The homeroom mom

Yup. That's me. The Homeroom Mom. huh. Never thought I'd do something like this! I am the homeroom mom for Hannah's 3rd grade class.

It's not a tough job, really...I just need to coordinate the parents to volunteer for certain things...

Like Duty Free Lunch. (no, for all my "border" readers, it's not a tax-free lunch, lol). Duty Free Lunch is a once a month happening. It means that the teachers get to go have lunch with other teachers, and the parents take over lunchroom duty. They bring the kids to the lunchroom, enforce the rules, assist with needs, etc.

And Staff Appreciation Day. When they PTA arranges an event each month for the entire staff. This requires volunteers to bring in items in order to make food for the staff, and also parents to help set up, serve, and clean up afterward.

Oh, don't forget parties. They only have TWO. The Holiday Party (musn't call it Christmas!), and the End-Of-Year party. Easy enough...arrange parents to bring in goodies, etc.

And other things, like "activities" (this is the term used for other celebrations, such as Valentines Day, Halloween, etc - we can't have a PARTY on those days).

Now, mind you...I DID volunteer for this position. But I have ulterior motives. Because in this school, they don't give you a name and address list. You see, back in KS, the PTA provided a school directory. This was a handy thing to have. It was great if you needed to contact a parent in your child's class. It was especially great if you wanted to send out invitations to a party. Because, as with all schools, you are no longer allowed to distribute invitations at school unless you include all the children (heaven forbid someone's feelings get hurt). And I'm NOT about to have a party for 20-some odd children in my home, nor am I willing to fork out BIG BUCKS to rent a roller rink or some other "venue" (we have Monkey Joe's and Monkey Business, both great places, but not some place I want to sink a few hundred dollars into, thankyouverrrrrymuch).

So...since we don't have access to any addresses, how are we supposed to invite kids "out of school"? They don't provide anything. You're outta luck...basically. Unless you get your child to ask her friends for their telephone numbers, and then call each of the parents and get their addresses to send out invites. Yeah. Not happening.

BUT....

As the homeroom parent, I will HOPEFULLY have everyone's email and/or phone number, along with their childrens' names. Now, don't get all bent out of shape. I'm not planning on using this to promote my business (LinMac Photography), nor will I distribute junk mail or email or spam to these people. But I WILL use the list to my advantage, ONE time, in January.

So...wish me luck getting volunteers. I've typed up my volunteer letter, and will be bringing it to school later today. Let's hope for the best. I don't want to be doing Duty Free every month!