Time well spent

I have recently become a weekly volunteer in Zach's classroom. I have been in class for every party he's had, but this weekly gig is really awesome! As I worked in class on that very first Friday I kept thinking, "every parent should spend time in their child's classroom." I am so grateful that Zach's school allows me to come every Friday and that Bryan's job affords me the priveledge of staying home full-time. These years are flying by so very quickly and I'm thrilled to be able to see so much of it first-hand.

I want to share just a few of the ways that I've been blessed by volunteering:

As Miss J. started the day off with class meeting and a story, I realized just how differently she reads a book as compared to how I read. This is only one of the many instances where I've picked up great ideas while observing the teachers and kids. They are teaching me too!

As a parent of only two children (both of whom are boys), it is so fun to see the wide range of children, personalities, behaviors, interests, etc. that exist in the world. At my house I never hear, "Miss Tonya, come into my kitchen and meet my 14 babies while I tell you all about High School Musical." Imaginations run wild in young children, and from what I can tell, there really are differences between boys and girls (as a tom-boy myself I would never have agreed to that statement before seeing it in Zach's class).

I have loved getting to know my son's teachers. This is probably unusual, but I consider them to be wonderful friends. I don't expect that's going to happen in grade school when there are 20 other kids in class, but I will still make every effort to get to know them.

I love spending time with Zach's friends. It's pretty easy to get to know the kids when you spend a few hours a week with them, but it's impossible when you just drop-off and pick-up at the door. When I came to pick-up today (my week to carpool, but not my day in the classroom), all the kids had high-fives for me and, with an enormous grin, one little boy said, "Are you staying with us today?" I guess he didn't realize that there were only ten minutes left of class!

And last... Zach is on cloud nine every time his father or I walk into the school building. It just makes his day for us to take the time to be a part of his school experience! As long as we can indulge him, we will do just that.