By Heather Skipworth Craven
We all know that teaching effectively is an enormous task that demands constant planning, preparation, and creative implementation. We are faced daily with the challenge of being organized enough to fit into the precious few hours of each day, as much student instruction as possible. And in order to accomplish this often daunting and exhausting task, it takes assistance from whatever source we're fortunate enough to access.
Most teachers are extraordinarily thankful for parent volunteers in their classrooms. They either can be a tremendous help or at times a hindrance. We already know what a powerful impact parental involvement has on a child's learning experience. But in order to use parent volunteers effectively, a few keys areas need to be addressed.
COMMUNICATION
There are several ways to communicate to parents who want to volunteer in your classroom. Some teachers send home a survey to parents asking them to indicate in what specific areas they would like to help. Be very specific in what you expect and communicate a procedure to parents for checking in, where to find things and how to implement tasks.
ORGANIZATION
Once you have parent volunteers signed up, make a schedule to be either posted or sent home in a weekly newsletter. Be prepared for your volunteers. Have tasks, materials and instructions ready. Please remember that your parents want to be there to help you, but if they have to seek you out continually to find out what you want them to do and where things are, they most likely will not want to return. Please respect the fact that their time and efforts are valuable.
INSTRUCTION
It is necessary that parents be aware of effective instructional techniques when working with children. They may be asked to participate in classroom instruction, help students with math problems and act as classroom reading tutors or writing editors who work with one or two children who are experiencing difficulty. If your parent volunteers are helping with academics you may want to have them sit in and watch several Math or Reading lessons so they can become familiar with the curriculum and the teaching techniques your implementing. It's very helpful for both teacher and adults who are helping students to use the same language.
Suggestions For Using Parent Volunteers
- Reading with small groups/individual students
- Help students with any make up work
- Work with students who need remedial work
- Work on the computer with 1-2 at a time
- Help out (especially at the beginning of year) by just
- roaming the room as students are doing their assignments
- help out during big art projects
- Setting up and monitoring students in centers
- Playing board games with small groups (cuts down on the arguing)
- Getting art supplies ready
- Helping with bulletin boards, checking assignments, or making games and activities
- Work in the library, do typing or doing research
- Parents who have had experiences that match a special theme or topic being explored by the class could be asked to make special presentations
- Copying, laminating, using the die-cut machine
- Putting notices in take-home folders
- Putting together student journals on binding machine
- Restocking classroom materials such as paper, glue, pencils, crayons, etc..
Using parent volunteers effectively in the classroom does take some planning, organization and establishing a good working relationship, but the benefits are beyond measure.
Read our tip entitled
"Parent Volunteers in the Classroom".
