Online SignUp Blog by SignUp.com

Fall Class Party Ideas

Fall & Halloween Party Snack and Treat Ideas

We're sharing some of our favorite, festive treats for the season! Perfect for class parties, these creative and yummy snack ideas from the web are sure to a hit with kids and parents!

* * * * *

TonyaStaab.com is sharing a super adorable bat-themed craft, perfect for handing out treats at the class party!

TipJunkie.com is spookin' up some sweet and salty fun with these yummy pretzel snacks!

A seasonal twist on the classic rice krispie treat, go orange with these pumpkin-shaped goodies via Delysia.com

 

Halloween Treat Hand Bags from CreativeHolidayGiftIdeas.com are a "fright" of a good time!

 

"Fall" into sweet treats with delicious Acorn Dough Nuts from FamilyFun.Go.com!

 

You can't go wrong with these yummy fall snack mix from LittleWondersDays.com!

 

Don't Miss:

Class Party Ideas on Pinterest

Halloween Party Games & Activitiy Ideas

Halloween School Party Activity Sheets

Fall Craft & Snack Ideas

Halloween Craft Ideas

Halloween Class Party Snack Ideas

School Auction Ideas

How to Add Video to Your Pinterest School Auction Site

By: Sherry Truhlar of RedAppleAuctions

Last month I talked about 8 Pinterest photos you can share to get parents excited about your upcoming school auction (click here to check it out).

This month we’re taking another step into how to use the social photo pinboard by starting with some “Pinteresting” facts compiled by comSCORE.

• 68% of Pinterest users are women
• 50% of Pinterest users have children
• Almost 50% of users are 25 to 44 years old

Overall, the demographics show that the social photo pinboard is most appealing to female mothers, which is the identical demographic behind the planning of school auctions.

Many Moms are out snapping photos, finding photos, pinning and sharing.  But many do not know that it’s very easy to incorporate a video pin into your Pinterest site as well.  

It can be someone else’s video or a video you’ve shot and load onto YouTube or Vimeo. (Currently those are the only two video platforms that allow for easy sharing.)

Think about it – it’s just as easy to use your phone to record video as it is to snap a photo.  And a video is like a photo on steroids!  Video pins are just lots of photos, linked together, sharing a moment.

Video pins are great to use on Pinterest, especially for “how-to” videos (like a short demo explaining how to fill out item donation paperwork when you solicit for items) or short interviews (perhaps ask previous attendees what they liked about last year’s auction).

Once you set this up—and it doesn’t take long to do so – it’s just a click of the button to add videos to your Pinterest site. 

Here’s how to share a video pin on your Pinterest page.

• Add the “Pin it” button to your bookmarks bar in your browser.  Instructions on how to do so are at the top of this page.  Just drag and drop the “Pin it” button to your bookmarks area.
• Find some videos you like or create your own and upload them into YouTube or Vimeo.
• Click the Pin It button you’ve added to your bookmark bar.
• If you have multiple Pinterest boards, you’ll be asked to select a Board you want to save it to.

I’ve been experimenting with a number of videos on my Pinterest board showcasing auction centerpieces.  You can see what it looks like here.  I’m trying to select shorter videos that I think will be more popular with the Pinterest community.

Pinterest photos are fun, but it’s also fun to find or creative appropriate videos.  Let me know how it works for you below - please leave a comment!

 

Fundraising auctioneer Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS, CAI is featured in national publications for her trend-setting work with auction fundraisers.  She teaches auction chairs easy ways to improve an auction’s financial return.  Start improving your auction today by getting her FREE Auction Item Guide TM.  The Guide lists the 100 top-selling items sold for over value in charity auctions.  Claim your FREE copy at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.

Fundraising Quick & Easy!

Fundraise for Your School, Team or Cause with VolunteerSpot

VolunteerSpot’s free coordination tool is already making it easy to organize all your volunteer needs - now you can streamline your fundraising efforts with our new Contributions feature!

Bonus Fact: People donate 10 times more money if they've volunteered in the past year.

We’ve partnered with WePay, a highly-trusted online transaction company, to make it easy to raise money and collect funds from your group securely online, right from your VolunteerSpot account.  Fundraising simplified!  Collect contributions for anything:

• Causes & Nonprofits
• Fundraising Purchases
• Teachers and Coaches Gifts
• Membership Dues
• T-shirt or Uniform Costs
• Buying-Out Volunteer Hours
• Club Contributions
• Registration Fees
• Field Trip Costs
• Event Tickets

Now your volunteers can give their time, their money, or BOTH in support of your GOOD work!

Growing Your NonProfit

Experts Share How to Engage & Strengthen Your NonProfit Organization

The NonProfit Academy has rounded up top nonprofit experts and professionals from around the country to share their expertise, tips and advice when it comes to your organization and making it stronger and better then ever.

