getting involved?

so what do YOU think?

suggested by Life in Eureka Springs

"Do you think it is important to be involved in your child's school functions and fund raisers?"

i'm not a big one on spending for fund raisers at school. i like the scholastic book club brochures, we love books and their products are reasonably priced. but the others, and we have participated in them all from time to time, are all a little bit too much. and with five kids in five different schools this year, i am already dizzy from the array of brochures coming into my house.
plus i hate asking friends/family for donations. and my kids will not ask neighbours.

we've already had the marketplace (food), pizza, flowers, gift wrap, chocolates and the coupon book. the other day there was a note from one of the schools saying that since the fund raiser didn't raise as much, if anyone wanted to just donate money to the school, here is the info! whoo hoo, i'd much rather do that.

and one that is not a school fund raiser, but that i will allow my kids to ask friends/family for donations to is for "jump rope for heart" held every april at our elementary school. it's a HUGE event, an all day event in fact. and not just jump rope, but other fitness activities and music and general FUN! plus 100% of the cash goes to the american heart association.

i'm less about the prizes and more about the "this is for a good cause" feeling.

but we do participate in the other school wide events. this weekend is the school's annual pancake breakfast and haunted house. the parents go in and cook and bake. there are pumpkin decorating contests, prizes, and the 5th grade haunted house. that is a rite of passage at our ES, something my 3rd grader is looking forward to in fact. pancakes are good, but the strobe light and gooey hand in the bucket, much better ;-)

we have math nights in february and march. the student goes along with a parent/s and it's just a giant math activity. the one i like is the marshmallows on toothpicks :-)

there are the winter and spring music nights for the orchestra/band/chorus, the class plays, the end of the year talent show and the 5th grade extravaganza. and the class party (halloween is coming up, with the halloween parade and for as much as i detest halloween, i love the parade and party, this year i get to do two of them, kindergarten in the morning, and elementary in the afternoon), we have a winter class party, plus the valentine's day party and service project. each elementary class does a young writer's day, usually on a theme. those are fantastic and the kids work SO hard.

the PTO and parents organise the snacks and games and books to be read. they do a lot. and they can only function when the other parents donate food, paper items and their time! :-)

i love being a mystery reader, or helping with art projects or any of the class parties. last year i was one of the homeroom moms. that was a lot of work, but so much fun to meet the kids and participate. this year, i'm just donating my time (and the paper products).

elementary school is a much easier place to volunteer. there's a lot of communication and the kids are still little enough to want you there. but in middle school, there are loads of opportunities too. i'm anticipating making mummies in november, UN day in december, and the class trip to NYC in may! :-) this year we will also have an arts night, for orchestra and chorus!

so of course i think it's amazingly important to volunteer whatever time you can spare for your child's school/s. long ago, a friend of mine once told me that "you are your child's best advocate". that goes for any school related event. they see that you are interested and it is more fun.

plus i hate that they are away from me all day. as much as i like a bit of quiet in my house, i misse them terribly and long to hear all about their days. i want to know what they've done with their day, what they have learned, the songs they sung, how that splotch of green paint got stuck to their hair (or blue marker on their eyebrow), i want to go on class trips (another great and fun way to get to know their friends and how they interact with the world).

that was a resounding YES, by the way :-)