Kindergarten is an important milestone in your child's life. It is his first year of formal instruction, and it is the beginning of your child's learning journey. You can make the transition easier for your child by getting involved in his education from the beginning. There are many ways to do this, depending upon your schedule and availability. There are no special requirements for parental involvement activities in kindergarten other than a willing and enthusiastic attitude.
Kindergarten teachers are often overwhelmed in the classroom. Even if they have an assistant, there are a multitude of tasks waiting at any time. To make her job easier, you might volunteer to come to the classroom once or twice a week to tutor kids who are struggling with reading or math skills. If lack of time is an issue, consider coming to the classroom on a semi-monthly basis to read aloud to the students.
If tutoring is not an area of interest for you, there are other ways to get involved in your child's kindergarten classroom and help the teacher at the same time. Volunteer to make copies, make bulletin board displays or chaperone a field trip. By working in the classroom, you get a first hand look at your child's daily routine and can establish a good rapport with the teacher.
Becoming involved in a school organization like the parent-teacher association is a good way to connect with other parents and meet the school's administrative officials. You can also discuss fund raising ideas for specific projects to improve the school. Most schools conduct these meetings in the evenings, providing an opportunity for working parents to become involved in helping improve their child's education.
Away from School
If you work outside the home at a job with hours or shifts that are not conducive to helping in the kindergarten classroom or going to parent-teacher meetings, there are other ways to be involved. Be an invisible classroom assistant. For example, volunteer to call parents about arranging class parties or field trips. You might organize a parent list with updated contact information and email it to the teacher regularly. These are tremendous time-saving tasks for the teacher, all of which you can do from a remote location.