Get a Job!: The Importance of Classroom Jobs and Chores at School or Home

A young child eagerly waters the plants or sets the table at lunch. So what? Why would this be important, they're just helping out right. In a way yes, and in one way no. They are indeed helping out, but they are learning so much more. We, as adults, should take a page out of their book. They are so patient, willing, and truly want to have a special job of their own.

This is why so many early childhood educators use Classroom Job Charts. Classroom job charts encourage children to become part of a greater community then themselves. They are helping their friends, learning new skills, and challenging themselves as they gain life skills.

Classroom Jobs/Home Chores teach children...

• Respect. Each child needs to work together to get things done. Even though a job may be done individually, it still encompasses the running of the class as a whole.
• Teamwork. When children work as a team they are building their burgeoning, social skills and beginning to understand the feelings of others as they work as one. 
• Responsibility. Whether a child is three or thirteen, they need to learn to be responsible. A task for a three-year-old may be holding the flag during circle or helping pick up their toys after center-time and for a thirteen-year-old , it may be mowing the lawn or washing the dishes. While these may seem like trivial or mundane tasks, they are far-reaching and serve children well.  They begin to learn time management skills, learn that their actions will benefit the class or family as a whole, and give the children a self-esteem boost. Their self-esteem is bolstered because they now know that they are capable and able to perform these tasks on their own with little or no adult support. 
• Job preparation skills. Yes, you heard me right job preparation skills. They begin to learn that being  a leader and performing jobs on their own is a major life skill, but that they need to work as a team in a classroom and future work environment. The little boy, who choose to be a teacher helper may eventually become a teacher himself due to the enjoyment of helping his teacher "teach" and "prepare" for lessons or the little girl who loved to water and take care of the plants grew up to become a landscape architect or florist. Jobs allow children to grow and express their likes, dislikes, and independence by performing simple, yet skill-building tasks. 

Below you will find a link to a classroom job chart I designed for students. It is located under the Classroom Jobs Chart Cover. I created a bright, bold job chart with 17 simple classroom jobs that can be used for children from pre-k  - 2nd grade. It features a header and heart-shaped job cards that can be laminated and used over and over again.

Some of the jobs included in the job chart include: 

Weather Wizard (weather)

Lunch Helper

Librarian (picking up books and keeping the library tidy)

Clean Up Crew (children who help pick up after play time) 

Paper Passer

Supply Guard (checking for classroom supplies) 

Flag Holder 

Calendar Helper

Classroom Jobs Chart

Now it's your turn! Do you use a Classroom Job Chart in your classroom? If so, please post below the reasons why you feel classroom jobs are so important to your students?