Register today for the FREE telesummit (9/26 to 9/28)

Twelve nonprofit and fundraising experts (including VolunteerSpot) will be sharing about these topics:

• How to raise more money by making your proposals stand out in a sea of many
• The top things you must do to get your message noticed and increase your nonprofit marketing results
• How to overcome obstacles to involving your board in fundraising
• How to create a system for WOW stewardship that leads to major gifts, bequests, and lifetime donors
• A step by step understanding of how to catapult your nonprofit storytelling and increase donations and volunteers
• What outcomes to show foundations so they will show you the money. 
• How to avoid the headache and expense of not complying with nonprofit regulations
• Why Google+ has tremendous potential for nonprofits - even if all your donors aren’t there yet.
• 6 simple steps to put together a written plan for raising the money you need in the coming year.
• The questions to ask to increase your success in closing more major gifts
• How to help your donors make giving easier – with ‘found money.’
• How to use social web tools like facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest to increase volunteer engagement

Isn’t it time to start looking forward to record breaking achievements for your organization? Join us for this FREE telesummit and start planning for success in all areas of your organization!

Visit www.thenonprofitacademy.com for more information and to register!

Mastering Middle School | Parenting Monday

What To Expect When Your Child Enters Junion High

By: Meghan Rabbitt (This post originally appeared on Parenting.com)

When Alexandra Haake was 11, she was nervous and excited about starting sixth grade  -- in Davenport, IA, where she lives, that's when junior high school begins.

"I'd heard that the food was so much better than the goop we got in elementary school," says Haake. "But also that the teachers were really tough."

Great as it is to graduate, moving up to middle school can create anxiety. Here's what your preteen is likely to face, and how you can help:

* A tougher workload. It'll take more studying to do well than it did when she was in elementary school  -- and the amount of homework she has each night might double. Find your middle-schooler a quiet, well-lighted area where she can do homework, and be available to help. Chances are, she'll be getting assignments from different teachers as well as long-range projects that'll require planning. To help her get organized, make sure she has a notebook or folder for each class and a system to keep track of due dates. At the end of each day, have her go through her backpack (middle-schoolers are notorious for forgetting to pass along important papers and school notices) and review her homework list with her.

* A new routine. School may begin earlier or later, last longer, and involve switching classrooms throughout the day. If she seems frustrated at first, remind her of something that used to seem hard but that she's a whiz at now (such as soccer or making a phone call by herself). You can also point out that starting middle school means she's more grown up  -- and then give her a few new privileges to play up the positive: Let her stay up an hour later on weekends, say, or increase her phone time.

* Social issues. A middle-schooler would rather die than feel she doesn't fit in, so to the extent that you can stomach it, indulge her need to look like the other kids and do the things they do. If she complains that last year's like-new pink backpack is babyish, buy her another one. Let her grow out her bangs. By giving in to some of her whims now, you're less likely to find that she's sneaking behind your back when she's older.

When she seems open to it, consider telling her about your own middle-school years. It might be a relief for her to know that you went through many of the same things when you were her age  -- and lived to tell about it!

Related Articles

• Taming Tween Humor
• Ask Denene: Fund-Raising Overload
• 4 Tips to Get Your Kid Talking
  
  

Post Courtesy of Parenting.com

Volunteer Scheduling Software | Theatres

 Volunteer Spotlight: John Abramson, Volunteer Coordinator, Tropic Cinema

The Tropic Cinema,  South Florida's only independent non-profit multiplex, was started by the Key West Film Society, which itself begun as a group of friends who wanted to see and share independent, arthouse films...the type they simply weren't finding at other local multiplex.

Today, our Volunteer Spotlight shines on John Abramson, Volunteer Coordinator for the Tropic Cinema, who uses VolunteerSpot's online signup sheets to coordinate the theatre's volunteers.

----

Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.

 I'm the volunteer coordinator for the Tropic Cinema. With the exception of about 8 people (those of us in management), the rest of our staff is made up of volunteers, as it has been since the theatre opened its doors in 2004. Key West, being a tourist destination, has definite 'seasons'; our low season is from May through September, and our volunteer base rises and falls accordingly. Off-season, I have about 40-50 people on my roster; in season, that number may increase to 100-125. Many of our volunteers are snowbirds who live here only seasonally. The majority of those who give their time to us work inside the theatre at either the Box Office or Concessions, or act as Host (greeting people, distributing and collecting 3D glasses, monitoring the individual auditoriums, helping us keep the auditoriums neat and tidy after a showing, etc.). We also utilize volunteers for our flyer distribution each week; quite a number of businesses allow us to display our weekly movie schedules on their windows, which is a boon for us. As needed, we also ask for assistance with such tasks as stuffing envelopes, light secretarial duties, organizing, decorations, and so on. Our volunteers really are the backbone of this business!

 Explain how you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate these volunteers.

For now, I've been using VolunteerSpot for those "in-house" volunteers (Box Office, Concessions, and Host). We have two shifts daily, 1:00-4:30pm, and 5:30-9:00pm. However, I'm hoping to soon add other duties to this as well (flyer distribution and such) as we head into our high season. Throughout the week, I check the schedule to see what openings remain and then send out an email to everyone, alerting them to some availability and urge them to check it out. That volunteers now have a hand in creating their own schedules really has helped me tremendously, and certainly has, I think, boosted their spirits a bit. 

