How to be THAT parent

Last year my oldest went off to kindergarten and I didn’t have nearly as much time to volunteer in his class as I’d hoped. Parents are busy but kids and teachers need us to be involved. Children get more out of school when there are deep school to home connections. Volunteerspot works hard to make those connections easier than ever to make. { contest below now closed)

 

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Before we get to the rad sweepstakes let me share my 10 tips to be a great and involved parent this year.

• Get your kids prepared. The whole school year will be smoother if your kids are ready for it from day one.

• Fill out your calendar NOW. Add items as they are emailed and sent home in notices but don’t forget the main calendar from the school district. That mid winter break in February won’t sneak up on you if you take the time to add it to the calendar now.

• Find time to block off for each child’s class. This might be twice a year or twice a week but being involved is much easier if you have set time aside.

• If you are allowed to bake, cook or bring snacks make sure you have an updated list of food restrictions and allergies before you even think about what to make or bring in. Let’s all make it easier on families with restrictions by limiting how many times kids need to be excluded or put in potentially dangerous situations.

• Label everything. EVERYTHING with your kids’ names. That way when your kids lose something ( and they will ) it’s easier to get it back.

• If you can don’t just send gifts to your child’s classroom teacher, send them to specialists, office staff, bus drivers… and simple thanks are just as much a gift as any expensive item. This doesn’t have to cost you a cent.

• Teachers are busy so be proactive. Ask if you can come in , take home busy work or ask to volunteer for a different part of the school like the library or at recess. You may not get the most glamorous job but you will be involved, present, and helping.

• If your child takes the bus to and from school try to pick them up from time to time as a treat and for some facetime at school. It’s not a time for a full on conference but a quick hello and simple offer of help or thanks can make a big impact.

• Don’t for once think that money is more important than time. Give what you can to your child’s school in minutes, hours, dollars or cents. Just get involved.

• Get organized and organize other parents with Volunteerspot – better yet win $1500 for your school !!

How to Enter to Win (You can do one of these, or all.)

1. Use VolunteerSpot during August to Take the Pledge to volunteer for your school. Don’t worry if you don’t have a specific activity to sign up for yet; just make the commitment to help out with one thing this school year.

Just be sure to include your school’s name when prompted during the easy registration process.

2. Use VolunteerSpot’s FREE online sign up sheets during August* to organize the parent volunteers for any school activity: back-to-school events, classroom helpers, carnivals, book fairs, hospitality teams & potlucks, concessions – any activity that involves multiple volunteers will be easier to manage with online sign ups and scheduling.

3. If you are a TEACHER, we have a special contest just for you. So be sure to check out the Teachers Win with VolunteerSpot sweeps here too.

How to Get More Chances for Your School to Win

Invite your neighborhood friends and fellow parents to use VolunteeerSpot this August too. Everynew Pledge and new activity organized in VolunteerSpot.com counts as an entry for your school, so the more people you can get to sign up, the more entries to win $1,500 your school will get.

Post it on Facebook, or even better, email your whole class and ask them to take the pledge too. You might even remind people to take the pledge when you see them on the first day of school. Isn’t it worth it for the chance to win $1,500 bucks for your school?

One Last Awesome Idea

Send the link to this page (http://vols.pt/GSVOL) to the person you know who is most involved with your school’s parent/school organization. That way, even if you don’t need to organize an activity with VolunteerSpot right now, you can still help someone else out AND help your school win.

The Rules

You can read the official rules here.

Here is an easy-to-read summary:

• 3 schools will be chosen at random to win. Each will receive a $1,500 grant from VolunteerSpot for their designated school’s parent-teacher organization.
• You must be at least 18 years old to enter for your school.
• You must reside in the United States. (We know, we know, but international sweepstakes laws are just too complex for us to handle. We are sorry!)
• The following uses of VolunteerSpot count as entries: registering and school organizer or teacher/educator VolunteerSpot account (it’s free!), setting up an activity, signing up for an activity someone else has set up, and pledging to volunteer.

Deadline EXTENDED! 

Thousands of parents have already taken the pledge to volunteer this year (thank you!), but with many schools just heading back after Labor Day, some have asked for a little more time to GET MORE ENTRIES for their school. So we have officially extended the deadline to enter for TWO more weeks, until September 15th, 2013

If you’ve already entered, now is your chance to get on the horn (or email, or Facebook) and remind your friends to take the pledge too. It only takes a few minutes to help your school win. 

And if you haven’t taken the pledge yet, pledge now.

 This post is sponsored by Volunteerspot.