Interest Clubs By Volunteers

At my school, the volunteers were a part of a parent/grandparent group called "The Community Club." They worked through the principal, but teachers could suggest ways the group could help out. The Interest Clubs were the most successful project of the Community Club. Every Friday afternoon we had Interest Clubs at the end of the day. A questionnaire was sent out to all families asking for parents to lead an Interest Club. We had an amazing array of responses. Parents volunteered to teach: roller blading, cheerleading, French, gourmet cooking, how to make birdhouses, Christmas crafts, knitting, line dancing, etc. Teachers also taught Interest Clubs (my favorite was the penny whistle), and one teacher was in charge of overseeing and coordinating the activities. Most lessons were open to kids of all grades (K-5). It was fun to see a fifth grader helping a first grader make a birdhouse.

We had a great parent/grandparent group. The only problem for teachers was that the group met during the day, so we couldn't be very involved. This was a rural school, and most families were farm families with many mothers at home during the day.