 What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or their leaders out there?

I'm relatively new at being in charge of volunteers - just three months into it (and a former volunteer here myself) - but if there's anything I can say to fellow coordinators is to keep an open dialogue with your volunteers. Keep them abreast of situations. I'm big on that, letting everyone know what's going on (within reason, of course). If you reach out to them, they'll do the same for you.

 Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

Prior to VolunteerSpot, each week I'd type up a list of the available days/shifts/times and send them out in a mass email; naturally, this could take up quite a bit of time, and of course there was also 'the upkeep', having to stay on top of answering countless emails and keeping on top of vacations and such, which was often difficult because I'm not here at the theatre every day. My supervisors were eager for me to find an online scheduling program geared towards a non-profit organization, so I tried out a number of them before finding VolunteerSpot. I sent out a test schedule to one of our volunteers and he gave it a big 'thumbs up' so with that encouragement we decided to go with it...and it's been a huge success. Volunteers have unanimously raved about it, particularly its ease of use. 

 Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your organization or volunteering?

That's terrific that I can tell you more about our theatre! The Tropic Cinema was started by the Key West Film Society, which itself was begun as a group of friends who wanted to see and share independent, arthouse films, the type they simply weren't finding at our other local multiplex. They would exhibit films wherever they could: at the library, at the San Carlos (a former vaudeville and movie palace that has since become a performance venue), even, I am told, on the side of the East Martello Tower (a small fort along the Atlantic Ocean side of Key West). Through various benefactors, they raised funds to create this theatre, in what was once the home of a McCrory's 5 & 10 and, later, a carpet warehouse, and specifically designed in the Art Deco style to appear as if it were a movie palace of long ago. In addition to traditional moviegoers, we also sell various yearly memberships, which offer discounts for every show, and which go such a long way towards keeping us going along. It's not an exaggeration to say that we really have become an institution here (in the best sense of the word) and a truly beloved member of the community. (That Key West has such an overwhelming sense of community doesn't hurt! Fundraising and donations are a fact of life here.) We also open our theatre to those seeking a venue in which to hold their own fundraisers, such as the American Cancer Society, which last week held it's inaugural "Cinema & Cuisine" event, and the Songwriter's Festival, just to name two. For the Oscars we go all out, having a fete in which we may have several hundred attendees, dressed up and ready to party, with a live feed of the show in our auditoriums. As a bit of a final plug, I'd also like to mention that not only has Florida Magazine named us "Best Movie Theatre" for four years running, this year TripAdvisor.com named us "Florida's #1 Attraction", based on customer reviews, accolades which we are so very proud of! (Sorry to go on so long but as you can see, I'm a big, big fan of the Tropic.)

To learn more about the Tropic Cinema, visit http://www.tropiccinema.com/main.html

---

We salute John and all the other volunteer  leaders out there making a difference in our world. If you're using VolunteerSpot, write and tell us about what you're doing and give us a chance to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on you!! Just email us at [email protected].

Parent-Teacher Conferences and Partnerships: FREE Webinar

 

EdExchange Webinar Series:

Best Practices for Parent-Teacher Conferences and Partnerships

Tuesday, October 2, 2012 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET

Register Now (click here)

20 magic minutes.  That’s the time-span of a typical parent-teacher conference.  Done well, parent-teacher conferences build trust and set the stage for cultivating positive long-term partnerships among teachers, parents and students. Done poorly, they’re a waste of everyone’s time -- or worse, they can spark conflict and mistrust among participants causing parents to lose confidence in their children, the teacher and the school as a whole.

Thanks to McGraw-Hill Education, we’ve put together an all-star panel of thought-leaders in the education, parent participation, and EdTech community to share Best Practices for Parent-Teacher Conferences and Building lasting Partnerships.

This one hour webinar for educators (and interested parents) will cover best practices, new media and helpful tips and tools for conducting powerful parent-teacher conferences.   

Please join us and bring your questions and tips to share!

Register Now (click here)

Webinar Topics include:

• Parent-Teacher Conference as the formal kickoff of the parent – teacher – student relationship to last the year and beyond
• What’s new in conferences (using Skype, including students, etc.)
• Tips for teacher prep before the conference
• Tips for preparing parents
• Sample Parent-Teacher conference game plan
• Tips for engaging challenging parents
• How to build the parent – teacher – student relationship moving forward
• Free time-saver and coordination tool: parent-teacher conference scheduling by VolunteerSpot

 

Meet the Panelists:

Lisa Dabbs (@TeachingwthSoul)

Lisa is an educational consultant, blogger and speaker. She has served as an elementary school principal for fourteen years, a federal programs project director, English Language Arts consultant for Kaplan Educational Corporation, and adjunct professor for Concordia University. In her work as an educational coach and consultant, she supports new teachers and educational organizations utilizing leadership experience in the areas of curriculum and instruction, educational technology, English Language Learners, Early Childhood Education, and parent education. She is currently a Core Blogger at Edutopia.org and Edutopia’s New Teacher Connections Group Facilitator, blogger at KidsDiscover.com, and vice president of an award-winning literacy nonprofit in her community. Her personal blog is teachingwithsoul.com and Lisa is active in social media and is the leader of a weekly New Teacher Chat on twitter (#ntchat).

