should I ask to work in the 4-5 year old room only?

[rosaaustin]

Hello every one,
I've just finished my placement at a centre. I think they like me as I'm offered a few week of work. The problem is after spending time doing my placement I've realised workng with the 4-5 year old room suits me more as they are very mature. I will be looking for a job soon but just wondering if I can ask to just work in the 4-5 year old room (or 3-5) only, and how to I approach this at the interview? Any advise woould be appreciated! I will be able to work 2 days/week only

[fchaudari76]

You can always state your preference of what age group you would like to work with.... usually with jobs though it depends on what is available, if the job is for a toddler room is free then you may just have to work there until places open up in class age groups you would prefer to work in.

You can always tweak your resume to make it sound like you are more qualified to work with older children as opposed to younger ones, usually this works best if you have more experience in that age group... as you build your resume by working that will reflect through anyway as your potential employers will see all your experience being 3-5 or 4-5yr olds

I would say to them "I am happy to work wherever you think I would be suited, but from my placements I have felt more comfortable dealing with the older children and I feel I have more to offer this age group than the younger age group"
That is a very polite way of putting what you want across to them, yet you have said you are happy to do whatever they want... so you have to be prepared if they do not put you where u want !!

[rosaaustin]

Thank you so much, thought I forgot to mention my children are 3.5 and 5 years old therefore I'm more confident working with older children (at least this is how I feel after spending a full week in the 4-5 year's room, now I'm running between babies and toddlers' rooms filling in breaks). I think If I keep working in the babies' room and dont' like it, it'll be alot worse than telling them now and let them decide. I've been a stay at home mum for a few years before deciding to start all over again in Childcare as I love interacting with children and have the patience...
Thanks again, R

[fchaudari76]

Again u can state your preference but when you apply for a job it will depend what the job is and what age group it is with. I am not too sure how it works in normal childcare centres as I am Montessori trained and since my training is 3-6 yr olds that is the age group I work with... though I have worked with toddlers too when a job was not open in the 3-6 room...just sometimes its hard to get exactly what u want !

[catchmeifucan]

Hi rosaaustin,

You can always state your preference of what age group you would like to work with.... usually with jobs though it depends on what is available,

fefe is right..you can certainly state your preference, but I reckon working with 4-5 year old groups are sometimes hard to get since a lot people would want to work with that age group. Mainly because the kids are a lot more independent than the younger ones. Some of the reason why staffs prefer this age group is cuz you dont have to worry about changing nappies every few minutes, not too much crying like the babies room, no toilet training or anything like that..(usually). So yeah, its cuts down on a lot of other works and thats why I think that this age group can be in high demand...

But what you can do is, you can show to your employer that you have a passion for teaching and come up with some strategies you might like to implement if you happen to get a chance to be a preschool teacher or work with 4-5 year olds...You can show how the center will benefit more from you if you worked with this age group. But having said that, there is no guarantee...If there is no spot available, there is nothing much you can do..So be prepared to work with any age groups.

[Lorina]

Hi Rosaaustin,

Through my experience I've worked with all age groups and I completely understand when you say that you prefer working with the older kids and like catchmeifucan mentioned a lot of people seem to want to work with this age group. There is nothing wrong with that... It's not only because you don't have to change their nappies or deal with toilet training, on the basis of learning you can do so much more. Preschoolers are interested in topics (such as space, animals, environment) for a longer period of time and you can do some great projects with them. Also the activities you set up can be a little more complicated and challenging and you don't have to watch them like a hawk... Preschoolers grasp concepts more easily and you can communicate and "teach" them on a variety of topics they are interested in... so I understand why you prefer this age group...

I have to ask.. how did you go with the interview? Did they offer you a job?

Let us know how it went...

Cheers ,
L.A