In today's busy world, it's challenging for parents to find time to be actively involved at their child's school. It's not from lack of desire, but rather simply from a lack of time. With parents working 40 hours, finding ways to help out at the school seems almost impossible. But it's not. Here are four things that parents can do for the school in sixty minutes or less. That's right - on a lunch break or by occasionally leaving for work an hour later.

Four Ways to Get Involved at School In Only One Hour

  1. Sit with your child and go through his or her bookcase. There are probably a lot of old books on the shelf that he or she has outgrown. Make those decisions with your child. Pull those books off the shelf, and box them up together. Take the books to the school, so some younger children can benefit from them. Just call the office first, and we can help you determine if the books are needed and where they might best fit.
  2. Arrange a time with the teacher to read to your child's class. Practice reading aloud at home first every night with your child. Find your "inner kid," and feel free to use character voices and exaggerated gestures. You might feel silly in the beginning, but after the class is laughing and smiling you will be glad you took the risk!
  3. Meet with your child's teacher. See if the teacher could use you as a tutor for one or two struggling students for an hour each week.  It's very difficult for teachers to get to have one-to-one instructional time with students, so it's likely that they will really value your offer to help with a student who truly needs additional instruction. 
  4. Become a star with your elementary child's class by simply eating lunch with them once a week. You actually can do this in less than half an hour. Students love to be able to visit with a parent at a table. You'll enjoy not only conversation with you own child, but also with his or her friends.  If you want to make a really big hit with your child, bring a healthy treat from home to accompany their lunch like a sugar-free dessert or a bottled fruit juice.