Volunteers in Early Childhood Programs

Tips for Welcoming Volunteers into Your Classroom

• Make sure volunteers know how happy you are to have them in the classroom.
• Talk to volunteers about the daily schedule and how they can help during each activity. This will prevent them from feeling lost and useless.
• Notify volunteers about student progress.
• Introduce volunteers to children every time a volunteer comes. This will help the volunteers and students to get to know each other and be comfortable working together.
• Tell all volunteers in advance about all field trips, special programs and schedule changes.
• Volunteers prefer to be active in a classroom rather than observing for the majority of their time.
• Be clear with general expectations for volunteers.
• Do not expect volunteers to discipline; be clear with classroom boundaries and rules.
• Thank them regularly.