Dad - involvement in school

I am reading a post about dads and being involved in school right now on another blog. It is a subject I am passionate about so I couldn't help posting on it too. If you want to check it out, it is located on a blog I follow about Dads and Daughters: Dads, Daughters and School.

I volunteer at my kid's school and have found it to be one of the most rewarding things I have done.  On top of all the kids knowing who I am and high-fiving me in the hall, I feel like I have made a real difference in a few children's lives.

Last year, I was asked to take a boy to the book fair. He was absent when his class went so he was going to get to make a special trip. The teacher told me later that his parents were having problems at home so she wanted to make sure he didn’t miss out on the fair.


So this 5 year old boy and I walk to the library and when we get there, he told me he had $5 to spend. In about 20 seconds, he found a power rangers book he wanted for $4 but he kept looking. He picked up one about horses and asked if he had enough to get it.
When I answered that he didn’t, he put the power rangers back and headed towards the register. I mentioned something about liking horses more than power rangers and he replied that this book was for his sister. He wanted to buy her a present to put under the tree.
Thinking about how sweet this kid has to be to make a choice like that with all that is going on at home, I got a little bit choked up. I asked him to follow me as I stepped out of line and knelt down to be face to face. I told him that I was really proud of the choice that he had just made and asked if he always takes such good care of his sister. In true 5 year old fashion, he answered no because this was his first time to have money. :-)

After explaining that I was sure he took care of her in ways other than buying things, I told him that I believe when we make good choices good things happen to us. I told him that if he would promise to keep thinking of others that I would like to buy the power rangers book as a present for him. His eyes lit up, he gave me a hug and ran to get his book.

I am a big believer in “planting seeds”. When all I can do in a situation is plant a seed, I do it and let God take over helping it to grow. It may be that this boy forgets about our conversation or it may be that this one act of mine is the thing he remembers before making a really important choice later in life. Either way is fine by me because what this interaction did for me made it well worth my time and $4.