When I look back on my daughter's elementary school career, the year I remember most fondly is second grade. It isn't that Lily learned so much that year (though, in fact, she did) or that her teacher was so extraordinary (though, come to think of it, she was) -- it's that I volunteered to be the classroom parent and got to do all kinds of wonderful things: bump along with Lily and her classmates on a hayride, introduce them to the Sugar Plum Fairy at the Nutcracker Ballet, capture 10 months of memories with my camera. At term's end, when I handed each beaming student a framed photo of one of the year's happy moments, I felt like the proud parent of 22 terrific kids -- and in a small way, I was.

Being a classroom parent virtually guarantees such rewarding benefits. You get to see young minds grow. You come to know your child in a new way. And you get the chance to help one of the few people who work harder than you do -- your child's teacher. But the job comes with challenges as well, such as recruiting volunteers and finding great party ideas. To help, we went to the best source we know: FamilyFun readers. Here they share their most successful ideas. We think you'll find they really make the grade.

To make it easier to assemble helpers and stay in touch with the teacher, try printing out these volunteer sign-up sheets and notes to the teacher.