Effective Ways to Use Classroom Volunteers

I love reading tips from other teachers and learning more about what they do in their classrooms. I am especially interested in how other teachers come up with ways to utilize their volunteers. So I was super excited to find out how some of our teachers in The Kindergarten Connection community use classroom volunteers most effectively and I wanted to pass these great ideas on to you!

How to Use Classroom Volunteers

A good volunteer is truly worth their weight in gold! But I love having volunteers in the classroom for more than just the help they give – although that is up there on my list of whys. Not only do students love it when there is another grown up in the room, it really strengthens the home-school community.

Some volunteers really love getting in the classroom and being with the kids. Other volunteers work and can’t be in the classroom, but are more than happy to give you their time doing things at home. So it is important to find the right fit for your volunteers. Head HERE to grab our editable classroom volunteer survey to send home!

Sometimes it can be hard to think of ideas for what would really be useful to have a volunteer do. Well, you came to the right place, because our amazing teachers from The Kindergarten Connection community had tons of ideas I think you will love!

Volunteering in the Classroom

Volunteering in the classroom can mean a variety of things. Maybe you need help with a big art project you will be doing sporadically, or maybe you want someone every Wednesday helping you lead a small group. The great thing is, you can create whatever volunteer opportunities work best for you!

Here are some ideas for ways to use volunteers IN the classroom:

• Lead a small group
• Help with art projects
• Run class celebrations
• Be a guest reader
• Monitor the playground during recess
• Make photocopies
• Laminating
• Help with bulletin boards
• Filing/organizing files
• Lead a whole class enrichment activity
• Come speak about their job
• Help with class incentives (class store/prizes)
• Guest scientist (lead students through a science experiment)
• Help with field trips
• Sort student papers into their take home folders

Volunteering at Home

Not all volunteers are able to come into the classroom, but many people still want to help in some way. There are plenty of things volunteers can do at home that are still extremely helpful.

Check out these ideas for using volunteers OUTSIDE of the classroom:

• Cutting, tracing, etc.
• Prepare projects (give a template, an example, instructions, and materials and let a volunteer prep class sets of art project pieces – here are some of my favorite crafts)
• Organize class celebrations
• Organize field trips
• Help grade student work (if allowed)
• Purchase needed supplies

I hope these ideas help you find a way to effectively use those wonderful volunteers in your classroom. Let me know how you use volunteers in your room, I’d love to hear from you!