October 24, 2011

We're Not in Preschool Anymore

When my daughters started preschool I made an effort to spend some time in their class. It was fun to help out and get an idea of what they do on a daily basis. When the kindergarten teachers asked for classroom volunteers this year, I gladly signed up. Volunteering in kindergarten is nothing like volunteering in preschool. They actually put us to work!
I don't mind the work. I help out on Fridays, which is the day the homework folders are due. I usually sort out all the homework and prepare the folders for next week. Last week it took me about an hour to get all the papers sorted, so at least I saved the teacher one hour of extra work. This week will be my first time in the other kindergarten class, so it will be interesting to see what kind of work that teacher has for me.
I'm not as comfortable with the idea of pulling individual students out of the class to work with them. To me, that seems like more of a teacher or aide job. I don't mind helping the kids out as a group, but it seems awkward to have to take a child that I don't really know out of the class to essentially tutor him. 
My daughters aren't so keen on the fact that I'm put to work while I'm there. They remember preschool and being able to sit with me during my "volunteer" time. I've tried to explain to them that there's a lot more work to be done in kindergarten, so it's nice for the teacher to have some helpers. Do I miss sitting on the carpet and singing songs? Sure. But I'm usually there during their first work assignment, so I make sure to spend time with each of my daughters while they're doing their projects. Even though it's not all fun and games in kindergarten, they still seem excited to have me there.
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1 comments:

MaryAnne said...

I've actually been a little surprised at how serious kindergarten is now! I agree with you that it's awkward to be asked to pull out students and tutor them - and possibly inappropriate. I don't know how I would feel if I knew my child was being pulled out of class by a random parent for one-on-one tutoring.

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