Child Care Teacher Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a child care teacher. Feel free to use our child care teacher job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a child care teacher.
Who is a Child Care Teacher?
A Child Care Teacher can also be called a daycare teacher or preschool. Childcare teachers are employed by childcare facilities such as schools to take care of children while parents are not available. A Child Care teacher works with young children like infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and is responsible for taking care of them while parents are at work. This job is highly demanding and that’s why it requires patience, compassion, tolerance, and strong organizational skills. The educational qualification for this job is a degree in early childhood education.
A child care teacher spends most of his or her working hours in a daycare center. The daycare center can be a school, business, or private entity. The work schedule mostly is 40 hours per week and there are times when teachers have to be available during the weekend. The daycare center can be a very difficult and stressful place though this solely depends on the number of children available. The place can be very hectic if the children fall sick or they are in a bad mood and sometimes misbehave. The child care teacher brings about intellectual and psychological growth in children’s facilities. The teacher teaches and monitors children to use their mental abilities and also helps them to engage their imaginary creativity.
Child Care Teacher Job Description
Below are the child care teacher job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a child care teacher job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a child care teacher include the following:
- Monitor children under care while parents are at work
- Ensuring that the daycare center is kept clean
- Provide food and snacks for children
- Discipline children when they misbehave
- Administer first aid to children at the occurrence of any injury
- Update parents on children’s behavior particularly if there is any change
- Answer parent’s complaints or queries on children
- Designs crafts projects and other creative activities for children to play with
- Monitors interactions between children to ensure there is no fight or dispute among them
- Take care of children who are homesick or upset
- Contact parents when an emergency occurs
- Feed, change and carry infants at a daycare center
- Arrange and oversees rest times or sleep times
- Convey children to nearby parks or oversees recess as they play outside
- Follow teaching standards and safety regulations established by official sources
- Assessment of children’s performance to make sure they are on the right learning track
- Balance your teaching between logical and social exercises
- Observe children’s interaction and the spirit of concord
Qualification
- A bachelor’s degree in early childhood education
- Strong communication and writing skills
- Management skills
- Love for children, tolerance, and flexibility
- Methodical and creativity
- Excellent knowledge of child development and up-to-date education methods
- Proven experience as a Child Care Teacher
- Certification of first aid and CPR
- Demonstration of strong organizational skills
- Possession of strong listening skills
- Possession of physical stamina is required to oversee large numbers of young children and daily is
- Possession of strong interpersonal skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Exhibits traits of a responsible and attentive person
- Ability to apply childhood development theory to daily activities and curricula
Essential Skills
- Strong Communication Skills
Young children or toddlers find it very difficult to express themselves and their needs- that is why a childcare teacher needs to know how to communicate effectively with children. Teachers need to communicate efficiently with coworkers and student parents and so there is a need for teachers to keep building on their interpersonal skills. Parents always want updates from teachers, especially on how the children spend their day and how they are progressing in their development. It is highly paramount for teachers to know how to communicate calmly, clearly, and professionally with parents.
- Enthusiasm
Childcare teachers need to exhibit vigor and energy when carrying out their responsibilities. Young children have a lot of energy and childcare teachers need boundless energy to keep the children going. Energy and enthusiasm are highly beneficial because they make children have a cheerful mood in physical tasks around the classroom. It takes a lot of energy to be patient especially if the children in the class are having a tedious day.
As a childcare teacher increasing your energy is highly vital; you can take a lot of sleep, go for exercise and drink a lot of water regularly.
- Organization and Planning
It is very correct that children learn by playing but it doesn’t mean every day is for playing in a childcare center. A childcare teacher needs to set up routine and structure because it is a good management policy of a classroom management strategy. This is highly beneficial because children may know what they need to expect in the day. Planning a very good curriculum based on research and a developmentally accepted strategy is the key to having an organized daycare center. Being organized and also strong presentation skills will be highly beneficial to children because they will get to receive a quality research-based education.
- Creativity
Childcare professionals need creativity on daily basis. They need to come up with different activities to keep the children busy and also they need to find fun ways to encourage children when there is a delay in an activity. Childcare professionals need creativity all day long to have a fun-filled daycare center.
Some teachers can model creativity and this can help them light the creative spark in what they teach. Projects like open-ended art can help children regulate their emotions, develop motor skills and boost their cognitive skills. If a teacher should initiate a creative process; children will also initiate their creative projects.
- Relationship Building
Young children are very emotional at their state and they are still learning how to manage their emotions. Children or toddlers may exhibit behaviors like biting and fighting because they don’t know to handle their emotions very well. The teacher can also display sympathy towards them and build relationships with other children to help them manage their emotions.
Some children are very much attached to their caregivers and teachers and this has increased their cognitive ability. Secure attachment develops when teachers are turned in to children’s needs and respond appropriately. Teachers with strong relationship-building abilities are in a very good position to create these wonderful bonds with these children.
