One the first day of school the kids come home with a folder bursting with paperwork. Announcements of upcoming fundraisers, invitations to join the scouts, reminders of supporting the booster clubs, important documents that need to be returned and a thick packet from the PTA highlighting volunteer opportunities.

The first year this folder game home I had a tiny kindergartner and two daughters at home. I was new to the elementary school and the PTA packet was intimidating. I read each description carefully, from the "art awareness ambassador" to "field day committee" and weighed all of my options. Only a handful volunteer opportunities included the words "siblings welcomed" and that's how I found myself eating lunch with my children in the school cafeteria for the last four years.

I am a proud lunch-room mom.

"Siblings welcomed"

Between two kids in school full time I have the chance to enjoy lunch with them every other week. This by far has been one of the luxuries that comes with being a stay-at-home-mom.

My duties are to help assist students and keep things in order. That means a lot of opening up yogurt tubes, twisting milk bottles open and telling kids to keep their behinds planted in their seats. In between my very important duties I have the chance to sit down, in the middle of the day, to spend a couple of glorious minutes with my children. I observe them interact with their classmates. This is priceless. I in return am able to interact with their classmates. Around the rows of the school cafeteria tables I am simply known as "Jay's mom" or "Lola's mom" - the mom that arrives with preschooler in tow.

Spending time with my children, interacting with their community and helping out at our school is a winning equation.

I SUPPORT MY SCHOOL.. MY WAY! And I’m joining VolunteerSpot’s sponsored Back To School campaign to help raise visibility for parent involvement in schools.

Save time {and sanity} and get more parents involved at school with VolunteerSpot.com!

VolunteerSpot's FREE online signup sheets make it easy to organize parents and signup to help for just about anything: classroom helpers, snack schedules, carnivals, library volunteers, parent-teacher conferences and more.... No more 'Reply-All' email chains or clipboard sign up sheets! Please share with your room mom, teachers and parent leaders…

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