Pernille Ripp (@PernilleRipp)

Pernille is a 5th grade teacher in Middleton, Wisconsin, proud techy geek, and honest to a fault. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project and believer in all children. “I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students' heads every day.”  Pernille is experienced in and a champion for student-led parent-teacher conferences. She blogs at mrspripp.blogspot.com.

 

 

Joe Mazza (@Joe_Mazza)

Joe is lead learner at Knapp Elementary School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. He has spent his career working with students, teachers & families as a 3rd grade teacher, bilingual assistant principal, middle school vice-principal, an elementary principal, while serving as a TV studio producer, webmaster and technology integration coach in each setting. He will graduate the University of Pennsylvania with a doctoral degree in May 2013. Dissertation topic: Principals’ use of social media to strengthen home-school partnerships.  Joe’s blog, eFACE Today, was created to share ways educators can use innovative tools to compliment face to face communications between home and school, and do this in a transparent and collaborative way. Joe leads a weekly Parent Teacher Chat on Twitter (#ptchat)

Greg Garner (@classroom_tech)

Greg is a change catalyst who is always looking for ways to challenge the status quo. He serves middle-level teachers in Austin, TX as an Educational Technologist and enthusiastically supports the use of student-led, technology infused learning environments. Greg is experienced with parent engagement using digital portfolios and SPED/504 applications.

 

 

Glenn Yetter (@coachyetter)

Glenn is in his 28^th year of education, predominantly as a sixth grade teacher in which he strives to instill a ‘Figure It Out For Yourself’ attitude into his students.  He now serves a member of his district’s Digital Resources Committee and has been a soccer coach for 20 years! As a catalyst to initiate student-led conferences, he has trained teachers and students in this extremely effective format. Glenn also is a consultant for Educational Impact, an on-line professional development company.  His blog can be read at bestyett.blogspot.com.

Karen Bantuveris (@VolunteerSpot & @VSpotMom)

Karen is the founder and CEO of VolunteerSpot.com, a free time-saving coordination tool and parent-teacher conference scheduler that makes it easy for anyone to get involved in their local schools and communities. Karen launched VolunteerSpot in 2009 to simplify the volunteer experience and it has quickly grown from mom-to-teacher-to-team-to-nonprofit, boosting turnout with more than 1.8 million users nationwide.  Karen is a frequent conference speaker about increasing parent participation in schools, engaging parents to fund education technology, and using new media tools to inspire social action in the ‘real’ world. Karen lives in Austin, TX.

 

Register Now (click here)

 

Helpful Resources:

Free Parent Teacher Conference Scheduling from VolunteerSpot.com

For parents: 

Must-read parent teacher conference tips

Parent Partnership Tips (from NEA) 

For teachers: 

Parent Teacher conference tips

Preparing for and Conducting Parent-Teacher Conferences (from NEA) 

I'm Signing Up | Roll Call

The back to school frenzy is finally finding its groove and we are thrilled to have brought you an array of intriguing, funny, and informative posts from top bloggers around the country who are signing up to do good in their kids' schools this year!  

From signing up to be the room parent, planning teacher appreciation, and heading up the PTA, to diving into school volunteering for the first time, avoiding volunteer burn out and yes we'll say it, simply taking a break from it all - our bloggers proved the ways to help are seemingly endless, yet it simply boils down to what you want to do, what you have time for and what brings you and your family joy.

Major appreciation to our contributors below - click their link to view their post, and have a great school year!

Stephanie Porter of QueenScarlett.com

Ashley Taylor of TheDoseOfReality

Angie Kinghorn of AngieKinghorn.com

Connie Foggles of ConnieFoggles.visibli.com

Tausha Hoyt of SassyStyleRedesign.com

Deirdre Smith of JDaniel4sMom.com

Amy Volk of AmyVolk.com

Tricia Oakes of TheSouthernSpark.com

Traci Shannon of AStarInMyOwnUniverse.com

Nellie of TheThirdBoob.com

Lucinda “Cindy” Watrous of It'sFoodtastic.com

Fawn Rechkemmer of InsteadOfTheDishes.com 

 Natasha Nicholes of HousefulofNicholes.com

Nicole Hempeck of MomentsThatDefineLife.com

Advice To A New Room Parent

Our friend Wendi Aarons of WendiAarons.com is spilling the beans about being a room parent and the hilarous secrets behind it!  Don't miss her post (originally published on WendiAarons.com Sept. 12th, 2012).

