For most, school is already back in session or soon to be. My 3rd grader (where did the time go? Didn't she start preschool, like, yesterday??) has her first day tomorrow. A new school year means many things. For parents, one of the most dreaded next to school supply shopping is the call to volunteer. Whether it be for the PTA, your kid's classroom, AYSO or Little League, everyone seems to want a piece of your time. What's a parent to do, especially one who has little time on her hands?

I'm here to tell you to listen the call and step up. There's nothing quite as rewarding as being involved in your child's life, and as corny as it is, you do get back much more than you give. I'm proud of the fact that I work for an employer that gives me the flexibitiy I need to do my job effectively while keeping things functioning on the home front. Even so, I'm not going to be able to be at every school function, every Brownie meeting or even every soccer game. So how can I contribute?

The best piece of advice I can give to any parent, but especially a working one is to find something that you can do that will serve a need. Some task that is unique to your skill set and may not be to others. Take Brownies - they meet on Thursdays after school. That's one of my worst work days and I am rarely home before 6pm. I thought, how can I help the troop when I can't make the meetings? For one thing, I could take over emailing responsibilities for the troop. One less thing for the leaders to do. Doesn't have to be done at the meeting. Can be done on my time.

What about a blog? Great way to keep track of upcoming events, and for parents to review what happened at past meetings. I can work in this with my daughter, and maybe there's a techno badge that Girl Scouts offer that she can qualify for. Maybe we can turn this over to the whole troop to contribute to. So many options.

I was team parent for AYSO last year, and every week I sent an email with the place and time of the practice session and the game, as well as what jersey the kids were supposed to wear. Parents told me that they came to rely on those emails and found themselves unable to function without them. I like when I can set the bar high.

So I challenge all parents out there - do one more thing for the kids than you did last year. I gurantee you won't regret it.