Volunteering in one of our classrooms is like a play date. Your main job will be to have conversations with the children. Listen to their stories, they have so much to say and not enough people to listen. Role model self-help skills like using a pencil/marker, zipping their coats, brushing their teeth, tying their shoes, and let's not forget about all the wonderful artwork children love to do. You can help them learn to write their name. Counting to five or ten is hard work when you add an object for each number counted. Usually parents aren’t too keen on giving their 3-5 year old a pair of scissors, yet this is a skill they need to know by kindergarten. A very important skill is being able to listen and follow basic one, two and three step directions. This is something you can help them remember when setting off to do a task.

Your presence in the classroom adds extra hands, ears and eyes for the teachers and they will come to depend on you for those when planning projects or arts/crafts. Showing children how to share with their peers, take turns, wait for their turn, pass a plate of food to their friends at the table, use manners; these are all important skills they will need to master in order to be successful in kindergarten and in life. Reading to a child is the most basic thing you can do but the benefits to the child are beyond measure. Children need to have a good grasp of vocabulary and the best way is by reading and having conversations with them. Learning how to be kind to each other, helping each other is not something children know how to do, they must be shown. Role modeling is the best way to teach.

We hope this triggers some ideas on how you can be an important role model in the classroom and on the playground! We look forward to the opportunity to partnering with you!