Childcare Aide Job Skills Task Cards | Head Counts, Snack + Pick-Up

Childcare comes up often when students talk about jobs, usually because they love little kids. The job itself is mostly routines and rules: count the children at every transition, check the allergy list, release a child only to an adult on the list, and never leave the room unwatched. This set teaches those routines and rules before a student works in a classroom full of three-year-olds.

This set covers the work of a childcare aide in a center classroom: snack, clean-up, head counts, sanitizing toys, nap time, and pick-up rules. Hand-washing for students themselves is already a routine in my Task Analysis Data Sheets, and general soft skills are in my Soft Skills Scenario Cards.

What's included:

• Teacher page with three support levels and a 2-week plan

• Job snapshot: jobs, a typical shift, and what supervisors look for

• 16 vocabulary cards and a vocabulary match

• 5 task sequence cards (set up snack time, clean up after an activity, take a head count, sanitize mouthed toys, get ready for nap time) plus a blank card

• Put-it-in-order worksheets for all 5 tasks

• 8 safety rules and a 10-item safe or unsafe sort with "do this instead"

• 12 procedure cards (what is the rule here?) and a procedure planner

• On-the-job checklist for student and supervisor ratings, with an IEP data note

• Answer key and blank cards to write your own

How I use it:

I start with the job snapshot and the vocabulary cards. Then I model each task card and have students practice while a partner reads the steps. A preschool room in your building is a good place to practice head counts and clean-up if the teacher is willing. The procedure cards work best a few at a time as a warm-up or with role-play. Before a job site visit, students set goals on the checklist, and the supervisor or job coach rates the same skills afterward.

How this set is different from my other job skills resources: my Soft Skills Scenario Cards cover general "what would you do" moments that happen at any job, and my Task Analysis Data Sheets break down everyday routines with data sheets. This set is only about one workplace: its words, its tasks, and its rules. None of the scenario cards or routines are repeated here.

Part of the Job Site Task Card Series: one set per workplace, all in the same layout, so you can mix sites across your caseload and students already know how the cards work when they move to a new site.

Pairs well with:

• Task Analysis Data Sheets (hand-washing and table-setting routines with data sheets)

• Soft Skills Scenario Cards (the soft skills side of any job)

• Job Interview Practice (practice for the interview a childcare job requires)

• Work Schedules + Time Cards (morning, midday, and afternoon shifts)

Who it is for: high school special education, transition programs for ages 18 to 21, vocational and CTE classes, job coaches, and work-based learning teams. Grades 9th to 12th and adult transition.

What you download: one printable PDF, 13 pages, US Letter. Answer key included.

Job tasks and rules vary by employer. Use this to prepare students, and always follow the training and rules at the actual job site.

From the author of The Transition Map (Jeremy D. Gooch), available in paperback and Kindle.

Written by Jeremy D. Gooch, a teacher with 20+ years in education. All student names and stories are made up.