THE TOP 7 SECRETS OF ROOM PARENTS

1. You’re A Hero
That’s right, a big hero. As soon as it’s announced that you’ve sucked it up and volunteered to be the Room Parent, you’ll be worshiped. That’s because now the other parents no longer have to feel guilty about not doing it themselves. Hooray for you! Of course, you should immediately take advantage of this good will and make them take you out for lunch and coffee and paraffin spa treatments. Because, just like your kid’s new school jacket and $50 backpack, your hero status will soon be lost.

2. You’ll Start the Year as a Benevolent Dictator
At first, you’ll be warm and friendly to everyone. You love the other parents! They’re awesome! You’ll happily invite them to a welcome coffee where you tell them how excited you are to work with the class and all the fun activities you have planned. You assume that if you’re super sweet and likable, the other parents will bend over backwards to help you as much as they possibly can. Hahaha! You are an idiot.

3. You’ll End the Year as an Insane Despot
Because sweet and likable get you nowhere in Room Parent Land, my friend. You’ll first realize this around October when nobody volunteers to help with the school carnival and you’re stuck sweeping up 100 pounds of confetti by yourself in a dark parking lot. Therefore, you’ll need to change tactics and no longer start your emails with a cute, “Hello, parents!” Nope. No way. Now your emails need to start with the much more effective, “LISTEN UP, LOSERS” and include a few thinly veiled threats. Yeah, that’s right. Show ‘em who’s boss.

4. You’ll Be Judged No Matter What
If you skimp on the holiday party decorations, you’ll be called a slacker. If you overdo it on the holiday party decorations, you’ll be called a show-off. The phrase “can’t win for losing” is pretty much the room parent’s mantra. Therefore, just do whatever you want to do. Chocolate fountain? Great! No chocolate fountain? Great! As long as the kids and the teachers are happy, it doesn’t matter what the Judgey McJudgersons think. Even if they were kind of right about how you shouldn’t have given the kindergarteners bows and arrows on Track and Field Day.

5. You’ll Need Loan Shark Skills
As soon as you become the Room Parent, you may as well change your name to Jimmy NoNeck and start lifting weights because for the next nine months, you’re nothing but a good fella chasing the other parents down for money. A $20 contribution to the class fund doesn’t seem like much, but for some reason, nobody ever remembers to give it to you. Therefore, when it comes to paying for things, you have two choices: 1) foot the bill yourself or 2) learn how to bust kneecaps. Guess which one’s more fun?

6. You’ll Be the Teacher’s BFF
The biggest, and perhaps only, perk of being Room Parent is increased proximity to the teacher. Getting face time isn’t always easy, but most teachers will welcome you with open arms and happily chat about your child, the inner workings of the school and what they think about the principal’s love life if you’re hanging out in the classroom helping out. Then, years later, when your daughter needs a glowing recommendation to get into Harvard Med, you’ll know just who to call. Suddenly cutting 100 replicas of the Alamo out of Styrofoam won’t seem like such a time suck after all.

7. You Will Never Have to Volunteer Again
The good news is that once you’ve spent a year as Room Parent, you can pretty much coast for the rest of your kid’s school years. A simple, “What’s that? You need library volunteers? Well, if you’ll remember, I was Room Parent four years ago and I’m still not fully recovered. See how my hand still shakes? Good luck, sucker!” and you’ll get out of anything. You see, fair volunteer, the Room Parent is like a firefighter who almost died while rescuing 10 adorable kittens; nobody’s ever going to ask you to run into another burning building for the rest of your life because you’ve already gone above and beyond. And that makes it all worthwhile. Good luck!

 

Photo Courtesy of BigStockPhoto

 

Don't Miss:

RoomMomSpot.com

Great Room Parent Tools & Resources (video)

Room Mom Survival Guide (eBook)

Room Parent Ideas on Pinterest

 

Volunteering in School | Parenting Monday

The Busy Mom's Guide to Volunteering in School

By: Beth Weinhouse (This post originally appeard on Parenting.com)

If you're like most moms, you probably wish there were more hours in the day. By the time you take care of your family, your job, and your house, there's not much time left to see your friends, let alone head up a committee to improve something at your kid's school. But giving even a few minutes can go far toward bettering your child's education—as long as you make those minutes count. For easy ways to get involved, we turned to the experts: the 51 mom delegates who won our contest to represent their states and the District of Columbia at Parenting's 2011 Mom Congress (MC) conference last April at Georgetown University in Washington, DC (meet them all and learn about their passions at parenting.com/momcongress), plus the education experts who participated and our Facebook fans. Still need convincing? “Research shows that family involvement leads to higher grades and better social skills and behavior,” says Mary Jo Neil, a former member of the National PTA's board of directors. So...what are you waiting for?

If you've got 5 minutes

JOIN PARENTING'S MOM CONGRESS COMMUNITY Sign up at facebook.com/momcongress. You'll connect with moms across the country who are just as busy as you are but want to help their kids' schools as much, too. “Everyone has something to give; everyone wants to feel needed… and every minute given to the school helps immensely,” says Marni Fennessy, the MC New Hampshire delegate.

