Some days, we find our rooms so busy and children are clamoring for our attention. Wishing we had extra hands, ears, eyes and time is a common wish of many teaching teams. At the end of the day we look back and ask ourselves how we could have been more engaged in play and skill development with individual children in our care. The reflection is often answered with “if only we had more adults in the room”.

With proper training, volunteers can be the answer to a busy classroom. As an extra set of hands and pair of eyes, volunteers can do everything from helping children dress, tidy up, learn to use scissors, read to small groups of children or clean the lunch table so you can be engaged in teachable moments during routines and activities. As your extra set of hands, volunteers can wipe tables, sweep floors and prepare art activities allowing you to give children extra individual attention, and contribute to a well-run classroom. In classrooms across the city, Resource Consultants have seen retired teachers and educators, new immigrants, and students make a difference in giving the gift of their time in volunteer hours. Finding a consistent volunteer to come into your program allows for strong relationships to be built, this benefits the children, staff and volunteers.

Finding community volunteers can be challenging and takes time. Here are a couple of links to help in finding volunteers in Ottawa.

http://www.volunteerottawa.ca/
http://www.ottawaseniors.com/classifieds/index.php?kid=54&catname=Help+Wanted+-+Volunteer+Opportunities
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/volunteer-roundup-40

Resource Consultant Team Leaders
Children’s Integration Support Services