Welcoming Volunteers into Your Classroom

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How does a teacher with 25-30 children in a classroom meet the needs of each individual child?

How do parents know what is happening in their child's classroom?

How do community members know what is happening in the center?

Using volunteers in the classroom can provide answers to each of these questions.

For more than 30 years I have used volunteers in my classroom to help me provide the best program possible for the children. Volunteers have included parents, grandparents, older siblings, older students, community members, and university students.

Benefits of using volunteers in the early childhood classroom

Using volunteers provides many benefits to children, teachers, and the volunteers themselves. The biggest benefit is to the children. Children get more individualized attention when there are more adults available to help in the classroom. We all know that a smaller child to adult ratio is better for learning.

Parents who are able to help in the classroom or with ...