Volunteer Goodness

We all know that without volunteers our classrooms would fall apart.  Whether you have 10 volunteers or 1, without them we would be lost.  Like many of you, I work in a Title 1 school and have very little parental support.  This year, I had 4 amazing parents volunteer their time.  I needed a gift that would work for moms and dads and I think this did the trick...lemonade recipes, pitcher, and spoon.

 I scored the glass pitchers at IKEA and the spoons at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

I printed and laminated a traditional lemonade, and my favorite, lavender lemonade recipe.

 I love the way they turned out.

You can grab a copy of the tag I created here.

What do you do to say thank you to the volunteers in your class?

Where would we be without volunteers?

I don't know about you, but without my classroom volunteers I would be lost!  At the beginning of the year, I had a handful of parents interested in volunteering in the classroom.  I knew I would need their assistance, so I created this form to indicate where I needed help and to keep everyone organized.

 

Click on the image to download this from my TPT store.

Throughout the year, I learned several things about having volunteers in the classroom:

• always have more for your volunteer to do than time allows
• do not ask your volunteers to grade student assessments
• if you want something prepared a specific way consider prepping if yourself
• parents that can volunteer from home are just as helpful as those in the classroom
• volunteers during Centers or Daily 5 are irreplaceable
• always show your appreciation

In order to show my volunteers how much I appreciated them, I gifted each one with these adorable herb plants.  Ashley over at That's So Second Grade, give me the idea with the brilliant term "sup-HERB."  I picked up the pots from HomeDepot and the herb plants at Trader Joe's.  I also purchased patio paint (it doesn't fade) from Michaels and a paint pen for the writing.  I was amazed at how quick the project came together, and thrilled with how they turned out. Plus, my volunteers loved them.  I would enjoy hearing what you have done to say "Thank You" to your volunteers.