E-mail your child's teacher when your little one enjoyed something the class did—or just to tell her that she's doing a great job. Teachers tend to hear from parents only when a child is having problems; letting her know how much you support and appreciate her will help keep your child foremost in her thoughts, too. “I make sure the teacher knows I'm on her side when it comes to education,” says Chamarro Nicole Caldwell on Facebook.

Read More for 5 Minutes

If You've Got 15 Minutes

Reach out to your child's class parent and volunteer to send reminder e-mails for events, meetings, field trips, parties, or fund-raising. You can be a hero just for sending those e-mails from your phone while sitting in a carpool line!

Should candy vending machines be removed from the schoolcafeteria? Is the science lab hopelessly outdated? Do kids need bike racks or crossing guards so they can ride or walk to school? When something needs changing at home or at work, you speak up, right? So set up an appointment for a short meeting or phone call with the school's principal and let him know how you feel.

Read More For 15 Minutes

If You've Got an Hour

Spend time in your kid's classroom. This may be the single most important thing you can do to help your child and his school. If you're not thrilled by the idea of reading to the kids or speaking at Career Day (both of which, by the way, are always welcome), do something that reflects your own interests and expertise instead. “My husband fixed computers so that the kids could play educational software games,” says Renee Herron on Facebook. “He brought in memory, keyboards, and mice. The kids were so happy to have their computers running again!” If you're artistic, bring in a project for the kids. If you speak another language, give an introductory lesson. While you're spending time in your child's classroom, the teacher can grade papers, plan lessons, deal with administrative duties, or just catch her breath and regroup, says Jerri Ann Reason, the MC delegate from Alabama.

Read More for 1 Hour

If You've Got a Morning

If you can spare one morning a week, we'll bet your kid's school can find a use for you! “I worked in the school library on Wednesdays,” says Debbie Benoit on Facebook. “And on Thanksgiving my daughter said the thing she was most thankful for was that her mommy ‘worked’ at her school!”

Keep everyone connected online with Shutterfly's Classroom Share sites. The free, secure websites make it easy to share class news and photos, and coordinate activities. To get started, go to shutterfly.com/sharesite.

Read More for A Morning

If You've Got a Day

CHAPERONE A CLASS FIELD TRIP. It will thrill your child to have you along on a school outing, and you'll get the bonus of extra face time with the teacher and a chance to get acquainted with other parents. Those contacts will prove valuable when you need to enlist the teacher's support or other parents' advice.

GET LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS INVOLVED. Visit local restaurants to ask about establishing student incentive programs. For example, a pizzeria can host a special pizza night for students who read a certain number of books. This type of positive reinforcement helps improve student achievement.

MAKE OVER A SCHOOL FUNDRAISER. Instead of having kids sell unhealthy sweets like candy bars and cookies, look into other options like greeting cards, plants, candles, or ceramics. Or organize a fun run, where kids get people to pledge contributions for distance covered. “We hosted the school's silent auction/dinner fund-raiser at our home,” says one Facebook fan who works full-time. “It was easier for me to do one big thing rather than help out on smaller projects throughout the year.”

Read More for A Day

 

Post Courtesy Of

Everything School Volunteering

Teacher Appreciation, Volunteeritis, & Taking the Plunge | I'm Signing Up

We are thrilled to feature three more bloggers who are sharing their intriguing, informative, and inspiring perspectives of signing up to help in their kids' schools.  From teacher appreciation, to volunteer burnout, to diving in for the first time, you are sure to connect with their stories and we encourage you to share your own!

Stephanie Porter of QueenScarlett.com is signing up to show her kids' teachers some major appreciation this year!  Read an excerpt of her post below and the entire piece on her blog.

Most of our teachers like volunteers in the classroom, they often have to work out a schedule based on all the parents' varied schedules. I can't imagine the time and the headache putting it together. VolunteerSpot would make it so much easier for teachers to put up the schedule they need, and simply have the parents tap into each spot that works for them, saving time for the teacher, and making it simple to get a replacement volunteer if something comes up. 

I'm really excited to use VolunteerSpot to coordinate Teacher Appreciation Week. When my oldest was in kindergarten we had a teacher that went above and beyond, and truly showed a mother's heart towards my daughter. When I discovered from the Internet when Teacher Appreciation week was, I went overboard, as is in my nature. It's fun for me. I organized the class to do something special for our teacher every day, we brought flowers, tea bags, baked goods, fruit, we even wore her favorite color, and I made a memory book for her in addition to a class gift. It seems, because we went overboard, some teachers felt a little left out, so the administration decided to start having parents organize the week, that next year kids were bringing in things about three days out of the week. Of course, if you're in my kid's class we're going to make it easier this year with VolunteerSpot.

Read Stephanie's Entire Post

* * * * *

Ashley Taylor of TheDoseOfReality knows you might have a fever and the only diagnosis is VOLUNTEERITIS!  Ashley is helping keep us in check with a little humor and  aseriously cautionary tale of a leading a fundraiser the hard way.

