Extracurricular Activities to Prepare for Being a Kindergarten Teacher

• Public speaking boosts confidence for kids who want to become teachers. teen girl singing image by Katrina Miller from Fotolia.com

  Students who dream of becoming kindergarten teachers have options for extracurricular activities that will set them on a course for success in the profession. A love of young children and the desire to teach them are qualities that already exist in the spirit of someone who wants to tackle the job. Kids on the path to teaching kindergartners should build up skills in areas that will help them to bring expertise and confidence to the job.

Speech Club

• Join the debate team or the speech club at school. Teachers need to project a confident manner when instructing the class and when called upon to speak to groups of parents. The ability to speak well in public will also serve a prospective kindergarten teacher during the job interview process.

Music Lessons

• Today's public schools are making cutbacks in arts education. In schools across the country, music programs have been dropped completely, or music teachers have been given drastically reduced hours. Learn to play a musical instrument so the children in your future class can benefit from your talent. A teacher who plays guitar or keyboard during class can use the skill to add interest to her lessons and draw students in to learning.

Childcare Volunteer

• Nothing compares to experience in working with young children as the extracurricular activity of choice to prepare a person to teach kindergarten. Volunteer options abound in the area of child care. Local churches, private daycares and youth centers need unpaid helpers to oversee little children. Giving time to a group of special needs kids can provide insight into special education instruction. A future kindergarten teacher can gain resume-building experience as he learns to manage groups of youngsters.

Foreign Language Club

• In addition to second language classes in high school, students who desire a career teaching kindergartners can beef up their ability to speak a foreign language by joining a club dedicated to it. Fluency in another language gives prospective teachers a valuable skill to bring to the classroom. According to Christopher Lonigan of the Florida Center for Reading Research,"Children who are Spanish-speaking English language learners are one of the fastest growing school populations in the United States." Future kindergarten teachers can begin to prepare themselves to teach children for whom English is the second language.