Island Parent Fall 2023

MOM’SPOV
The Cool of
Volunteering at School
The school bell rings. The children
will be entering the classroom
in seconds.
I’m in my daughter’s Grade 2 classroom,
about to be in the spotlight. I
flip another round of pancakes on my
griddle while my stomach does a flop.
My forehead breaks out in a nervous
sweat. I wish I wore sandals instead of
runners. But it’s too late to consider
cooler wardrobe choices now.
The children file into the classroom
and are instantly distracted at the
sight of a guest—me. I breathe, wipe
my brow and then smile. I’ve got this.
Children are a forgiving audience and
my daughter is always telling me it is
okay to learn from our mistakes.
I love participating in PJ Day as
much as the children do. I am rocking
my rubber ducky PJ pants. I also love
that my youngest daughter still loves to
dress up in matching outfits with me.
Twinning as she calls it. She also enjoys
twinning with her friends.
One child approaches me. She is
wearing an adorable unicorn onesie.
She tells me about her dad’s pancakes
that he makes every weekend. Another
child asks whose mom I am. My own
daughter comes and hugs me. Many
more children come over to view the
extra toppings of whip cream, strawberries,
and chocolate chips that are
laid out on the table at the front of the
classroom.
I get a chance to eat some pancakes
with my daughter, but not before
tripping the breaker by plugging in a
second griddle. I remind myself that
children are a forgiving audience and
so is the teacher as I apologize for
blowing the breaker. I move to the
hall to use a different outlet to finish
cooking the last of the pancake batter.
Thankfully, it was only one outlet and
not power for the whole class. As I’m
cleaning up, children are still chatting
to me while they’re supposed to be
practicing their spelling. I say goodbye
to my daughter’s teacher and the whole
class thanks me at the same time. By
this point, I’m comfortable and far less
nervous.
This year I also attended my son’s
Maritime Museum field trip where
I helped with fun activities to learn
about supply and demand and trading.
I was nervous during my role for
this field trip as well because I was the
checker of various activities that the
children completed on cards to earn
pelts for trading at the trading post. It