According to Dr. Becky Bailey in her book, Loving Guidance, each child in your classroom should have a meaningful job each day. When children have jobs, they learn to be more responsible, and they take pride in their classroom.
Many teachers feel rushed and find it easier to do tasks themselves, but there is tremendous value in teaching children how to do jobs.
Having jobs in the classroom allows the child to become involved in the classroom and helps them to learn positive social and emotional development. The following are some ideas for classroom jobs:
Morning message writer: This child’s job is to write or draw a picture of a welcoming message to the class. The message might say “Welcome to our class. I hope you have fun today.” Or it may be a picture of a sun with a great big smile.
Greeter: This job involves greeting children as they enter the center/classroom/home. It also includes extending a helping hand as needed, such as helping someone with a coat or backpack.
Encourager: This child’s job is to notice children who are feeling discouraged and offer encouragement. This might be a post-it note with a happy face or a fun picture that has been cut out of amagazine.
Visitor Greeter: This child’s job is to greet the guests that come into the classroom. The child must be taught what to do: Walk over to meet the visitor at the door, then say, “Welcome to our room, my name is _____”.
Kindness recorder: This is the person who gets to notice all the kind acts children perform during the day. They write or draw what they see in a designated location. Acts of kindness will be shared at the next group time.
Absent children committee: This job can belong to one child or a group of children. If a child is absent, this person draws a picture or makes a “we missed you card” for the child who was gone.
New Child Buddy: This person can be the buddy for a new child who has just started coming to the classroom, center, or home.
Teachers should be sure to proactively notice all helpful, kind acts as well. If you point out not only the act, but also how it helps, the children become more aware of why jobs are important to everyone.
Some examples of great things to say about children contributing positively to the classroom are: “You put all the puzzle pieces back in the box so whoever plays with the puzzle next will be able to be successful. That was helpful!” or “Jimmy held the door open so all the children could walk through without bumping each other. That was helpful.” Or “You helped Hannah clean up the dramatic play area; you were being a great helper.”
Adding some of these new job ideas to your current classroom plan will help you build a positive classroom community!
Source:
Bailey, Dr. Becky, (2000) Loving Guidance. Oviedo, FL: Loving Guidance, Inc.
Written by Pam Raffurty, Director
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