Classroom Jobs for Little Ones that Support Development and Belonging

In early childhood programs, play and learning activities are the building blocks for a young child’s developing sense of confidence and self-esteem. Educators can further enhance children’s engagement in learning activities by encouraging them to help with tasks and jobs around the classroom. In this article, we highlight the benefits of involving children in classroom tasks and provide tips for turning helping opportunities into an exciting and joyful learning experience.

Helping Jobs and Early Development

In the minds of young children, helping with even small tasks can feel incredibly special and meaningful. Contributing throughout the day as a classroom helper offers each child a sense of belonging and connection to the early learning environment. The experience of helping is not only enjoyable for little ones, but is also an opportunity for them to try and practice key developmental skills, including…

• Executive Functioning Skills. The process of helping with tasks offers children an opportunity to listen to and follow directions, plan and remember tasks and responsibilities, manage the steps involved in completing a task, and ask for help when needed. All of these activities represent important cognitive and executive functioning skills.  
• Language & Communication Skills. As children connect with caregivers and coordinate with peers regarding classroom tasks, they practice important language and communication skills. Children might need to cooperate with peers or ask a teacher to explain a task in order to complete a job successfully. These conversations help little ones build important and meaningful social and problem-solving skills.
• SEL Skills. When children help care for the classroom, they begin to see themselves as capable members of a group, which helps to build their self-esteem, independence, and foundational leadership skills. Working to maintain a shared space taps into children’s developing sense of empathy and concern for others, as they begin to recognize that the help they provide has a positive impact on their peers and the classroom as a whole. You might ask children to rotate jobs, so they can practice additional skills such as cooperation, turn-taking, and flexibility. 
• Fine and Gross Motor Skills. Many classroom jobs help children develop fine and gross motor skills. Tasks such as watering plants, holding doors open, carrying snacks, and even turning a light switch on or off require physical coordination. Through these experiences, children engage a variety of muscles, both large and small, that help to support their overall physical development. 

Helping Jobs and Classroom Management

Daily routines in early childhood programs tend to run more smoothly when children have active helping roles. Taking part in the classroom’s tasks helps children stay engaged and interested as they move from one activity to another. This creates a more collaborative and cooperative environment, which benefits both children and educators!

Ideal Helping Tasks for Early Learners

In early learning environments, there are a variety of tasks and responsibilities that young children can help with throughout the day. The following are some examples you might want to try in your early learning program:

• Line leader. In many classrooms, children take turns being a “line leader”, which means they stand at the front of the line and lead the other children when it is time to transition between spaces. This job can also be paired with a “caboose”, who stands at the back of the line and helps to make sure everyone stays together. 
• Door holder. A door holder opens the door for all students when transitioning between inside and outside the classroom, and then ensures that it is securely closed once everyone has moved through. 
• Light switcher. This person switches the lights on as children come back inside from outside play and at the end of nap time. The light switch helper can also ensure that lights are turned off after everyone has exited the classroom following a transition between spaces. 
• Weather reporter. This person might share what the weather is like and what types of clothing, like jackets or boots, will be needed for outdoor play. Weather reports are great additions to morning meetings or circle time, as little ones prepare for the day ahead. 
• Snack helper. This person might help with handing out napkins or serving simple snacks to each of the children in the classroom during snack or meal times.  
• Clean-up crew. Multiple children can help straighten up after mealtimes, play time, or messy art projects. The clean-up crew can take the lead on helping to wipe down tables, sweep the floors, throw trash away, and ensure that everything is put back in its place.
• Plant waterer. If your classroom has plants that require watering, this is a great job for little ones to help with. Using a small watering can that controls the amount of water as it is being poured can help to prevent messes. Younger children might need an extra set of hands from a caregiver or educator who can help ensure that the water is poured slowly and carefully. 
• Mystery helper. This can be a fun job for educators to incorporate into the classroom for miscellaneous tasks that emerge throughout the day. The mystery helper can be the one who the teacher calls on when they need an extra set of hands from a child in the classroom. 

Tips for Educators

Incorporating helping opportunities into your program’s daily schedule will require some planning and coordination, especially when it’s being introduced for the first time. Below you will find some tips for making helping tasks a vibrant part of your curriculum. 

Post Jobs with Helper Photos 

You can help children keep track of their responsibilities by posting the jobs in a visible location in your classroom. Posting a photo of the job alongside a photo of the child who will be doing the job, will give children an easy way to refer to the job list anytime they need to remind themselves of their responsibility for that day. An example of a job chart from a KinderCare classroom is included here for some inspiration. 

If you are looking for easy, printable job lists, there are a variety of free options available for download on the Teachers Pay Teachers website.   

Regularly Rotate Jobs

To ensure that all children have a chance to participate, it is important that jobs are regularly rotated. This might mean switching every day, once a week, or every other day, depending on what works best for your classroom’s routine.  

When selecting jobs, it is helpful to have a way to randomly pull names. You might keep a list of children’s names on popsicle sticks or index cards that you can easily mix up and pull at random. This helps to keep things fair by ensuring that responsibilities are regularly rotated. Pulling names is a great activity for morning meetings or circle time so that children can feel that they are part of the process as they watch the selection of names to go with each job.  

Talk about Feelings

Classroom jobs can sometimes bring up big feelings. Young children might be disappointed on days that they do not get to do certain jobs that they enjoy – and that’s okay! By acknowledging these feelings and talking with children about their experience, educators can support each child’s social-emotional skill development.  

Offer Praise & Encouragement

Classroom jobs are great confidence builders for young children. When educators call out and praise children for completing their tasks, it helps little ones feel motivated, encouraged, and excited to keep helping out in the classroom. This is why offering praise and encouragement for hard work is especially important for a child’s self-esteem, and is a wonderful way to support learning, growth and development.