‘Grandma’s’ here to help
By Cindy VotrubaArticle Photos
Norma Klein of Marshall is known as "Grandma" to 23 6 and 7-year-old kids.
Klein is one of the foster grandparents at Park Side Elementary and volunteers at the school four days a week in Erica Hess' first-grade classroom.
"At that age, they're so enthusiastic, they like to try everything," Klein said.
Klein started with the foster grandparents program two years ago and worked in Mary Rialson's classroom. Rialson retired at the end of last year.
She begins each school day just before 8 a.m.
"It's not all day though, we're done by 1:30, 2," Klein said.
Klein said being a foster grandparent in a first-grade classroom is a fun job and the kids are usually good.
"We help them with most everything," Klein said. "They're just learning to read and stuff like that."
"A lot of the kids need help," Klein added.
Hess said Klein has a natural instinct when it comes to the kids and their needs.
"She is just so good about knowing who needs extra support, and she finds a chair and really sits with them throughout the project," Hess said.
Although she wasn't a teacher, Klein said her mother was one before she went on to get married and have 11 children.
Klein helped four classrooms of first-graders with an art project on Monday, Hess said.
"She was able to work one-on-one with a child who needed more support on the art project," Hess said.
Hess said Klein reads with a child every morning before school. Park Side has a new reading program called Daily 5, and the children get to choose to read to someone.
"She is always a listening ear," Hess said. "The children enjoy reading their little books that they get during guided reading to her."
The foster grandparents do get to eat lunch with the children if they wish, Klein said. On Monday, she and fellow foster grandmother Carol Branting, relaxed while eating chicken nuggets.
While the women sat and ate, the first-graders quickly finished their meal, put on their winter coats and flew out the door for recess.
"The kids, they eat so fast, and they're out the door so fast," Klein said.
Around noon, Klein headed back to Hess' classroom. She noticed the Thanksgiving artwork on the walls of the hallway.
"I always like these things on the wall, they are so cute," Klein said.
Hess was reading a chapter from a Junie B. Jones book to the class when Klein entered the classroom.
"She is a nice person and she really enjoys what she's doing," Klein said about Hess.
Hess said that Klein also practices math flashcards with kids who may need it or just for fun.
On Monday, Hess' students reviewed addition and subtraction problems. Hess told the kids they can sit anywhere in the classroom. Several of them headed toward the large window.
"They all like to go to the window," Klein said.
Klein wondered what she was going to do next as the kids worked on their math problems. A few minutes later, Hess handed Klein a stack of brown construction paper, a Sharpie marker and a gingerbread man cutout to trace around for the following day's art projects.
"She really does it all," Hess said. "We are just so grateful to have her in our room and we will miss her dearly when she leaves for Texas for two months."
