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Be sure to enlist the help of the classroom teacher (who, like you, wants
that student in the classroom, not clinging to a parent).  If out of sight
is a possibility, do that.  Otherwise you may have some luck with the "Mom
needs to do her volunteer job and you need to do your job as a
student".   Most parents will be very willing to help their child make the
transition.  I'd be more worried about the parent who clings to their
child, and we've all met some of those.  Check what kind of "volunteer
expectations" your school has.  They may have already addressed some of
these issues with some kind of printed guidelines for parent
volunteers.  If not, perhaps you would like to create some guidelines.  Be
sure to get the principal to approve them.  Try to write them in positive
terms: "Do treat your child just like all the other children in the class"
rather than "Don't give your child special treatment".

Check with other staff members about the parent volunteers who will be
working in the library.  While you may get some biased opinions, you can
still keep your mind open.  This will give you a "heads-up" about potential
problems.

Try to schedule parents at a time when their child is not scheduled for
library time, at least for the first few weeks.  Always explain such
scheduling to the parent in terms of the benefit to their child in
adjusting to school and becoming a part of his/her new class.

At 08:51 AM 8/2/2004, you wrote:
>Good Morning or Evening (where ever you are),
>
>I am a new media specialist in a K-5 school.  I'm trying to think of
>ways to utilize parent volunteers effectively.  You all know that there
>are some parents who tend to be boisterous.   I can handle that type of
>parent -- usually-- in a diplomatic way.  How do you handle situations
>when you have a volunteer and their child tends to want to stay with
>the parent instead of his/her class--especially kindergarten?  It has
>been 5 years since I taught kindergarten.  I have taught every grade
>level in K-5 with the exception of 2nd grade.   Our students will start
>school on Wednesday, and I have several people who have offered their
>services.  I just want to be prepared to handle all types of situations
>that may arise.  From what I remember, kindergarten students tend to
>cling to their parents when they are around.  I don't want to upset the
>student or the parent.  Perhaps I could have the volunteer working in
>an "out of sight" capacity?
>
>I would appreciate any advice that you may offer--from how to best
>utilize volunteers to how to handle students when their parents are in
>attendance.  Thank you in advance.
>
>
>Janice Askew
>Media Coordinator
>T. S. Cooper Elementary School
>237 Hwy. 32 South
>Sunbury, NC  27979
>jma0525@earthlink.net
>
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Anne C. Oelke  Library Media Specialist
Cambria-Friesland School District
Cambria, WI. US  53923
mailto:anne@oelke.com

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