• Make you stand out in the teachers mind, thereby benefiting your child.

Please, please moms & dads- attempt to get into your child’s school for a couple hours. I know it’s so very hard to schedule at times, and I realize I am lucky and blessed to work flexible hours (at 2am grumble grumble), but try some of these tips:

• Consider it volunteer work. If you’re having trouble taking time off from a work schedule, see if your company offers time off for volunteering.
• Use a vacation day. Volunteer for the morning, and then treat yourself to a relaxing afternoon.
• Bring your smaller child along. I realize that younger siblings can be an issue. If you have a fairly well-behaved toddler, or a non-mobile older baby, you might be surprised at how well-received they are. Of course, you’ll want to volunteer in a smart way with a tag-along. For example, I brought the Beast to a couple hours of book fair volunteer work. The book fair takes place in a large, open library, and tends to be somewhat informal and loud, anyway, as the children are excited to shop. Often these kinds of parent-run events take place in spare classrooms or dedicated PTA area where your tag along will be very welcome.
• Stay at home parents: use your partner. Have them take a vacation day and spend some time with the younger toddler(s) or infant(s) while you volunteer in the older child’s classrooms.
• Don’t be shy. Don’t think that you have to know anything or be especially talented in dealing with children. For about an hour today, it was just me and the scissors, doing some quality clerical work for the teacher.
• Don’t be intimidated. Your teacher needs you. I can almost guarantee it. Any help you give will be appreciated. Think of it this way: your child’s teacher has about 6.5 hours per day with 20-30 young children, and the rest to his/herself to complete lesson planning, clerical tasks, work-related tasks, collaborate with colleagues, check messages, return calls, and if they’re lucky, maybe even eat some lunch.

Do you like to bring work home or work off hours? I certainly don’t (see above) and I bet our child’s teacher doesn’t, either. But helping them out isn’t just helping them out. You’re also helping yourself and your child, too.

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