Running Head: CHARLES CONTAKES: OBSERVATION AND STUDY

Charles Contakes: Observation and Study

Jordan McCall
Westmont College

Abstract

CHARLES CONTAKES: OBSERVATION AND STUDY

Charles Contakes was examined and studied as a way to observe a childs physical, cognitive,
and socio-emotional development. During the observations, Charles was seen partaking in
various activities and circumstances, which helped to gage his middle childhood development.
Through this six-part observation, it seems as if Charles is developmentally on track, or even
excelling above, the standards that are highlighted for his six years of age.

Charles Contakes, like any other six year-old boy, is a hyperactive, imaginative and
adventurous young child who is trying his best to discover information involving his
surroundings. Charles is the offspring of Susan and Steve Contakes. Charles has two older
brothers named John and Philip, who also happen to be just as energetic as young Charles. I will

CHARLES CONTAKES: OBSERVATION AND STUDY

be assessing and relating Charless developmental factors both physically, cognitively, and
socially-emotionally. These facets of developmental growth are largely affected and guided by
Charless direct Microsystem (Feldman 27-28). Pertaining to Urie Bronfenbrenners Approach to
Development, which is labeled the bioecological approach, I believe that Charles has a
Microsystem that consists of his school, Cold Springs School, his parents, his two brothers, his
soccer team, and his church attendance (Feldman 27-28).
Physical Development: Developing Big Boy Muscles
During my observations, Charles was able to demonstrate his wonderful physical
developmental patterns for middle childhood in the various activities we participated in. Whether
it was throwing sticks, chucking a football, running laps around the backyard, or kicking a hulahoop, it seems that Charles is right on track with his motor skills advances. Feldman writes,
middle childhood is also characterized by increased strength (Feldman 281). In comparison to
his older brothers, it seems as if Charles is starting to be able to hold his own ground physically.
During my fourth observation, Charles played touch football with his friends and brothers.
Even though he was the underdog of the group due to his younger age, Charles was still able to
pass the ball and run alongside boys who were older than him. Even if Charles was just one year
younger, Im assuming that he would have not kept up as effortlessly as he did. Feldman
comments on this when he writes, Both gross and fine motor skills improve significantly during
the middle childhood years (Feldman 288). It is evident that Charles still has many more years
to develop his master various motor skills, but his movements are drastically different from those
of a preschooler in early childhood.
It can be declared that boys who are six years of age, can throw with the proper weight
shift and step (Feldman 289). I was able to assess his gross motor skill development when he

CHARLES CONTAKES: OBSERVATION AND STUDY

played football with his brothers and friends during the fourth observation. Charles also
demonstrated his throwing ability when we played Battlefront during the sixth observation.
During both instances, Charles was able to throw objects with a more accurate stance and precise
motion. Charles was also able to gage if he was throwing farther than any of his previous throws.
Charles also seems to be on track in his fine motor skill development. During five out of the six
observations, Charles would play with and build something with Legos. It can be declared that,
building with these [Lego] pieces helps kids . . . develop their fine motor skills, which is
important for all children (10 Benefits). Since Charles is constantly building and playing with
Legos, it seems as if his fine motor skills are developing effortlessly and rapidly.
Cognitive Development: Developing Big Boy Brains
I was able to gage Charless cognitive development during various instances and
activities. The moments that I enjoyed most with Charles are the times in which I was able to
hold steady conversation with him. I often would ask questions about his day and quiz him on
things that he enjoyed. He always responded enthusiastically, even if I provided him with a
simple and lackluster question. This showcases that he has language comprehension that is
paired with clear communication and effortless understanding. During our conversations, I
realized that Charles has wonderful metalinguistic awareness. It can be noted that, One of the
most significant developments in middle childhood is childrens increasing understanding of
their own use of language or metalinguistic awareness. By the time children are 5 or 6 years of
age, they understand that language is governed by a set of rules (Feldman 306). During our
conversations, I realized that Charles is pragmatically aware of the need for conversational turntaking. I was not interrupted by Charles during any of our conversations and was able to
thoroughly understand all of his replies. Charles also understands the concept of pragmatics

