Blog

Nursery / Preschool Teacher

Enjoying working and developing young children in a Daycare, I had to remember that Nursery teachers would be laying the foundation for children’s academic success. With that in mind and as the owner of the Day Care Centre, appointing the best teachers and assistants, became the first and foremost decision I had to make. As a mum, I knew that I would be very observant of the teachers employed at a daycare/school, analysing them very closely.

Preschool teachers need to be loving and passionate if they desire to work with little children. They play an important role in developing children’s interest in learning. They need to be enthusiastic in stimulating children’s growth and development and help them build a curiosity for learning to benefit their growth, skills and abilities. Some Preschool teachers may start out as assistant teachers and can advance to becoming teachers.

Requirements & Skills

• High School Matriculation &/ Bachelor’s Degree
• Certificate in Early Childhood Development
• Knowledge in child development, classroom management, behaviour, curriculum methods, instructional designs, resources and technology.
• Parent-Child relations
• Certification in first aid and CPR will be an advantage
• Police background checks and Clearance Certificates.

• Must have a feeling of enjoyment and be skilful for interacting with young children
• Help children learn through play, developing language and vocabulary.
• Provide support, guidance and learning activities
• Prepare children for kindergarten

Duties & Responsibilities

• Educate children between the ages of 2-5.
• Provide support and guidance.
• Provide assistance to teachers.
• Keep children safe.
• Work as a team member with other teachers.
• Interact with parents.
• Be responsible for providing fun learning activities, like games, group play, artwork and music.
• Encourage creativity and social interaction using storytelling and rhymes.
• Teach reading, writing and basic math concepts
• Teaching structure to include group play and one on one directions.
• Discussion time combined with problem solving to be part of the preschool classroom.
• Assist in the schools Aftercare facility when needed.

Lesson Plan

Lesson Plans for pre-schoolers are much more structured than that for younger children under two years. During this time toddler’s become very curious and they are keen and willing to try and learn new things. It is important that the daily programme be varied to keep these little minds occupied for the first part of their day.  

Ideas on Planning a Lesson Plan

• Follow a structured Daily Programme that integrates with a theme.
• Design an entire year’s layout of the different themes, preferably one to two themes per term, where the second could overlap into the next term. 
• Choose different topics to teach daily relating to the theme.
• The topics must be planned around the three different Learning Programmes, Language, Mathematics and Life Skills.
• Consider each Learning Outcome per Learning Programme when planning your lessons.
• Each activity in the lesson plan must be based on the assessment standard the learner needs to reach for that Learning Programme.
• Remember to have resources available or collected for each activity to make teaching more hands on and practical for the learners.
• Each lesson must be planned for 20 or 30 minutes only as the learners’ attention span is short.
• Lesson plans must also integrate with other Learning Programmes like Arts & Culture, Natural Science, Physical Development and Technology.

Classroom Preparation and Set up

• The classroom should have a vacant space on entry, preferably a carpet on the floor with some quiet learning equipment to excite learners’ curiosity and avoid them from feeling overwhelmed.  
• Allow space for bags to free learners of their belongings and have big, sturdy library books with cosy cushions nearby to present a comfortable, homely feeling.
• The carpet space can also be used for discussion time when lesson plans begin and can also be utilised for music, drama and story time.
• The calendar, weather, birthday, helper chart and the daily schedule must be displayed on the walls around the carpet area.
• Other learning areas must be neatly spaced out around the classroom for small group activity, art, free creative play, writing, maths and one-on one time.
• The outdoor learning area must store all the large motor skills equipment.
• All areas must have neat, big, bold, colourful charts displayed on walls at the different learning areas with tables and chairs available for the children.

Ideas and Plans

• A detailed list of requirements must be sent home to parents, eg. clearly marked belongings must be labelled and names visible.
• Designated table for snack/lunch time must be available
• Toilet facilities are easily accessible from the classroom
• Safe sleeping area for nap time  
• Storage shelves for easy reach and packing away of the learning equipment
• Shelves to display library books neatly.

Time Management

• Put a checklist in place of all the items that is required.
• Theme Layout must be chosen before the new school year begins.
• Topics for each Learning Programme together with the lesson plan must be ready two weeks in advance of lesson commencement.
• Collect and build your resources three months before the first term begins.   

Workable Tips

• Laminate teaching aids that is needed yearly for durability.
• Use big and small plastic boxes for storing items for easy accessibility when needed.
• Use files to keep all lesson plans safe and neat.