Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Preschooler Observation
Sarah Benitez
Ivy Tech Community College
PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION
Preschooler Observation
I. General background Information
The subject used for the child investigation project is five years old and is in a
preschool program at the Jordan YMCA. He is in the 4-5 preschool class. The subject
comes from a family of four; his family consists of his mother, father, and baby sister. His
mother is thirty-nine years old, his father is forty-three, and his baby sister is two years
old.
The subject has never spent a long period of time without his mother. After taking
her (subjects mother) six weeks of maternity leave she decided that she did not want to go
back to work in order to stay and care for her child. When the subject turned one and a
half years old his mother decided to work part time hours at the YMCA (Child watch),
working in Child watch consists of watching the members children while they use the
facilities. Child watch staff employees are given the opportunity to take their children to
work with them therefore, she was still able to be with him while she worked.
At the age of two the subject began the preschool program at the YMCA which
took place from 9:00-11:30 a.m.. Then he began the 3-4 class and finally is currently in
the 4-5 pre-kindergarten class.
A typical day for the subject begins at 7:00 a.m. when he wakes up. The subject
and his family eat breakfast together and after he is done he is allowed to watch
television. Shortly after, the subject is given his vitamins. At approximately 8:00 a.m.
the subject begins to get dressed to go to preschool, the mother says that her and her son
alternate picking out his clothes for the day. However, he does dress himself without any
PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION
assistance. Shortly after he is reminded to brush his teeth and after he completes this task
his mother will go over it and make sure the job is done correctly.
They arrive at the YMCA at 9:00 a.m. for his preschool class. When he arrives he
is to find his basket, which has his name labeled and take his folder out and set it on his
teachers desk. The subject then begins to work on the centers and once finished he is
given the opportunity to play. The centers consist of writing his name, cutting and
matching the cutouts, and finishing previous projects. From 9:30-10:30a.m. he begins
circle time where the class goes over the date, weather, numbers, and expectations for
the day. Shortly after the subject is given a snack and once finished is given the
opportunity for library time. From approximately 10:30-11:30 the class reads a book and
begins working on the big project/assignment of the day.
After class he is taken to Child watch which is where his mother works. At
12:00-12:30 YMCA staff children are fed lunch. The subject is given free time from
12:30-2:30 p.m. where he either plays with his friend or plays on his 3DS.
The subject arrives at home at 3:00 p.m. where he is given the opportunity to have
quiet time/ television time with his two-year-old sister. The mother says that the two play
very well together even though there is a three-year age difference. At 4:00 p.m. the
subject is given his afternoon snack. The subjects father arrives home at approximately
5:00 p.m. everyday and the subject and his sister play with their dad until dinnertime that
is at approximately 6:00 p.m. The subject is given a bath every other night at 7:00 p.m.
and at 8:00 p.m. the subject brushes his teeth for bedtime. The subjects father puts him to
bed while the mother puts his sister to bed. The subject is either read a story to or they
PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION
make-up their own stories together. By 8:30 p.m. the subjects mother said, he easily
goes to bed at that time.
The subject was interviewed two times, once at his house and another time at the
YMCA. Both of the interviews lasted about an hour, the first 15 minutes was asking the
student questions. For the next 25 minutes was doing active activity. The cool off stage
was used to ask the student nonchalant questions. The subject was also observed during
his preschool class on a separate occasion. Before interviewing with the subject, the
subjects mother was interviewed at the YMCA.
II. Physical and Motor Development
The following chart is a list of the developmental milestones from the checklist.
Below list whether the subject was able to demonstrate the tasks.
C-3 Checklist: Toddler Development Signs of Development
Physical Development
YE N
COMMENTS
S
O
1. Walks down stairs. (Describe X
how.)
2. Easily changes directions
X
while running.
3. Throws a ball. (Describe
X
how.)
4. Catches a ball. (Describe
X
how.)
5. Skips.
X
6. Stacks seven or more blocks.
(Note number.)
PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION
Intellectual Development
YE
S
X
1. Demonstrates imagination
and symbolic thought (for
example, uses a stuffed
animal
2. Sorts objects by one
variable, such as color.
3. Groups objects by size.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
1.
Comments
X
X
N
O
Emotional Development
19
X
X
X
X
YE
S
X
19
N
O
COMMENTS
PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION
4.
Social Development
1.
Ethical Development
1.
