For the past 10 years I have been fortunate enough to stay at home with my kids.
When Cuyler was in senior K and Cam was in grade one (and Eva not yet 1) I was asked if I would be willing to work a few hours a week covering EA lunches and supervising a kindergarten class at lunch at their school. I though it was a good opportunity to earn a (very) little bit of cash, be involved in the kids school and get my foot into the door of the school board.
I’ve done it every year since working Monday/Wednesday/Friday for 3 hours a day.
Even though it is a paid position I have always still felt as though I’m a stay at home mom.
Then it hit me…this is my last year of having a child at home. Our school is slated for full time kindergarten next year and I’ll be sending my baby off. That gave me a bit of the sads so I thought I’d give her 100% of me before my role as stay at home mom is cut back considerably. I realized that one hundred percent of me would mean working at the school the days that she goes. I can be with her 5 days a week – including the days she’s at school.
Can they help me in the kindergarten room? Can I help in their classrooms?
My decision was made. I was not ready to hang up the hair net or retire the orthopedic shoes.
When the phone rang yesterday and they asked what my plans were, I told them I’d be there with bells on when kindergarten begins on September 16th.
I just found out that I wont be allowed to work in Eva’s class this year 🙁 bummer. the boys will likely want to be lunch helpers in her room and not the room I’ll be in.
Staggered entry is OK but Marley’s pre-school went all September. Keep up the good fight, lunch Mum! No peanut butter or messy spills on your watch 🙂 You’re a good Mum! So, will Cam or Cuy come and help out?
don’t you love when solutions present themselves loud and clear? Good one, lunch wench.
I asked Eva – she wants her first day to be the same as the boys. She wants me to drop her off when I drop them off and pick them up when I pick them up.
I told her that because she’s just starting at big school her first day gets to be special that’s why it’s on a different day. She didn’t go for that. Special to her would be getting to do what the boys do…
YES! Exactly.
I’m all about drop them off and walk out. My years as a preschool teacher taught me that.
I think that’s all kinds of awesome. I love how involved you are with your kids school, and so wish I could do the say. Yay for YOU!
As for staggered entry, I understand the idea behind it. It gives the teachers and the kids a (very temporary) tighter ratio so they can have a bit of time getting familiar with each other and the classroom environment before the true milieu. But, we’re talking about three hours on one day. And if your child is first on the list, that one day is a full week before the first day of actual classes. A week is a VERY long time when you’re five. This will be our third year of staggered entry, as my daughter starts kindergarten and my son starts preschool. I’ll have to ask them how they feel about it.
staggered entry is dumb. they’re all about “just drop them off and let them cry” on one hand but then there’s this “we’ll just ease them in to it so it’s not so hard”….so hard on whom? the teachers???
I totally get that Kimmy.
Eva is “B Track” this year – Tues/Thurs alternate Fr. Her first full day is a Friday…luckily Cuy wrote it in all caps that it’s EVAS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL on the calendar for me.
I guess because there is no staggered entry for nursery school, which all my kids were in before K.
And I think maybe it makes “the first day of school” a little anticlimactic when we’ve been dropping the boys off at the same place for 2 weeks before she gets to go. We’ll make it special for her 🙂
LOL Staggered entry had us START school on a Friday one year….um we didn’t make it. Mother of the year award. I missed the “first day of school”. But after I got over the shock and mortification I was told half the kids weren’t there either. It was a Mon/wed every other Fri deal and I guess like me, most parents expected to start on a Monday (go figure) the following week.
Lunches …ugh!
Enjoy your last year!
I will say, staggered entry works well for the kids and the teachers. It’s a little less overwhelming for everyone, and allows the teacher and kids to welcome each new batch with a little more careful attention.
Yes they do staggered entry for both JK and SK here and it blows. I guess because they’re blended.
She has a 30min visit on the 6th, a half day on the 12th and her first full day on the 16th…it must be such a pain for working parents to fit their schedule around it.
I am really shocked that were are getting full time K. I thought we’d be a year 5 school because our school needs major reno’s to accommodate it which will leave the school in a mess until at least Christmas.
I also sit on parent council as secretary (for the past 3 years) and I am contemplating just being a member at large this year. Pulling back a bit, yet staying involved.
We don’t really have the staggered entry here – they all start on the same day but I would seriously hate that – we had it in SK and it was so strange sending some off and not others – I like to give them all the boot at the same time! As for full day kindergarten I so wish we had it! I swear my school will be the last to get it and by that time Ryley will be ready for middle school……lol
Good for you doing the helping out at school – I do as well but not at lunch. I am Chair on the parent council and just seem to always be hanging out at the school.