Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz
Kindergarten Teachers
Kindergarten Teachers teach academic and social skills to kindergarten students.
Table of contents
What they do
Kindergarten Teachers teach academic and social skills to kindergarten students.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
- Prepare children for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
- Instruct students individually and in groups, adapting teaching methods to meet students’ varying needs and interests.
- Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills.
Typical day
On a daily basis, Kindergarten Teachers assimilate arriving children to the school environment by greeting them, helping them remove outerwear, and selecting activities of interest to them. They prepare materials, classrooms, and other indoor and outdoor spaces to facilitate creative play, learning and motor-skill activities, and safety.
A typical day for a Kindergarten Teacher will also include:
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
- Demonstrate activities to children.
- Perform administrative duties, such as assisting in school libraries, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
- Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
- Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Other responsibilities
Besides their typical day, Kindergarten Teachers also attend staff meetings and serve on committees as required. They may also attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
On a weekly to monthly basis, Kindergarten Teachers confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula. They might also meet with other professionals to discuss individual students’ needs and progress.
In addition, they prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate children’s progress.
Although specific duties may vary, many of them confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students’ behavioral and academic problems.
To some Kindergarten Teachers, it is also their responsibility to plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guests, or other experiential activities and guide students in learning from those activities.
What is the job like
Job satisfaction
Is this job meaningful
81% said they were satisfied with their job and 91% said they found their job meaningful.
For 13 years, I was a Kindergarten Teacher with Clark County School District.
When I was a Kindergarten teacher, my typical day was full of making connections with students. Unfortunately, the tasks that ended up taking up most of my time were testing and paperwork – which is why I eventually left the classroom.
My typical day as a Kindergarten Teacher started at about 7 am when I got to my classroom. The kids got there just after 8:30 and I liked to get in there early to not feel rushed – especially if we had staff meetings! This time would be spent looking over the day’s lesson plans to make sure all the materials needed would be prepped and ready to go. When you teach little ones, ANY “waiting” time is a recipe for disaster so you want to make sure you have all that you need at the ready.
When the kids arrived, we had a greeting ritual which included what I call “Bring your B.E.S.T.” (Breath, use Eye contact, Smile, and Touch). So every child (and parent) would be greeted with my B.E.S.T. to increase our relational connections and therefore cooperation in the classroom. Sometimes a student had the job of “B.E.S.T. Greeter” and he or she would greet everyone entering the room. EVERY student had a job. So, 25 students = 25 jobs. Students entered the classroom in the morning and tackled their “jobs” right away before coming to the carpet for Morning Meeting. Some other classroom jobs included “Mail Carrier” to distribute papers to everyone’s cubbies; “Chair Checker” to make sure walking paths were safe; “Librarian” to check books were in good condition; “Pencil Sharpener” – you get the idea!
Morning Meeting was another time of connection – we’d share news of things happening at home (exciting or scary!) – we’d sing songs and dance to get our bodies and minds awake and ready to learn – and then we’d sit and hear the daily plan. Unless there were assemblies or a special class, our days ran in the same order to soothe our brain’s need for a consistent pattern. We’d read a big book or poem together, then break up into small groups doing a variety of reading and writing activities based on individual children’s levels, needs, strengths, and interests. THIS was the time when it was most helpful to have a classroom assistant or parent helper!
After the Reading/Writing time, we’d typically come back together for another Meeting which involved talking about how children felt about the past activities, sharing projects, discussing aspects of the story deeper, and what we’d be learning next. Then, we’d move on to Math and follow pretty much the same pattern: Whole group teaching, then small individualized groups to reteach or strengthen the concepts taught, then back to whole group time to reflect upon what was learned. I integrated Science and Social Studies into our “Reading/Writing” time because that made the most sense when teaching five year olds!
As far as my key responsibilities go, my number one job was to keep these children SAFE – not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and socially. That’s why we did so much relational connecting! I did sometimes have playground or bus duty but I always saw that as another opportunity to connect with children! And, ALL of my day was a “pro” until the school district started requiring ridiculous amounts of “data” on each child in the form of standardized paper-pencil tests. It was not developmentally appropriate and cut into the time we were able to connect. I ended up feeling pressured and stressed about the requirements and since administrators generally didn’t see the social and emotional benefit of including the connecting activities (they were under their own set of stressors, I’m sure), I was forced to have kids sitting isolated at desks longer. It was awful and I eventually left to work where I had more freedom to teach children in the way that was best for them – not for district data!
Pros
The pros of teaching were making connections with students and families, helping them grow and learn as well as learning and growing from my relationships with them.
Cons
The cons of it were the mounds of unnecessary paperwork and (required) non-developmentally appropriate activities (i.e. written testing for a four year old, or rote memorization without context).