I have a feeling that you, like me, will soon find yourself at one or two upcoming Parents’ Nights, a scattering of PTA meetings, or a few Back-to-School events where you will be conveniently placed at some point in front of a table loaded with various sheets labeled “Parent Volunteer Requests.” Or if you are lucky, your school will have embraced technology and be using Volunteer Spot.

Some of these requests will be simple like, “Who can bring plastic-ware for the fall class party?” Some will be a little more involved like, “Who will be the class photographer for the holiday party?” And then there will be a few seemingly harmless requests in there that will *appear* doable (because this is how they will be presented to you) when in actuality they could wind up sucking the life out of you and additionally could have your husband and children considering whether or not you are really of vital importance to the family. [Don't worry, you are. Dance leotards don't wash themselves. -Lisa]

I am here today to offer a cautionary tale to help you steer clear of “volunteering” your life away, or at the very least, to let you know that you are not alone if you are already entrenched in one of these “doable” parent volunteering tasks.

Read Ashley's Entire Post

* * * * *

Angie Kinghorn of AngieKinghorn.com didn't volunteer until now - and that's ok!  With a moving tale of her journey, Angie will inspire you as a parent and school volunteer.  Read an excerpt of her post below and the entire piece on her site.

But this year my kids are in kindergarten, and I’ve signed up to be a room mom and a library volunteer, and it’s largely because I’ve spent the past three years not volunteering.

So let me tell you about not volunteering. This side of the story is important, and it’s not something you hear a lot.

Listen closely if you’re a room mom, desperate to fill your sign-up sheets with bright-eyed parents. When you see that same mother screeching to the curb minutes before the bell sounds every morning, sporting the same yoga pants, dirty hair, and streaked mascara she’s had on every other time you’ve seen her, remember this story. The class Halloween party may be the least important thing in her life right now; she may be hanging on by a thread.

Read Angie's Entire Post

 

 

Diving In & Being Prepared | I'm Signing Up

From school volunteering tips to a story of sending the oldest off to junior high, you are sure to relate to today's featured "I'm Signing Up" bloggers! Read excerpts of their posts below and let us know how you will be signing up to help in school this year!

Connie Foggles of ConnieFoggles.visibli.com has SUPER tips that will make you a better school parent volunteer (and help you not lose your mind)! Read an excerpt from her post below and the entire piece here.

Volunteering at school is rewarding, but let’s be honest; it can be hard work and time consuming. As a longtime volunteer at both of my daughters’ schools, I’ve learned how to help out without losing my mind. I hope you will use these tips and either start or continue to sign up and volunteer.

• Learn to Say No – You have probably heard this a million times. Instead of just saying no, try to find someone else to do it. I keep a list of volunteers and we trade off on tasks and help each other out in emergencies.
• KISS – Keep it simple silly – often times a volunteer project is overly complex because multiple people are working on it. Help break it down to simple steps and take on one step to do on your own.  Another example is instead of baking for a bake sale; ask a store to donate some goodies.
• Make a Schedule – and stick to it. You know what the best days are for you to take on extra tasks. It may be the day that you have pizza for dinner, or when both of your children stay after school for chorus. Go ahead and use your school’s signup sheets to volunteer for those days.
• Don’t Be that One Everyone Turns To – They love me, they really love me. You may think it’s a compliment, but it’s always that way when you volunteer. Usually a few people are the only ones who help out with everything. As much as you may want to do this, it’s a sure way to getting burnt out.

Read Connies Entire Post

* * * * *

Tausha Hoyt of SassyStyleRedesign.com is sending her oldest off to junior high - eek!  She's heading up the PTSA this year, not just to get involved at school but to engage in her daughter's new school environment, with her and her peers.  Read an excerpt of Tausha's post below and the entire piece on her blog.

So, that brings me to the question-I’m signing up to  BE INVOLVED & here’s why.
As I just pointed out, Jr high can be brutal. And we all know that kids can be mean. I wanted to be involved in my 12 yr. olds first experience of Jr. high.  So, I signed up to help be in charge of the PTSA.  There are 3 adults that run this little group of kids. We are in charge of stomps (for those of you outside of Utah-this is a very, non-formal dance-usually in the day) making and hanging posters and other activities.  The kids that are in the group are called “peer leaders.” Think school officer, minus the jacket.  Anyway, my 12 yr. old is a peer leader. So, this was a perfect way for me to be involved without seeming too overbearing.

It may seem like a small and simple thing, but to me, it’s huge. I have the opportunity to see my daughter interact with her friends and see her in her school element. All without being too pushy, or one of “those moms.”  She won’t admit that she likes me being there, but I know that she does. . . 

This is why I am doing all that I can to be more involved with my 12 yr. old.  I am hoping that I can become the “cool mom!” I realize that she might never ever admit that, and I am ok with that. I will know that she appreciates me being involved, even if she won’t tell her friends. It will be our little secret.

