Running Head: YASMINE'S MOTOR DEVELOPMENT REPORT

Yasmine's Motor Development Report

Andrea G Haines
Ivy Tech Community College

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Standard #1: Learner Development

The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning
and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional,
and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging
learning experiences.
Name of Artifact: Preschooler Observation Project
Date: July 3rd, 2014
Course: EDUC 121: Child and Adolescent Development
Brief Description: For this assignment I did an observation of a 4 year-old girl named Yasmine.
I was provided with a chart in which I had to answer during the observation. I did this
observation in a period of two days, for one hour each day. During the process I took notes about
Yasmin's behavior, fine & gross motor development, and other skills. I was able to compare the
results with information from the our book. After doing the observation, I had the task to write a
paper about it from 1 to 3 pages in length.
Rationale: To document my understanding of Learner Development, I am aware that as a child
grows he/she has to go through certain stages to develop physically, mentally, socially, and
emotionally. By doing this assignment and comparing it to Standard #1, I can also relate this
experience to book readings I have done so far in several chapters.

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Children develop rapidly from the moment their born until they reach their full physical
development. As a parent, we get to experience our child's most important milestones, from
walking, to eating by themselves, brushing their teach, learning how to write, and many, many
more. For this assignment I was given the opportunity to observe Yasmine's behavior and
development. I was able to make important notes that help me determine if she is or not at the
right stage of her development.
Yasmine is a four-year-old from Indianapolis, In. She is not yet attending preschool, but
she is enrolled to begin school this upcoming fall. She is the third of three children. She has a
sister and a brother. By doing this observation I was able to determine that she is at the right
stage of her physical development. At four and a half years-old, Yasmine is able to walk down
the stairs by holding on to the rail. When she runs she is able to do so with speed, but trips over
quite a bit when she tries sudden changes in direction. She has good hand coordination when she
throws and catches a medium size bouncy ball. When I asked her to skip, she does it but not
continuously. Yasmine is able to recognize the first letter of her name and knows how to write
the letter "Y". She can also hold the pencil correctly. She knows how to name most shapes and
knows how to draw triangles and circles. She has no struggle when pilling up to fourteen blocks
at a time before they fell of the tower. This is because "After infancy, fine-motor skills progress
rapidly. Preschool children become much more dexterous, able to make many precise and
delicate movements with their hands and fingers." (Kail, 2012, p. 164). She is still on the
process of learning how to use scissors correctly.
At this point, Yasmine is able to dress herself and button up her small cardigan.
Preschoolers feel that "No longer must they rely on their parents to feed and clothe them; instead
they become increasingly skilled at feeding and dressing themselves." (Kail, 2012, p. 164).
Yasmine's Intellectual development is right at the level it should be. She demonstrates symbolic
thought by playing pretend "tea-party" with her dolls and stuffed animals, or by playing doctor.
She is able to count to fifteen in English and up to ten in Spanish. She knows her colors well and

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she is able to sort items of the same color in groups. She knows the difference between small and
big items, and she can group them together only when there is a noticeable difference between
them. I tried having her group rectangle shapes that are too close in size and she would get
confused. According to Piaget's theory, even though Yasmine is currently in the Preoperational
Stage, "their thinking remains quite limited compared to that of school-aged children." (Kail,
2014, p. 175). She is able to apply grammar rules such as goose vs. geese. She understands the
difference between single and plural.
Yasmine still has a little bit of work to do on her Emotional development. She knows how
to handle self-control, and I attribute that to the fact she has other siblings and has learned to ask
to borrow and not just take from them. One thing I don't see Yasmine has is empathy for others.
One of her cousins was hurt while playing and even though Yasmine was sitting right next to
them, she didn't feel the need to help them get up. She just ignored their cry and continued
playing.
Yasmine plays well with others. She played with her siblings and two other cousins and
they were having a blast. Although she is only four, and is the youngest off the group of kids,
Yasmine likes to give her input on the games they plays. She doesn't just like to follow the
others, she also likes to come up with her own choices. For instances, they were playing Barbies,
she didn't want to take the Barbie that the other girls were giving her, she picked her own and
named her a name she liked. At one point, her brother Alex came along and ask if he could play.
Yasmine told him "but Alex, this game is for girls!", showing that she is aware of differences
between girls and boys.

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Lastly, Yasmine is well aware of good or bad behavior. She knows there are
consequences for her actions, and she seems to care a lot about having other kids follow the
house rules, otherwise she will accuse them with her parents.
In conclusion, I think Yasmine's development is right on track. I think this little girl has
potential to make a good leader in the near future.

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References
Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2012). Current Practices for Meeting the
Needs of Exceptional Learners. Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special
Education (12th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: PEARSON Education, Inc.