Volunteer at the kids’ school

“My main reason for doing reading testing, enduring a bus ride to a field trip about weapons engineering, and other thrills? Stalking. I call it something else, but that’s the gist of it. I want to know these short humans who spend their time with my darling sons. Six or seven hours a day, the other students are chatting and touching and sharing stuff with my kids. And I’m far away with no clue. Being with the class is a great way to get the inside scoop on relationship dynamics. Who is the loud one? Is there a group of snarky girls? How does my kid interact with others?”

“My strong suit is sitting on the rug with a small group, reading together, taking turns reading passages, talking about the meaning of the story or chapter, discussing new words, and tying the themes in the stories to the children’s real lives. I will miss that.”

“Now, as I ventured into school more often, I began to appreciate what drew other parents to volunteer: the delight on my sons’ faces when they caught sight of me unexpectedly in the hallway and the satisfaction of helping teachers I admire and respect.”