Parent Volunteers
Do you have parent volunteers in your classroom? I'm not talking about helping with cutting, assembling, gluing, etc. I'm talking about actually working with the children. I'm considering inviting parents to come in to help children with literacy and math centers. What are the rules that you give parents? What are the expectations? Leave a post below! (PS - If you have letters that you send home with volunteers with rules and expectations, I would love to see them - just e-mail me!)
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Hi,
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the parents! I usually have them come in for holiday fun in the fall, to help with events and art projects. I have had parents in the past, starting in January, come during literacy centers and small group time so that I had an extra set of hands and eyes in the room. They also had a group. I would give them something easy like ABC BINGO, flashcards, or letter cards to make words.Some parents do well with this and it is great. I usually find that parents start to talk about the students with me which is one of my rules of what not to do. I try to stop them nicely but it is hard. Another negative about parents is that some just want to be in there to watch their kid and watch you teach small group. Some of my parents in the past have walked their way around the room once and then sit next to my table to watch what I do. It gets old and uncomfortable. The purpose is lost. The child of the parent also does not want to participate in their center b.c they want to be with their mom. I tend to have to get involved and remind the children of their expectations- this takes a while. All in all, it depends on the parent and their intention that you do not know. I would suggest a trial run- once a week and then maybe increase it to 2 times. I would also recommend activities to keep them busy. I actually have stopped during reading b.c I feel that kids need more consistency and less change or interruptions during centers and small groups.I will email you my letters. Love your website and thanks for sharing all your ideas!