Teaching Artist (Early Childhood)
Part-Time | Tribeca & Upper West Side
About Cocoon
Cocoon is a rapidly expanding, members-only club for families, offering beautifully designed play spaces, classes, and community experiences inspired by Montessori and Reggio Emilia philosophies. Located in Tribeca and the Upper West Side, Cocoon is committed to inclusivity—each membership helps subsidize prenatal and postpartum programming for families across New York City.
Position Overview
Cocoon is seeking dynamic, creative, and engaging Teaching Artists (Early Childhood) to join our team.
This role blends early childhood education with live musical performance, creative expression, and children's birthday parties and special events. Teaching Artists lead developmentally appropriate classes for young children and caregivers while creating joyful, memorable experiences through music, movement, storytelling, and interactive play.
The ideal candidate is an experienced lead teacher who is also a confident musician and performer, capable of leading live, interactive musical experiences for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their caregivers.
This position is ideal for individuals with backgrounds in music, musical theater, performance, or early childhood education who are passionate about working with young children and thrive in warm, energetic, and highly social environments.
Key Responsibilities
1. Lead Play-Based Classes
- Facilitate engaging classes for children ages 3 months–6 years, with a primary focus on infants and toddlers (3 months–3 years).
- Lead music, movement, art, and sensory experiences using a play-based approach.
- Adapt curriculum to meet the developmental needs of each group.
- Incorporate singing, storytelling, rhythm, movement, and creative performance into every class.
- Confidently lead caregiver participation and group engagement.
2. Support Children's Birthday Parties & Events
- Support and help execute birthday parties and special events.
- Bring energy, creativity, and stage presence to children's celebrations through music, games, movement, and interactive entertainment.
- Assist with event setup, execution, flow, and overall guest experience.
- Learn or perform creative enhancements such as balloon twisting, face painting, puppetry, or other interactive activities (training provided if needed).
3. Maintain Cocoon's Elevated Standards
- Keep classrooms and shared spaces clean, organized, and visually appealing.
- Assist with setup and reset of classrooms and event spaces.
- Collaborate closely with Education and Events teams.
- Support end-of-day closing procedures as needed.
Qualifications
- Required: Demonstrated ability to sing confidently while accompanying yourself on a musical instrument (such as ukulele, keyboard/piano, guitar, or a similar instrument) and lead engaging, interactive musical experiences for groups of young children and caregivers.
- 3+ years of lead teaching experience in an early childhood classroom, preschool, enrichment program, children's museum, music program, or similar educational setting.
- Experience working with children ages 3 months–6 years, with a strong understanding of early childhood development.
- Background in music, musical theater, theater, dance, performance, early childhood education, or a related creative field strongly preferred.
- Understanding of, or experience with, Montessori and Reggio Emilia-inspired educational philosophies.
- Experience performing for children in schools, camps, birthday parties, museums, libraries, or other children's programming.
- Warm, energetic, and engaging with excellent communication, organizational, and collaboration skills.
- Priority for candidates with multilingual background
Position Details
Type: Part-Time (with potential for growth)
Schedule
- Weekday classes (primarily mornings and early afternoons)
- Weekend birthday party and event shifts
- Additional on-call opportunities available
Compensation
- Teaching Shifts: $45-50/hour based on skills
- Event Shifts: $30/hour
Location: Tribeca & Upper West Side, NYC
How to Apply:
As part of your application, please submit a short video of yourself performing a piece of music you might play for a class — pop songs suitable for both grown-ups and little ones are preferred.
If you run into trouble attaching your video file, feel free to email it directly to [email protected].
Why This Role Is Unique
This role offers the opportunity to:
- Work in a beautiful, thoughtfully designed environment.
- Build meaningful relationships with families.
- Use music and performance to inspire young children.
- Lead joyful, play-based learning experiences rooted in Montessori and Reggio Emilia principles.
- Be part of a collaborative, mission-driven team.
- Be prioritized for future full-time opportunities
Pay: $45.00 - $50.00 per hour
Benefits:
Education:
Experience:
- Early childhood education: 3 years (Required)
- Customer service: 1 year (Required)
- Music instrument performance: 1 year (Required)
Work Location: In person
