Immersion Bilingual Education Multiracial Motherhood

A Simple Way To Help A Teacher When You Can’t Volunteer

It’s been almost two years since we sold everything and moved from Las Vegas to Southern California to give our kids a dual language education. When people hear that, they think we’re un poco loco, but I haven’t regretted it for a moment. There were no opportunities for dual immersion education in Vegas, so we packed it up!

Now that we’ve been in California for two years and my kids are on their way to being more fluent than I am, not a day goes by that my heart isn’t full of gratitude for the amazing professionals that are leading this journey. Dual Immersion Teachers are a special breed of educators, I have to say!

A Simple Way to Show Your Teacher Gratitude

For as amazing as they are though, teachers aren’t miracle workers. They need help, too! They love when parents take time out of their day to volunteer. But that’s not always possible for parents – whether it’s their work schedule or having other kids at home, sometimes it’s hard to drop everything to spend time in the classroom.

But I wondered if there was a way to consistently show gratitude to our teachers during the school year without volunteering.

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One simple way to show teachers appreciation is by completing housekeeping tasks that they would otherwise not get to during the school day. So although the classrooms are cleaned and vacuumed every day, when Alina’s teacher asked me to help out each week with a simple task, I jumped at the chance. Every Monday after school, I spend about 10 minutes using Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes to help remove germs, bacteria, and countless other nasties lurking all over the tops and corners of the kids’ desks. After playing on a black top, wiping mocos and who know what else, those desks need more than just cleaning – they NEED disinfecting!

And you want to know why teachers love to use these wipes at school? Because they kill 99.9% of germs that can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. Not to mention they kill 99.9% of Viruses* and Bacteria, including stuff like Staph, E. Coli, Salmonella, Strep!

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Our Teacher Loves These Wipes!

There are five first grade teachers at my daughter’s dual immersion school and every one of them loves Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. So, because I’m constantly buying them for my own home, I often pick up a few extra canisters for them as well.

Do I wish I can spend more time in the classroom, volunteering and assisting however possible? Yes, of course I do! The few times I have been in the classroom has been a great experience. But even when life gets busy and I can’t make it in, I know that our teachers appreciate the time parents take to wipe down the student’s’ desks– potentially preventing our kids from taking a sick day or two.

So while I’m not there to cut paper or help line kids up, I feel good knowing that I can help in this simple but effective way. Teachers don’t perform miracles, and neither do Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, but I certainly appreciate both! And I know our teachers appreciate us, too.

when parents cant volunteer in the classroom

  • E. Bands
    August 9, 2017 at 6:59 am

    I am a teacher, and I have to tell you that I would appreciate this type of volunteering so, so much at our school. I love the concrete examples you give. I hear from so many parents who want to help out, but don’t have the time to join the PTA. A little goes a long way toward helping us! Thank you so much for this post! 😀

    • Vanessa Bell
      August 14, 2017 at 4:44 pm

      Thank YOU for all you do for our babies!

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