There are many types of teaching opportunities available at a child care center. Lead teachers will teach the same group of children a wide variety of subjects and skills constantly throughout the school year. Enrichment teachers will teach just one activity to the students, such as dance or music, on a daily or weekly basis. Other teachers may be known as "floaters," because they float around to different classrooms, depending on what classroom is in need of a teacher at that particular time.
Education requirements vary in each state. However, teaching children in a child care center will require some sort of training. Floaters and enrichment teachers may only require a certificate that can be obtained through taking one or two classes that can be completed in a few weeks or months. Lead teachers usually require more formal schooling, such as completing Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials. CDA completion generally takes at least one year.
The amount of time that a teacher will teach in a child care center will vary with each center. Some centers offer part time programs that are only two or three days a week for three or four hours at a time,while other child care centers have full-time programs that will require the teachers to teach for up to eight hours throughout the day. Most centers are only open Monday through Friday, so the teachers will have Saturdays and Sundays off.
Teaching children in child care centers includes many different responsibilities in addition to teaching. The teachers will have to plan age-appropriate lesson plans. They will also be responsible for taking precautions to prevent the children from getting hurt. The teachers will be required to comfort a sick child and resolve conflict that occurs between the children. They will need to change children's diapers or help with toilet training. They may even need to plan and serve healthy snacks or meals.
There are drawbacks to teaching children in child care centers. Teachers may work for long hours for low pay. Some teachers will have to buy teaching materials themselves if the child care center cannot afford to do so. If the teacher needs to take time off due to sickness or for personal reasons, it might be difficult because unlike teaching at an elementary, middle or high school, there are not a handful of substitutes available to fill in for them.