Read Tausha's Entire Post

 

Math May Look Different | Teacher Tip

Trust Your Teacher and Give New Math a Chance

As parents we know it's not just our kids who shudder at the thought of math homework and tests; we too feel unprepared at times because we do not understand (or remember) how it all works in grade school.  Cindy Hallman-Morris, math teacher, of MildlyManicMom.com is here to tell us that yes math is changing, but her tip is to embrace it, ask questions and help develop your child's "math literacy."  Read an excerpt of her teacher tip below and catch the whole thing here.

What has it meant to learn math in school for the past 50 years?  There were formulas and rules and we would teach one concept at a time.  As teachers we would make links to other mathematical topics when we would start a new concept, but not too many kids were actually following.  Learn a skill, practice it a bazillion times, memorize what it was called so you could do it on the test, learn a new skill, practice it a bazillion times….  You remember.

School math is changing.  Why?  Because the world has changed so drastically in the last 50 years. I can still remember seeing my first cell phone but the children in school now have never lived without the internet. We badly need students with math literacy and a strong number sense to be ready for jobs we have not even imagined.

When my daughter was in elementary school and they were learning about division, it was everything I could do not to pull out that old algorithm we all learned in the United States.  Put the first number “in the house”, etc.  Did you ever understand exactly why that would give you the right answer?  I held my tongue while my daughter broke the numbers into chunks and really got to the idea of division.  This is math literacy.

Read Cindy's Entire Post

 

Picture Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

About Cindy: This is my 18th year in the high school classroom.  I have a masters in Mathematics Education and am National Board Certified.  I am an active member of the Math Leadership Team for our county and help run workshops for county teachers.  Parent of a middle school and a high school child.  Follow me on facebook - twitter - and pinterest!

September 11th, 2012 | Day of Service & Remembrance

Today we are reminded of the courageous men, women and children who fell on that tragic day 11 years ago; and we are inspired by those who served in the weeks and months following to search for survivors and rebuild our nation's spirit.

We honor them by serving and giving in their memory on this Day of Service & Remembrance.  Pay tribute today and always.

 

Resources:

AARP: Find a 9/11 Volunteer Opportunity Near You

Join the Movement at 911Day.org

Unite in Service with the Corporation for National & Communtiy Service

Sign On The Dotted Line | I'm Signing Up

Paper Sign Up Sheets or Online Sign Ups? That Is The Question.

Today's featured "I'm Signing Up" bloggers give us two unique perspectives of doing the "paper thing" and the "online thing" when it comes to volunteering and organizing school volunteers - don't miss their fabulous posts, excerpted below:

The paper sign up sheets seemed endless, but she hit 'em all - signing up to cook, help with field trips, make cut-outs at home, the list goes on! Deirdre Smith of JDaniel4sMom.com is doing it all, signing up to help at her son's school this year and make a difference in the classroom.  Read an excerpt of her I'm Signing Up post below and the entire piece here.

When I got to JDaniel’s room his teacher’s had sign up sheets for different task outside their classroom door along with a volunteer sheet that came home with him in his work folder. His teachers were looking for people to help with parties, check out books from the library on the theme they are studying, cut out crafts, create special snacks, and so much more. I put my name down for helping with field trips, special snacks and taking activities home to cut out. Special snacks sounded right up my alley. I really look for to helping creating thematic snack this year. There were a few thing on the sheet that was sent home that I signed up for too. 

I guess I will just have to wait and see what his teacher’s ask me to do. I wish JDaniel’s school used a website like VolunteerSpot . It is free to use and basically works like an online volunteer signup sheet. It allows schools and other organizations to schedule volunteer needs in a calendar format with details on what exactly is needed at what time. Then, volunteers can sign into the calendar to claim these specific jobs. 

Read Deirdre's Entire Post

* * * * *

Amy Volk of AmyVolk.com is full of love for free online sign up sheets!  After taking the plunge last year to organize a giant grade-wide trip (with tons of parent volunteers needed), she saved herself a lot of time (and stress) and certainly had the last laugh.  Read an excerpt of Amy's I'm Signing Up Post below and the entire piece here.

Last year, for some crazy reason, I signed up to be the parent volunteer coordinator for the 7th grade Environmental Camping Trip.  It’s a week long trip to a ranch with cabins and trails and rock climbing and swimming and lots of bonding.  Sounds fun, right? I wanted to be an involved parent and I had heard that this trip was super cool and super important to the kids, so how hard could it be to get some parents together to help out?

Ha.

I soon learned that I would need to fill about 90 volunteer slots including 4 nights for 10 cabins.  You do the math.  Just the overnight slots alone needed 10 parents each night to sleep over with 7th graders!  Holy cow.

Before my panic could set in, a friend told me that she had used this online signup calledVolunteer Spot.  Here is the moment when the white horse rides in to save the day!  That’s seriously how I feel about Volunteer Spot.

Read Amy's Entire Post

 

We raise our glasses to both Amy and Deirdre, whether it's jotting their name down on several paper sign up sheets or literally becoming a snake charmer of parent volunteer organizing online - kudos to you both!

Tell us how you're planning to volunteer at school this year over on facebook!