Observation Of A Child : Social, Cognitive, And Child Development

On October 13, 2017, our Life-Span Development class had the opportunity to observe the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development of Levi, a seventeen-month-old male toddler. When he came to the observation with his mother, father, and sister. With the whole family coming to the observation, we were able to observe more interactions, and learn more from the parents. The observation was conducted at Dordt College in room 1309, and the infant’s parent consented to participate in the live observation.

This paper contains observations of a preschool classroom in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The observation was conducted in a Pre-K classroom with approximately ten students present. Observations are presented with regard to dramatic play, the presence of gender roles, and themes that emerge during preschool play. Peer relationships and levels of friendship between students will also be discussed. Relationships with adults in the classroom with in terms of attachment styles and general interactions involving teachers and parents will be reviewed. Observations are also described in relation to self-control, self-regulation, aggression,

In an early childhood setting, being observant gives professionals and family members a helpful portrait of the children in their care, and as future professionals it helps us see how intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development occurs in children. Observing, documenting, and assessing young children shows how they progress from one stage to the next or when there is a delay in progression. The reason we observe young children is that “there is so much that demands attention and response; at the same time, by building in systematic observation, teachers can improve their teaching, construct theory, assess children, assist families, and solve problems” (Gordon and Browne, p.180). It gives dynamic information about each child’s learning styles, interests, abilities, and needs. Observation helps teachers improve teaching by making them become more objective and self-aware of biases they may have. It encourages us to remember that early childhood development is highly individualized, so customizing activities to benefit each child will help them utilize their abilities to their fullest potentials, and through this we will be able to recognize what behaviors are typical of various age groups. The reason we document our observations is so that we can keep records and show proper evidence of each child’s individual growth and participation in classroom activities. With good documentation, family members will able to see the progression made by their child.

| |2. Vygotsky’s theory believed that economic and cultural forces were very influential in child development. |

Observing a child is a fascinating and eye opening experience. It is amazing to see how children view certain things differently than adults. Things that some adults take for granted, children see as a miracle. I recently observed a little girl. For the purposes of confidentiality, the name of the little girl has been changed to Katy. She is five years old and has two older sisters. She will start kindergarten this year. I observed Katy on June 20, 2016 at twelve in the afternoon at the park with her mother present. It was nearly 100 degrees outside. There were a couple other children at the park as well.

During Jacob’s physical examination and interview I was able to observe many of his physical characteristics and other milestones that he has reached. On physical examination and plotting his height and weight on the growth chart I was able to see that his growth is following the growth curve however he is on the smaller size for his age falling

For Life-Span Development class, on February 13, 2017, the class had the opportunity to observer the physical, cognitive and social development. In this observation the class Riley, a five month old, female toddler. As a class at the Dordt College, gave the class the opportunity to live observe in the child with the infant’s parent consent.

An unannounced monitoring inspection was conducted on 1/6/2016. I arrived at the operation which is located at 3422 Richmond Rd, Texarkana about 12:57 pm. I was greeted by Comekia Island, the person in charge while director was at lunch. I handed her business card and then explained the purpose of my inspection and reviewed the subchapters I would be observing. Roshonda Epps the director arrived approximately a hour later. When Epps arrived I handed her business card and then explained the purpose of my inspection and reviewed the subchapters I would be observing.

Toddlers and preschoolers are at different developmental stages, and therefore require their teachers to use different approaches and techniques to further learning. I completed my observations at the Bright and Early Children’s Learning Center where I observed a toddler classroom and a preschool classroom. My observations took place from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. on the 21st and 28th of September. The first day that I observed I was placed in the toddler classroom which had two teachers, Miss Ashlynn and Miss Miranda, and six students, most of whom were two years old. In the preschool classroom there was one teacher, Miss Stephanie, and eight students, each of whom were 3 years old or 4 years old. While the rooms were physically similar, the teachers used different strategies and activities to appeal to the different age groups.

Behavior Observed: Upon entering the house Abby politely took my jacket and hung it up on a chair. She then ran up the stairs and asked me to come see her dollhouse. She identified every little thing in her dollhouse as she was showing it to me. She showed me the “windows”, “stove”, “soap”, “mantel”,

Subject “Chris” is a 7 year old middle class Caucasian male. Observation is taking place in the child’s home over the course of two separate afternoons. Chris is a friendly and well spoken child who is small for his age. Chris is the youngest child in his family and both observations take place while his siblings are home. In each case one or both parents are absent.

Context: Observation took place in their home. The living room dimension is approximately 16 x 20 feet, giving enough room for movement. On entering the living room, on the east corner is a 50-inch television and to the west is the dining set. This room is furnished with tan leather couches, center table and red rug over the bare floor. On the walls are family pictures, pictures of CJ and his brothers, personal pictures of CJ and personal pictures of his brothers. And there is a door that leads to the backyard. Mom, CJ and two older siblings were home. Dad was at work. The two older siblings with the request of Mom came up to the living room to say Hi to me and went back down to the basement where handymen were doing some work.

For this child observation, I decided to observe my younger brother Jacob. Jacob is 5 years old, but he insisted that I write that he is almost 6. He is also in kindergarten this year and loving every second of being a loud, rowdy boy. I suppose I am at an advantage in this observation since I have seen the numerous developments in Jacob’s life thus far.

Hypothetically, the child of interest is a 6-year-old boy with 2 siblings and will would be home schooled to ensure that I have complete control over the cognitive, linguistic and socio emotional development activities that will be carried out. After the child wakes up, I would precede with assisting the him with his morning routine. His morning routine consist of brushing his teeth first, to promote dental health, then bathing and getting dressed. After this, the child will eat breakfast at the table with his other siblings. To begin with today’s session of his schooling, he will start with verbal and reading activities to improve information processing and further his academic learning.

"Ever since I was a child, I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one 's potential"(Bruce Lee). I think this quote pertains greatly to how children grow up. The Assignment purpose was to observe a child between the ages of 2 and 16. Human Development is important because it shows what you can identify. For example, if there is anything wrong with your child or if your child is more developed than others. Plus, there is so much that you can learn from observing the child from how they react in their environment and around people. If you know what to look for in human develop it greatly helps in knowing what to do with a child when you least expect it.