So You Volunteered To Be The “Room Mom” :: Tips For A Successful Year As A Room Mom
Now what?
Other than backing out of the commitment you already signed up for, what is there to do now that you’re officially signed up to be “Room Mom” for your kid’s class?
Although being a stay-at-home mom was never on my “dream job” list of things to do, I always said if I were to take on the job, there’s one thing I’d want to do if I could… become a “Room Mom.” So when the new school year rolled around, and there was a call for volunteers for each class, I quickly signed up.
And then the panic ensued…
What in the world was I thinking?
How can I volunteer at my oldest’s school when I have two other tiny humans at home?
What do I even do as a room mom?
What in the world was I thinking?!?!
Once I finally came to and calmed myself from the internal freakout I was enduring, I reached out to a few mom friends I had made along the way to ease my fears. And that they did…
So, if you’re having post-volunteer fears like I did with no one to turn to, here are a few tips to make the school year more successful!
1. Reach out to your child’s teacher(s)
I’d say this one is most important! Your job as a room mom is ultimately to make the teacher’s life easier. I don’t know about you, but after COVID learning, I would give my kid’s teacher just about anything they wanted to make sure I never had to homeschool full time.
Set up a meeting or send an email. Find out exactly what the expectations are for you as a room mom. Is there anything that you can do that would make their life easier? Is there anything that the room mom from the previous year did that they loved/hated/wished were done differently? The beginning of the year is your chance to lay it all out on the table and lay some ground work.
You can also take this opportunity to ask your teacher about some of their favorite things: drinks, snacks, gift cards, restaurants, places to shop, etc. When birthdays and holidays roll around, parents want to know what their child’s teacher actually wants instead of buying them another mug (they don’t need anymore… trust me).
2. Reach out to the other parents
Before doing this, make sure to check your school’s policy on communicating with other parents. Don’t just go Facebook friending every parent and sending texts all willy nilly (I’ve been there… no judgement). Check with administration and request a list of emails for the parents of your kid’s classmates.
Send out a brief introduction about yourself and your child and that you’ll be the room mom for their child’s class this school year. Sending this out not only let’s parents know who they can reach out to when parties roll around, but it also helps build rapport when you inevitably need some extra hands to volunteer for all the activities throughout the school year. Trust me… make friends with the other parents.
3. Think and plan ahead
One of the most common roles room moms have at every school is assisting with holiday parties. Do yourself a favor and make a list of all the holidays, birthdays, school events you’ll need to help out with. Add them to your fridge calendar, Apple calendar, sticky note your mirror… do whatever you need to in order to help you remember in advance the events you’ll be helping with.
Not only will this hopefully keep you from scrambling last second to plan this year’s Christmas part, but it will likely give you time to corral some of those other parents into helping you with all the things planning a part entails.
4. Rest easy… you got this!
If reading this stressed you out even more… take this last tip to heart. RELAX! This job is meant to be fun! It’s meant to be a way to be more involved with your kiddo, his/her class, and their school. You can do this! I believe in you!
