Preschool Teacher Career Guide

Do you enjoy working with children and have a passion for education? Have you always thought you’d be a good teacher? Does the thought of teaching preschool make you happy? If so, you should strongly consider becoming a teacher. 

Preschool teachers have a lot of opportunities. From public schools to childcare centers, there will never be a shortage of exciting job settings to choose from. Lesson plans are focused on fun activities to get students excited about learning. Becoming a preschool teacher means you’ll be making a positive impact on students’ social and academic skills during one of the most influential times in a child’s brain development.

As a preschool teacher, you help form your students’ academic future, making this profession a truly rewarding one. 

Primary Role of a Preschool Teacher

Preschool teachers use creative lessons to encourage learning, engage young students, and prepare them for K-12 education. Using a simple curriculum to assess the social/emotional development of their students, they help children and their families prepare for the upcoming school years. Most preschool teachers work with children ages three to five, but they’re trained to work with children from birth to age eight. Early childhood education is a crucial time for a child’s development, which is why highly trained preschool teachers are so needed and appreciated by communities and parents alike. 

Preschool teachers differ from K-12 teachers.

• They may work extended hours not typical of an elementary school day. 
• They follow a curriculum but don’t assign homework. 
• They utilize arts and crafts instead of textbooks. 
• They use play time to encourage development and learning. 

Those interested in early childhood education should also know that becoming a teacher requires a lot of patience, as each classroom has children with varying levels of developmental skills.

What Does a Preschool Teacher Do? 

A preschool teacher is primarily responsible for creating and delivering lesson plans designed for early learners. You’ll teach language, social, and motor skills to children who aren’t yet in kindergarten. Early childhood education focuses less on academic skills and more on basic everyday skills that children need. 

Young children learn best from playing and problem-solving. Preschool teachers must discover fun and innovative ways to keep children engaged and motivated to learn. Some easy ways to accomplish this are using simple songs or rhymes to teach vocabulary, blocks to introduce math skills, and group lessons to boost social and emotional development. 

Your daily tasks and responsibilities may include: 

• Implementing a curriculum covering all areas of child development. 
• Teaching colors, shapes, letters, and number recognition. 
• Working with students individually or in groups. 
• Using schedules and routines to provide students with structure. 
• Monitoring students for signs of emotional or developmental delays and notifying parents. 
• Recording and reporting on their students’ development and progress 

How Can You Become a Preschool Teacher? 

Education requirements vary depending on state regulations, but preschool teachers typically need an associate degree. One positive of becoming a teacher in the early education field is you can get started in your new career faster than a traditional teacher.

If you’re interested in becoming a teacher, it’s important to start with a solid foundation by attending a comprehensive early childhood education degree program. Athena Career Academy programs are designed to offer interested individuals like yourself an Early Childhood Education Associate Degree, Majoring in Early Childhood Education, birth through age 5, where you will study the developmental stages of infancy through age eight. 

Athena Career Academy will teach you all the necessary skills needed to successfully motivate students to learn using developmentally appropriate practice methods. To learn more about how to enroll, contact Athena Career Academy today.