D.O.G.S.

Today, Matt is participating in the Watch D.O.G.S. program at Penny's school.

D.O.G.S. stands for Dads Of Good Students, and it's a program by which fathers of students volunteer for a day at the school. The idea is to show the kids positive male role models, especially at the elementary school level, where there aren't many male staff members. (Penny's school has two male staff, which is up from last year's one, and both of them are teachers who rarely interact with kids outside their own classrooms.)

So Matt will be helping to direct the kids as they unload the busses this morning, and then he'll spend some time volunteering in Penny's class and in a couple of the other kindergarten classes, acting as chaperone in the cafeteria, etc.

He's volunteering twice this year; today, and again in March.

We didn't tell Penny about it in advance, so she was thrilled when I brought her into the school lobby and she saw him waiting for her. She gets to wear a special sticker that says "Good Student" on it, and the two of them will get to appear on the morning announcements together.

I'm looking forward to hearing all about it, tonight.