- Analytical Skills
This is a core skill and it involves weighing curriculum choices and monitoring children learning progress. The ability of childcare teachers to consider details and assess situations is highly crucial to the success of your student achievement. For instance, if you work in a preschool environment; you will be mandated to teach students about specific curriculum standards at their level. This means you will need to apply analytical skills to read students’ data and channel it in an understandable way both to parents and students
- Decision-making skills:
As a childcare teacher, your ability to make sound decisions by analyzing situations is highly paramount. There are many choices these professionals make daily which what to teach, how to plan for learning differences, and what to choose for different activities during the day.
In addition, making good choices in severe situations such as when a child falls sick or when a child is hurt is something a childcare worker needs to be capable of. There are emergencies when children start crying excessively and you don’t know the cause; you need to take a rapid decision.
How to Become a Child Care Teacher
- Acquire a Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Education
You need to enroll for a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education which usually takes four years to complete but it can also be possible to become a childcare teacher with just a degree. Students in associate and bachelor degree programs learn about childhood development, health and safety, nutrition, and child psychology. Many childcare programs offer modules with special attention to topics like language acquisition, bilingual education, and educating students with abnormalities seriously as gifted children with special care. You will have to complete a teacher’s assignment or go for teaching practice as part of your early childhood education degree.
- Enroll for Child Care Teacher experience or Internship
Before you start working as a child care teacher; you may need to enroll for an internship in a school to acquire the requisite experience. This can be achieved in different settings, although one of the best avenues is working as an assistant teacher. Assistant teachers can work directly with children to assist them with their academic, behavioral, and social issues. An experienced licensed teacher usually trains an assistant teacher on the job set.
- Obtain an Early Childhood Education Certification
Every country in the world has its acceptable qualification for teaching licensure; there is a nationally recognized certification for childcare centers teachers. Theresa s certification for preschool teachers in public schools involves passing state certification exams and completing bachelor’s degree programs.
Some states recognize the Child Care Association’s Certified Childcare Professional (CCP) credential. The CCP credential can be earned by those who do not have a degree in early childhood education. This certification will distinguish you at the forefront of employees and make you a suitable candidate for the job.
- Draft your Resume
After you have acquired all these certifications; draft your resume by stating your experience, skills, and education and start applying for jobs in various schools and daycare centers.
Where to Work as a ChildCare Teacher
- As a Preschool Teacher in a School: a preschool teacher can work in daycare services, state, local, private schools, homes, and religious organizations. Preschool teachers primarily administer the fundamental lesson associated with early childhood education which brings about rapid development in children. They use emotional and social education to improve the social skills of children
- Kindergarten and elementary school: a childcare teacher can work in a public-private elementary school, Child Day Care Services, Charter schools, and religious organizations. The kindergarten teacher’s main responsibility is to put together daily plans, lessons, and schedules for classes. Elementary school children roam about a lot during the day; it is the responsibility of the teacher to watch over them as they eat
- Nanny in Private Home: A childcare teacher can work as a nanny in a private home and this occupation varies based on the employer. Nannies provide extensive warm care to children they are asked to look after when parents are at home or away. Nannies also prepare food and change children’s cloth regularly.
- Childcare Centre: a childcare teacher can work as a childcare director in a child care center. The role of a childcare director is to manage a childcare center. They oversee teachers and other employees that work in a childcare center.
In addition, a childcare teacher can also work as a child working in a private home. They look after children and help children build relationships with other children
- Special Education Teacher in a School: a childcare teacher can work as a special education teacher who handles children with disability. This profession is not sidelined to children teachers alone even adults too are included. The work setting can be public, private, or religious-based schools.
- School Counselor or Psychologist Unit: a child care teacher can work as a school psychologist whose primary role is to help children groom the academic and social skills that will help them excel academically. School counselors usually counsel students in groups or meet with them individually to identify what can be used to improve their academic performance. They can work in the following job setting; private charter, religious-based schools, healthcare, and other educational services.
Child Care Teacher Salary
The average salary of a childcare teacher in the United States is $12.41 per hour. The salary distribution rate for professionals in the United States is from $7.25 to $24.90 per hour. The salary varies based on the experience of a childcare teacher. The following are some salaries of different childcare teachers based on the role they play:
- A Preschool teacher earns $29,780 per year
- A Kindergarten and elementary school teacher earns $57,980
- A Nanny earns about $18 per hour
- A Childcare Center Director earns about $47,940 per year
- A Children worker earns about $23,240 per year
- In Nigeria, the person as a Child Care Teacher earns around 137,00NGN per month. The salary range is from 67,000NGN to 213,000NGN. Child Care Teacher salaries are based on gender, experience, skills, and location.