6
X
YE
S
X
N
O
COMMENTS
N
O
COMMENTS
X
X
X
X
X
X
YE
S
X
X
X
The subject was able to accomplish many of the milestones that were presented to
him. The subject weighs fifty pounds and stands forty-four inches tall. The subject has
given various opportunities to practice his physical development skills. The subject has
played football and soccer. During our interview he was given a break and was taken to
the basketball gym. While there he had picked up a basketball and was able to make eight
baskets in a child appropriate hoop. The subject was asked if he had ever played
basketball and he replied, No, that was fun but I am done now.
PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION
The subject is able to practice his fine motor skills in class and in Child watch.
The subject wrote his name and it was legible. The subjects drawing skills were also
recognizable. One of the developmental milestones was to copy shapes such as a square,
triangle, and circle; the subject was successful in doing this. Several minutes after
copying the shape he was asked to draw it without copying. The subject was successful in
drawing a circle, square, and triangle without having to copy it.
III. Cognitive Development
The subject is in the Preoperational Piaget stage. The subjects favorite game is
Super Mario 3D Land and therefore there was a focus on the game. The subject had
expressed that he and father had finally passed world eight and were now at special world
one. Before this particular visit he had expressed, I cant beat world eight. My dad says
that I need to get 100 big coins before I can play the castle. The subject demonstrates
expanded and grammatical language skills. When observed in his classroom the subject
demonstrated extensive pretend play during snack time. The subject was given a red juice
box and he and his friends drank it and said, I am a vampire and I am drinking your
blood.
The Piagetian Conservation of numbers was used in this observation. The subject
was given two equal rows of pennies. The subject was asked whether one row had more
pennies than the other. The subject said, No, they have the same. Then the subject was
presented with two equal yet, one row of the pennies was spread out. The subject was
then asked if one row contained more pennies than the other and he said, Yes, this one
has a lot more. The subject was then asked to count each row and then asked again if
one row contained more pennies than the other. The subject responded with the same
PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION
answer yes, the longer one does. After some extra assistance the subject was able to
conclude that the rows did contain the same amount of pennies.
The subject is in a preschool class and is given the opportunity to be involved in
resources that will support his cognitive development. The preschool class is training the
subject to increase his attention span.
IV. Social/Emotional Development
The subject is in the preschooler stage of Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial
Development. The subject shows signs of being initiative, a good example is that the
subject has a plan to get to the special worlds in Super Mario therefore, carries out his
plan by passing world after world.
Heinz Steals the Drug Test was conducted on the subject to note what level of
moral reasoning the subject demonstrated. First, the subject was told a hypothetical story
about his mother and how she needed a very expensive drug to make her feel better
however, did not have enough money to pay for it. Then was asked how he would help
his mom get the medicine. The subject said, I would buy a job. The subject was then
told, What if you couldnt get a job because you have school and sports. What would
you do next? The subject said, I would do nice things for people to get money. Finally,
the subject was asked, What if doing nice things wasnt enough money to buy the
medicine? Would you steal it? The subject said, NO, I dont want to make people mad.
I would keep trying to make more money to buy the medicine. This subject
demonstrated that he is in the Level 2, Stage 3. The subject seeks approval therefore
maintaining good behavior by not stealing.
PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION
The subject socializes with students of different sex throughout his preschool
class. When asked who his best friends were the subject said, Aiden and Katie. The
subject also has a sister who is a female and has a very good relationship with her. He is a
very loving brother to his little sister. His mother stated, He is very protective of his
sister. He used to say, that is my little and she was born that way. This comment was
made because the subject has a sister that was born without part of her arm. The subject
began to notice that people became interested and worried as to why she did not have an
arm and the subject eventually became frustrated that people were so worried about the
situation.
V. Your Reactions, Recommendations, and Application
I believe that the subject has demonstrated a lot of the knowledge that he needs to
continue to be successful in school. However, the subject would benefit much more if he
had more time to interact with his mother in a more fun educational manner. I also
believe that the mother should allow her son to be more independent in performing his
own toiletries. The mother has set her own reasons as to why she would rather perform
toiletries for the subject. The subject will go to kindergarten in the fall and will need to be
able to do this task without his mothers help.
After doing this project I was able to connect the theories presented in class and
find them within a child. This project made the theories easier to understand and
remember. Gathering information on all students is important because background
information is what molds a child. One is able to decipher reasons why the student is why
he/she is. The project was also a great way to show how to evaluate a childs physical,
motor, cognitive, social, and emotional development.
PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION
10
References