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Photo by JoeMama02
When I read JanieR's post in Preschooler Moms about parents who don't volunteer at their toddlers' preschool, I felt like crawling under my desk. That's me she's talking about -- the mom who can't seem to find an hour or so every few months to assist on a field trip, read a book, or rake leaves in the fall.
But ... I'm busy!
Granted, JanieR was mostly talking about moms who don't work and live close by -- that's not me. It's a struggle to do anything extra when you're trying to make a living.
But other moms make it work, and there are many different ways to participate, so why can't I?
"I work and go to school and yet I try to attend everything," vm88 says. "But it's always the same few parents all the time. My daughter is in Head Start and we have parent meetings and only like 10 people show up and participate when there are 40 kids in the program. Some parents are just lazy or some just don't wanna be involved."
It's true, and apparently, I'm not the only one. My daughter's preschool made me sign a paper when we enrolled her, saying I would donate at least a couple hours of "volunteer" time to the center or I'd be required to pay $100 extra for the year. I'm going to run now and get my calendar ...
Comments (56)
Wow. Mine have just started daycare so I know nothing about the expectations of pre-school but it doesn't seem reasonable to apply that type of penalty fee to parents. I am a teacher and work the same hours that my kids will be in pre-school. So I would need to take time off work to volunteer and avoid being charged a fee? Rediculous!
If a pre-school program needed assistance from the families, that is understandable. But there are plenty of ways families can help without having to clock in face time at the school. Charging a penalty is way unnecessary IMO.
Well, while I don't think a person should be charged money for it, I think your concience should be charged, lol.
Even for the bussiest mom, there is na hour a months to help out. And believe me, I am ONE BUSY MOM!
:)
Holy crap!!! Charging a parent $100.00 if they don't do the volunteer as well as making them sign a piece of paper and making them to do the volunteer is rediculous, for one I'm in school, and when I'm not in school I'm doing homework, studying, and cleaning our place and ,making sure our bills are paid. Even after I get my degree and get a job, I'm not sure how my hrs will be.
If parents cannot offer their time, maybe they should be ask to offer supplies-- paper, crayons, activity stuff... Or goodies for parties..
When I was in Elementary my mom owned a liquor store & couldnt come to help with stuff during the day so she offered soft drinks or any other snack (whether her store could provide or she would have to go to kroger to buy).... I always thought it was odd that our schools fun days was partially funded by a liquor store! LOL
I wouldn't have signed the paper. I have 5 kids. Only 2 are in school, and getting a sitter isn't an easy task. Yes I am a SAHM, but I don't have the time. I have health issues and so does my 4 month old. Im not going to reschedule an appointment so I can read or pass out cookies. When My oldest was in kindergarten I did a lot of volunteering and donating. I'm talking hundreds of hours and dollars. But I only had 2 kids then, and the economy wasn't in the shape it is in now. I loved doing it. I loved all the kids and seeing them smile. But right now I just can't do it. I find it insulting that they asked you to sign that paper. Not everyone has the time and money for that. And it's not exactly volunteering if you are forced to do it. Plus if you pay for the program then you shouldn't be asked to pay more. I would have laughed at them as I walked out the door with my kid.
N-O!!!
If it is either volunteer or pay $100, how is that volunteering? I thought that to volunteer meant to do something that you wanted to do. Not forced to do. They should change their paperwork to mandatory hours or a fee. That way people would understand and could make an educated decision on which pre-school they wanted to use.
Yea, I would not send my child to that Preschool if they made me sign something like that. My husband and I both work and go to school ourselves.
i have four kids. with the schools not allowing younger siblings on school property, i had very little i could do to volunteer for a few years. what i ended up doing was taking things home to cut out, (shapes for making crafts in art, etc) typing up rosters, newsletters and fliers, and being the phone mom. there is a lot you can do in an hour that doesn't have to be on school grounds.
now that i am spread between 2 schools, 4 scout troops, three band practices, and two after school sport teams, along with being employed....riiiight. how about this? how about i keep that $100 and you kiss my butt? i will give what i have, which may or may not be an hour a month.
if you have other kids that are not in pre school and they are not aloud on the property how the heck are you going to have time to spend over, it is really hard during the work week to find a sitter. i have four kids and there is no way i would be able to volunteer time because of the other three and one is a preemie and has health issues. charging extra money is a joke. one because some parents might not care about spending the extra money and another because others might not be able to afford that and if they miss work then they might be out of a job and then where would there kid be. homeless!!