Kindergarten teachers can i pick your brain

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

I was so spoiled last semester only volunteering 8 to 1130 it was so perfect I did not have to worry about packing a lunch and I was able to rest between work and gym class

Where I live kindergarten is all day so as a kindergarten teacher would you have a problem if your volunteer was just half day

 

[Disneylover99]

It would be fine with me.

 

[kimblebee]

Any teacher is going to be grateful for any help they get.

 

[Shsmith341]

I'm sure the teacher would be happy for help. We don't have volunteers because we have full-time aides in our district.

 

[Figment Mom]

I honestly can't imagine having a full day volunteer.

 

[Shsmith341]

I honestly can't imagine having a full day volunteer.

Where do you teach? I'm in Westchester county NY. All schools that I know of in this area have full-time aides. I would be pulling my hair out without. I usually have at least 3-4 adults at all times because I usually have 1 or 2 special ed aides too. We made sure it was in our contract. Our aides are needed too so I can have my hour lunch and they can help me prepare and do copies during my prep periods.

 

[scrhsa]

Myself and my daughter both worked/volunteered for prek, k and 1st. Most of the time only half a day. The teacher usually just delt with the time left over or the school had someone else come in the other half of the day. It gave the parents great opportunity to fulfill their own volunteer hours.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

I have been a Kindergarten and First grade teacher for 11 years...I don't have an aide and it is just me with 20+ kids. I would be thankful for any volunteer time so I am sure 1/2 day is just fine!

 

[HopperFan]

Where do you teach? I'm in Westchester county NY. All schools that I know of in this area have full-time aides. I would be pulling my hair out without. I usually have at least 3-4 adults at all times because I usually have 1 or 2 special ed aides too. We made sure it was in our contract. Our aides are needed too so I can have my hour lunch and they can help me prepare and do copies during my prep periods.

An aide (here they use term assistant) and a volunteer are very different in their skills, responsibility, what they are permitted to do legally. OP is a volunteer, she can't do some of the things your aides are doing for you. And here they can not be alone with children without the teacher.

Our kindergartens have one full time teacher and one assistant teacher for 20 students on average. Teachers do planning while students are at their specials (art, PE, music) and they eat lunch when their students eat lunch. Volunteers come in for short periods of time (1-2 hours) to assist with special projects that need extra hands, to read to the kids during story time and to implement PTA enrichment. Other than very huge projects, and that was rare, there is never more than a teacher, asst teacher and one volunteer in the classroom at one time. This does not count any special ed assistants. If there are more volunteers than in classroom jobs then they work in the library, cafeteria, front office ....

To OP @tinkerbellandeeyor - think the teacher is very lucky to have you volunteer that much time.

 

[clori]

When my kids were in full day public kindergarten none of the kindergarten teachers wanted regular volunteers. They all had a full time aide and special ed teachers or aides that came in at various times. They only wanted parents at requested times like chaperoning a field trip. I don't think they would have wanted any voluteers in the room on a regular basis. Each class was under 20. I did have a 5th grade English language Arts teacher look for volunteers for literacy block - for one school year I helped with small group reading circles etc while the teacher worked with a small group on a different reading/writing activitiy. The groups rotated. If your just looking perhaps preschools have shorter hours and look for volunteers (the public preschools here don't).

 

[aprilgail]

Our aides are all part time in our district- there is a morning aide and an afternoon aide- they are all paid though- we don't allow volunteers in the classrooms.

 

[disykat]

We didnt have aides. Any volunteer hours were appreciated. There were some years I had a regular volunteer for a few hours a week, but that was the most I ever had.

A regular volunteer during the hours you mentioned would have been a real blessing.

 

[Gracedis1]

When my son was in kindergarten I volunteered in his class for an hour and a half shift. The teacher was happy to have the help.