Thursday, December 1, 2011

Volunteering

 Volunteering

I would encourage all moms (and dads) of school aged children to become involved with the school.  It has been proven that a child who has a parent that is involved with the school or classroom builds higher self-esteem and is more likely to be successful through out college.
(check out a reference on parent involvement and success in school here.)

My Children are in Kindergarten and Preschool in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.  When I am at the school I do volunteer tasks that range from taking the pictures the kids draw and put them up on the current bulletin board, go on field trips, and assist the teacher with classroom activities that the child may need extra help in completing.  I have taken projects home to complete, staple, or cut for the teacher which gives the teacher the ability to focus on teaching the kids, the curriculum, and have higher quality days.  You aren't just needed in your own kids classroom, see if they need you at the school library, office, or art room.  I have expressed that I am available to anyone at the school that needs me.  I should add that I have had my clearances with child abuse, criminal, and the school requires a clean TB clearance as well.  I have a background that includes working with children in a school setting as an Art Activities Facilitator with as many as 25 kids ages 5-10.  I know that being around THAT many children isn't for everyone, but even 1 hour in the school year is valuable.  For Pittsburgh Public Schools the time I volunteer also goes into an "In-Kind" account worth $25 per hour.  This means that when they are seeking grant money they have a value that can be matched by the donor.  I am pretty sure this is standard with public schools nationwide.  With education cuts across the board, it is important that we do all we can to increase the funding to our schools.  My goal is to reach between $500-$1000 in "in-kind" dollars this year (that's only 20-40hours), but I will probably have closer to 80 at the rate I am going.  I recognize that not all parents have the actual time to go to the school and participate in the same way I do, but all parents have at least 1 hour or more they can offer to the school in projects, events, and/or class time during a school term.  Maybe you can offer to seek donors for books, art supplies, or even hats and gloves during the winter months.  It all is needed and welcomed!

By the way, when you volunteer, your child is more likely to become more altruistic (generous, kind, empathetic) through modeling your behavior to give! 

With Aloha,
viewbymom

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