Room parents can often take on too much too quickly and miss the joy and fun of being a part of their child’s class activities. Not to stress—with a little planning, delegation and focus, you can setup for a successful year (that won’t leave the other parents cringing at the sound of your voice or sight of your emails).

Survival Tip #1

Schedule the class needs for the year by asking the teacher when he could use the most help from parents and on what basis. For example, weekly readers and helpers, take-home projects, one-time events. Also, schedule out all the events from class parties and assembly days to field trips and parent-teacher conferences. 

Survival Tip #2

Communicate early and often with other parents and the teacher. Send an introductory email to parents introducing class activities and the exciting opportunities to join in the classroom fun in the coming year. Let parents know the best way to reach you and how you plan on communicating with them—email, class blog, Facebook group.

Use VolunteerSpot’s online signup sheets and parent scheduler to save time coordinating parent volunteers and parent-teacher conferences. Easy online scheduling and the convenience of signing up from smartphone or computer, plus automated reminders, will keep the entire class parent body happy.

Survival Tip #3

Get help! Recruit moms and dads to share in the fun. Lessen your load by having a parent chair a specific activity or celebration day. Find out what special skills, hobbies or family traditions each parent would be willing to share with the class. Share the answers with the teacher so he can weave their special visits into lesson plans.

Find more room mom survival tips at VolunteerSpot's free online ebook.

VolunteerSpot is proud to save Room Moms and Teachers hundreds of hours by simplifying the task of signing up, scheduling, and reminding parents – reducing your busy work and leaving you more time to focus on what’s important. Room Moms use VolunteerSpot to coordinate weekly readers, recess and classroom helpers, holiday parties, field trips, potlucks and more! Take a tour today.