Pros
Suitable for people who like to help and teach others.
Suitable for people who value relationships between co-workers and customers and want to work in a friendly non-competitive environment.
This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors.
Good salary (earns more than 50% of the careers out there).
Cons
Not suitable for people who like practical and hands-on work.
It is hard to get into this career. A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for this career.
Long working hours (More than 40 hours per week).
How much do they make
Average salary
Average hourly wage
Entry-level Kindergarten Teachers with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $37,360 to $46,280 per year or $* to $* per hour.
Salary by experience | Annual | Hourly |
---|---|---|
Highest (Top 10%) | $91,980 | $* |
Senior (Top 25%) | $72,440 | $* |
Median | $57,860 | $* |
Junior (Bottom 25%) | $46,280 | $* |
No experience (Bottom 10%) | $37,360 | $* |
This table shows the top 10 highest paying industries for Kindergarten Teachers based on their average annual salary.
Salary by industry | Annual | Hourly |
---|---|---|
Local Government | $61960 | $* |
Elementary and Secondary Schools | $61630 | $* |
Religious Organizations | $59700 | $* |
Educational Support Services | $57110 | $* |
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | $45850 | $* |
Other Schools and Instruction | $45490 | $* |
Individual and Family Services | $40350 | $* |
Child Day Care Services | $39320 | $* |
Social Advocacy Organizations | $37350 | $* |
View more salary by industries here.
Where can they work
Where can Kindergarten Teachers work? Here is a table showing the top 10 largest employers of Kindergarten Teachers including the average salary in that industry.
Employers | Total Employed | Annual Salary | Hourly Wages |
---|---|---|---|
Elementary and Secondary Schools | 116680 | $61630 | $* |
Child Day Care Services | 2220 | $39320 | $* |
Religious Organizations | 210 | $59700 | $* |
Other Schools and Instruction | 100 | $45490 | $* |
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | 60 | $45850 | $* |
Individual and Family Services | 60 | $40350 | $* |
Educational Support Services | 40 | $57110 | $* |
Local Government | 40 | $61960 | $* |
Social Advocacy Organizations | 30 | $37350 | $* |
What is the work day like
Working hours
Working schedule
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Telephone
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Group discussions
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Public speaking
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Level of competition
How much competitive pressure is in this job?
What is the work environment like
Office-style environment
Indoors in an environmentally controlled condition
Warehouse-style environment
Indoors in a non-controlled environmental condition such as a warehouse
Outdoors
Outdoors exposed to all weather conditions
Outdoors – Under Cover
Outdoors but under cover (e.g. structure with roof but no walls)
How to become one
Difficulty to become one
Required level of education
What level of education do you need to perform the job?
Relevant majors
Teaching French as a Second or Foreign Language
Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
International Teaching and Learning
Early Childhood Education and Teaching
Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching
Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Education
Montessori Teacher Education
Teacher Education, Multiple Levels
Bilingual and Multilingual Education
Relevant work experience
How much related work experience do you need to get hired for the job?
On The Job Training
How much on the job training do you need to perform the job?
Should you become one
Best personality type for this career
People with this personality type likes to work with people and in teams. They prefer work that allows them to build relationships with others.
People with The Builder personality type likes practical and hands-on work. They prefer working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
People with The Thinker personality likes to work with ideas that require an extensive amount of thinking. They prefer work that requires them to solve problems mentally.
People with The Artist personality likes to work with designs and patterns. They prefer activities that require self-expression and prefer work that can be done without following a clear set of rules.
People with The Helper personality type likes to work with people and in teams. They prefer work that allows them to build relationships with others.
People with The Leader personality likes to start and work on projects. They also like leading people and making many decisions.
People with The Organizer personality type likes to follow set procedures and routines. They prefer working with data and details more than with ideas.
You can read more about these career personality types here.
People who are suitable for this job tend to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others.
They also like working with forms, designs, and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Take this quiz to see if this is the right career for you.
Work Values
Which values are the most important to a person’s satisfaction for this job?
You are someone who is results oriented. You prefer work that allows you to utilize your skills and abilities while at the same time giving you a sense of accomplishment.
You are someone who values job security, steady employment, and good working conditions. You also prefer work that keeps you busy all the time with something different to do every day.
You are someone who values job advancement and leadership roles. You prefer work that receives recognition for the work you do and jobs that are looked up to by others in the company and your community.
You are someone who likes to provide a service to others. You prefer a work environment where you can work with your co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.
You are someone who values a company that stands behind their employees. You prefer a work environment where everyone is treated fairly and is being supported by the company.
You are someone who likes to work on your own and make your own decisions. You prefer work that requires little supervision and are allowed to try out your own ideas.
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