room mother

American  

noun

1. a female volunteer, often the mother of a student, who assists an elementary-school teacher, as by working with students who need extra help.

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Example Sentences

In the living room, mother of pearl lamps and wood-carved side tables serve as a reminder of their old house.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025

Before running for office, Shaw was a regular presence in her daughters’ classrooms, volunteering as a room mother, art instructor, P.E. coach and PTA member, and cheering on from the stands at their soccer games.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2023

At a preliminary meeting in a Nashville board room, mother and daughter sat at opposite ends of a conference table and offered redlines.

From New York Times • Jan. 31, 2023

As the conversation adjourned to the living room, mother and son struck up a riff on Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis melodramas, Hitchcock’s “Rebecca.”

From New York Times • Mar. 5, 2011

They were Mr. Tanner, the principal; Mrs. Seeger, the librarian; Mr. Costa, the custodian; and Room 5’s room mother, who brought twenty-six little bags of popcorn for a treat.

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary