Preschool Teacher

Being a preschool teacher is not an easy job. And not everyone can be a preschool teacher. There has to be some aspects in yourself that made you desire such a position and that will make you the perfect candidate for a preschool teacher job position.

One of the most important aspects is that you should have a natural love for kids and enjoy helping them and being surrounded by them. There is no place for irritability, intolerance or impatience in the job and life of a preschool teacher. These are the concepts that you should bring out in the interview answers, with perhaps a brief, revealing anecdote or two.

It is the primary duty of a preschool staff to ensure that students are taught to develop a positive attitude towards education. It is import to build independence, raise confidence and celebrate students’ differences. It is also important to ensure that students interact positively with each other.

As the interview goes on, the director or principal may begin to ask more "What would you do if..." questions. The best way to prepare for these types of questions is to know not only how you would handle this situation, but to be able to give a developmentally appropriate reason for doing so. For example, "Children who bite or act aggressively are often lacking the language to tell others what they are feeling. After observing the child for a short time, I would attempt to stop the biting by shadowing the child, documenting the behaviors and the events that led up to them and trying to find the root cause of the biting or aggression."

I have been actively involved in creating preschool curriculum and lesson plans, and implementing both according to the protocols of the school and state. Imparting education to young students according to their specific learning speeds, ensuring that they are kept comfortable during their time at school and making sure that behavior models are maintained, was also part of my work. Additionally, I was responsible for creating and maintaining a classroom environment that is conducive to young students’ development and learning.

"The highlight of my teaching day is when I see the excitement of the children when they learn something new, when they are able to do something for the first time. It is very fulfilling how responsive young children are to learning, to see their enthusiasm for different and fresh activities."

"I enjoy getting to know each child as a unique individual, finding out what makes them tick and then using this knowledge to help them grow, to maximize their strengths and to build their confidence and competence. I find it so rewarding to be an integral part of their development."

Provide a concise overview of the types of activities you engage the preschoolers in, rather than a minute-to-minute account of your day. Give reasons for your choice of schedule.

"I like to mix it up between indoor and outdoor activity, big and small group and individual activities, free play and structured activities, and hands-on and listening activities . This keeps the children engaged and provides opportunities for both learning and fun. I start with a large group activity and then move on to .."

Emphasize your ability to be flexible and to adapt your schedule to meet changing needs and demands.

this is a term used instead of ‘mother’ or ‘father’, as many children today are raised by one parent or another person entirely, be it relative or friend. This term avoids calling attention to each child’s state. If there are children in the class whose primary caregiver is not the mother, sensitivity and forethought will allow you to tell all kinds of stories without upsetting or embarrassing children.

This question is more or less aimed at finding out whether you can think on your feet and how child-appropriate your course of action or thought is. Describe how you handle children wanting the same toy. Or what you would do if one child ruin’s his classmate’s art project or kicks and hits.

Detail how each child is spoken to; how you focus your attention on the injured party.

Children in their formative years require more out of a teacher than others. The interviewer wants to find out if you have any goals or takeaways for your preschoolers.

"I have a few goals I aim to achieve that allow me to measure my success as well. First, my overall objective is to instill a positive attitude towards education. Second, I strive to build independence and confidence in my preschoolers so that they use their full potential. Lastly, I teach my students to celebrate their differences and interact positively with one another. If they walk away with at least a little of each aspect, then I feel as though I have succeeded in my role."

Possible answers to this type of preschool teacher interview question include:

"Managing a class full of preschoolers is challenging, I have to gain their respect and ensure appropriate behavior without intimidating them. A successful approach is to control the classroom while keeping things educational, enjoyable and encouraging.

I achieve this through excellent organization of both learning activities and the learning environment. The classroom is a supportive and structured environment where children learn while having fun."

This is a fairly obvious question, and the answer to answering this question successfully lies of research you do to prepare yourself in advance. Be sure to know about the school district, the needs of the school, the successes of the school, the faculty, the board, the educational vision that the school promotes, the reputation, demographic, activities and neighborhood. Have some sense of what the school struggled with but also have excelled in to provide a balanced vision of your own that would be a good fit at this district.

I am all for incorporating play into regular school work which makes the latter interesting for young students. I use technology, usually smart boards, to help me do this, along with making sure that I bring in as much interactive activities as possible.

Possible strengths include the ability to observe each child keenly and objectively in order to best meet each individual needs, planning and organizational skills to ensure the day is a productive as possible, strong communication skills to build positive relationships with each child, dedication, flexibility, energy and creativity, high levels of patience and a good sense of humor!

This question is being asked to gauge your commitment to the school district, as well as what your objectives are as a teacher. It also wonders whether you are goal-oriented or not. For a question such as this, it helps if you have a five-year plan in place. It also helps if you have a goal as a teacher but also a vision for the school, so doing some research beforehand may help. When answering this question, always focus on how your goal-oriented tasks will benefit the school and the students.

As a preschool teacher you need to be able to balance the needs of the parents and children.

You want parental buy-in. Discuss how you communicate with and involve the parents including newsletters, notes home, progress reports, organizing family days and parent activities.

For sure it is! Working as a preschool teacher means that you are molding lives. And it is great responsibility. I believe that I am ready for this responsibility though.

Students at the preschool level are in the initial learning processes which is why it is important for a teacher to come down to their level. I almost never reprimand my students for bad behavior although I do speak to them in a calm and controlled manner by explaining to them why they have behaved wrongly. At the end, I always encourage handshakes or high fives which helps in minimizing hard feelings.