Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

Instruct preschool-aged students, following curricula or lesson plans, in activities designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual growth.

Also Known As:

Child Development Teacher Early Childhood Teacher Group Teacher Infant Teacher Montessori Preschool Teacher Nursery Teacher Pre-Kindergarten Teacher (Pre-K Teacher) Teacher Toddler Teacher

Wages

Hourly

Annual wages for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in United States

Job Outlook Average

New job opportunities are likely in the future

United States 2034 Projected Employment

578,100

4% Change From 2024

Explore Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education video

Tasks you might complete in a day.

Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guests, or other experiential activities and guide students in learning from those activities.
Supervise, evaluate, and plan assignments for teacher assistants and volunteers.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills.
Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, and changing their diapers.
Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.
Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental, and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, storytelling, and field trips.
Identify children showing signs of emotional, developmental, or health-related problems and discuss them with supervisors, parents or guardians, and child development specialists.
Assimilate arriving children to the school environment by greeting them, helping them remove outerwear, and selecting activities of interest to them.
Observe and evaluate children's performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to children.
Teach proper eating habits and personal hygiene.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students.
Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
Supervise, evaluate, and plan assignments for teacher assistants and volunteers.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
Observe and evaluate children's performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Observe and evaluate children's performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Read books to entire classes or to small groups.
Arrange indoor and outdoor space to facilitate creative play, motor-skill activities, and safety.
Arrange indoor and outdoor space to facilitate creative play, motor-skill activities, and safety.
Demonstrate activities to children.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees as required.
Organize and label materials and display students' work in a manner appropriate for their ages and perceptual skills.
Administer tests to help determine children's developmental levels, needs, and potential.
Perform administrative duties, such as hall and cafeteria monitoring and bus loading and unloading.
Serve meals and snacks in accordance with nutritional guidelines.
Identify children showing signs of emotional, developmental, or health-related problems and discuss them with supervisors, parents or guardians, and child development specialists.
Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and needs, determine their priorities for their children, and suggest ways that they can promote learning and development.
Identify children showing signs of emotional, developmental, or health-related problems and discuss them with supervisors, parents or guardians, and child development specialists.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
Select, store, order, issue, and inventory classroom equipment, materials, and supplies.
Collaborate with other teachers and administrators in the development, evaluation, and revision of preschool programs.

Subject areas you may need to master.

Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Strengths you may need in this role.

Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
Programming - Writing computer programs.
Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
Speaking - Talking to others.
Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.