What does a Kindergarten Teacher do?
Kindergarten teachers teach young children social and emotional skills, reading skills, music, and personal hygiene. They prepare these children for elementary school and certain life aspects. It is also their responsibility to teach children good classroom behavior, plan the curriculum daily and the whole school year, and conduct parent-teach meetings. Kindergarten teachers should encourage children to be observant of activities and give them the chance to ask questions and find the answers. They should also work with parents in putting an action plan to help children with emotional or developmental problems.
Kindergarten teacher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real kindergarten teacher resumes:
- Utilize PLC time to meet the needs of struggling and achieving students
- Target at risk and high achieving students using levele readers and DRA strategies.
- Present history and math PowerPoint lessons.
- Serve on data teams to coordinate with ELA, math and RTI specialists to ensure student growth and success.
- Develop daily literacy and math base learning centers to promote cooperative learning and independent practice.
- Plan and teach an 1st and 2nd grade ELA unit.
- Participate in PBIS institute study as a control class.
- Assist speech ARD meetings as a Spanish language interpreter.
- Organize and implement literature circles into an ELA unit.
- Develop lessons in English and Spanish to aim develop language skills.
- Create interactive lessons using PowerPoint, ActivStudio, ActivPrimary and the Internet.
- Foster a student-centered, positive learning environment for students and serve on the PBIS committee.
- Organize and budget field trips for grades kindergarten to 3rd grade to support current class studies.
- Develop programs to teach basic skills, integration into institution settings; advance methodology of teaching Pre-K children.
- Prepare curriculum and teach enrichment reading and mathematics.
Kindergarten teacher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Kindergarten Teachers are proficient in Classroom Management, Math, and Professional Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Physical stamina, Communication skills, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Kindergarten Teachers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Classroom Management, 27%
Observed and assisted individual teachers/student-teachers for the purpose of curriculum clarification, classroom management, proper utilization and teaching techniques.
- Math, 14%
Created and implemented a comprehensive curriculum covering all subject areas, including a novel accelerated math program, for kindergarten students.
- Professional Development, 7%
Attended professional development/continuing education opportunities.
- Language Arts, 5%
Developed weekly language arts and bi-weekly math assessments to formally evaluate student mastery of key objectives.
- Social Studies, 4%
Developed and implemented a historically accurate standards aligned Social Studies program.
- Classroom Environment, 4%
Maintained a child-friendly classroom environment that celebrates student learning with authentic, standards-based content displayed on interior and exterior bulletin boards.
Most kindergarten teachers use their skills in "classroom management," "math," and "professional development" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential kindergarten teacher responsibilities here:
Physical stamina. The most essential soft skill for a kindergarten teacher to carry out their responsibilities is physical stamina. This skill is important for the role because "working with kindergarten- and elementary-age students can be tiring." Additionally, a kindergarten teacher resume shows how their duties depend on physical stamina: "provided learning experiences in math, language arts, pre-reading, science, social studies, art and physical education. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform kindergarten teacher duties is communication skills. Kindergarten teachers responsibilities require that "teachers need to discuss students’ needs with parents and administrators." Kindergarten teachers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "disseminated language arts/communications curricula for students and advised kindergarten team on newly implemented standards. "
Patience. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of kindergarten teachers is patience. This skill is critical to many everyday kindergarten teacher duties, as "kindergarten and elementary school teachers must respond with patience when students struggle with material." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "exhibit patience & positive attitudes in establishing an encouraging learning environment. "
The three companies that hire the most kindergarten teachers are:
- Goddard School26 kindergarten teachers jobs
- Bright Horizons18 kindergarten teachers jobs
- Esf, Inc.14 kindergarten teachers jobs
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Compare different kindergarten teachers
Kindergarten teacher vs. Teacher-in-training
A teacher-in-training is a teaching professional who offers technical teaching assistance to teachers in developing effective behavior management and instructional strategies to support student learning. The teacher must collaborate with principals while employing diverse techniques to increase the effectiveness of student learning. By observing classes and then giving feedback to teachers about their teaching style, classroom management, and techniques are some of the responsibilities of a teacher-in-training. The teacher must also develop a wide array of curriculum materials and lesson plans for classroom instruction.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a kindergarten teacher are more likely to require skills like "math," "professional development," "classroom environment," and "student learning." On the other hand, a job as a teacher-in-training requires skills like "k-12," "powerpoint," "staff development," and "student engagement." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Teachers-in training tend to make the most money working in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $39,697. In contrast, kindergarten teachers make the biggest average salary, $79,925, in the finance industry.The education levels that teachers-in training earn slightly differ from kindergarten teachers. In particular, teachers-in training are 7.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a kindergarten teacher. Additionally, they're 2.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Kindergarten teacher vs. Teacher associate
A teacher associate is responsible for assisting the teacher in classroom operations and providing teaching support for the students. Teacher associates develop learning materials according to the instructions of the headteachers, helping them to track students' progress and observing class behaviors. They also take class responsibility if the teacher is away, ensuring to keep activity records and attendance for reference. A teacher associate must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling students' difficulties and working with the teacher to develop techniques to address those challenges.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that kindergarten teacher responsibilities requires skills like "professional development," "student learning," "pre-kindergarten," and "parent-teacher conferences." But a teacher associate might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "child care," "cpr," "child development," and "cleanliness."
Teacher associates earn a lower average salary than kindergarten teachers. But teacher associates earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $32,745. Additionally, kindergarten teachers earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $79,925 annually.In general, teacher associates achieve lower levels of education than kindergarten teachers. They're 7.1% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Kindergarten Teachers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Diana Jones
Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University
Kindergarten teacher vs. Esl teacher
An ESL teacher specializes in teaching the English language to non-native speakers of all ages, usually in a virtual setting. Their responsibilities revolve around devising lesson plans, organizing learning materials, evaluating progress, and coming up with strategies to make learners feel comfortable. Furthermore, they must maintain a healthy and safe learning environment, whether the lessons are in a one-on-one or group setting. When it comes to virtual learning, an ESL teacher must have the necessary equipment, a stable internet connection, and an obstruction-free teaching location.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from kindergarten teacher resumes include skills like "math," "professional development," "pre-kindergarten," and "pre-k," whereas an esl teacher is more likely to list skills in "kids," "whiteboards," "curriculum development," and "english language. "
Esl teachers earn the best pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $52,367. Kindergarten teachers earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $79,925.esl teachers typically earn similar educational levels compared to kindergarten teachers. Specifically, they're 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Kindergarten teacher vs. Teacher
Being a teacher is one of the most passionate professions, among others. Teachers educate, motivate, and guide every generation of learners to prepare them for the real world. Every teacher is unique and has their own teaching styles and methods depending on the subject they teach and the age of their students. Oftentimes they also function as a parent, counselor, coach, friend, and even a lawmaker. There is essentially no limit to the roles a teacher portrays.
Types of kindergarten teacher
Updated January 8, 2025