CHARLES CONTAKES: OBSERVATION AND STUDY

when working with children his age. For example, whenever Charles was playing Legos with his
older brothers during my observations, he would take turns asking them questions and would
include appropriate commentary during their conversations. According to Vgotsky, this form of
social interaction is very beneficial for cognitive development in childhood. It seems as if
Charles receives plenty of positive social interaction due to his brothers constantly being in his
presence.
According to Diane Baumrinds Theory of Parenting Styles, I can most
likely conclude that the Contakes focus on parenting with more of an
Authoritative Style. Children who grow up in a household where the
Authoritative Style is implemented seem to develop a more clear sense of
self-control and react in ways that signify strong independence. It can be
easily noticed that Charles does not lack in his ability to make his own
decisions or in his desire to play and interact in the way and form that he
chooses. During my last observation, Charles and I played a game called,
Battlefront. According to Charles, Battlefront is actually a videogame, but
the Contakes boys often imagine that they are in the video game by picking
sides, using imaginative fighting tools, and racing around the backyard
shooting each other with their weaponwhich is usually a stick.
When observing Charless parents, I realized that they are a duo who are both nurturing
individuals. Notably, they also stand firm in their high discipline standards. Susan Contakes
showcased her nurturing abilities when she comforted Charles after he became very distraught
when he lost one of his new Lego pieces. She cradled Charles and rubbed his forehead until he
calmed down. As a parent, she also has high standards and showcases strong discipline when

CHARLES CONTAKES: OBSERVATION AND STUDY

parenting her sons. When all three of the boys did not listen to one of her parental orders, she
grabbed a whistle. She blew the whistle and the boys immediately stopped in their tracks and
focused on her. She explained why they were in trouble and why she needed them to stop what
they were doing previously. After her explanation, she asked for an apology from all three of
them. They all said in unison, We are sorry mom. In both of these instances, I was able to see
the nurturing, but disciplinary, environment in which Charles grows up in.
According to Jean Piaget, the middle aged child begins the process of decentering
themselves because of their development in concrete operational thoughts (Feldman 301).
Children who are in the middle childhood stage are: less egocentric and they can take
multiple aspects of a situation into account (Feldman 301). I decided to put Piagets theory to
the test by conducting two experiments. During my last observation, I first began by constructing
two figures out of Legos. The first figure was a tall tower that consisted of only five Legos. The
second figure was a much shorter and wider building that consisted of over ten Legos. Based on
the experiment we learned about in class, I constructed these two figures to see if Charles could
logically evaluate the situation and answer the following question correctly: Which one uses
more Legos? He quickly responded and stated that the shorter, but wider building, contained
more Legos than the taller tower. Promptly, I asked him how he knew that the building was made
up of more Legos. He pondered and then responded, Because this one (the tower) has only five
Legos. Shortly after this experiment, I took a handful of Legos and attempted to mimic The
Almond Experiment, which was discussed previously in class. I created two rows that consisted
of differing amount of Legos. The first row was the longest row, but it contained only four Legos
that were farther apart from each other. The second row was the shortest row, but it contained
seven Legos that were closer together. I called Charles over to the Legos and asked him the

CHARLES CONTAKES: OBSERVATION AND STUDY

following question: Which row has the most Legos in it? Without much thought, Charles
answered that the second row had more Legos in it. I prompted him with the same follow-up
question as before: Why? He quickly responded by counting the two rows and said, Because
that is why. This response corresponds with Feldmans following statement, When asked to
explain the reasoning behind their answers, they may respond with an unenlightening,
Because (Feldman 301). Even though his answers to my follow-up questions could be
categorized as unenlightening, Charles was still able to decenter himself and provide the
correct answer to my initial questions. I hypothesis that Charles is able to have a greater concrete
operational thought process than other children his age because of the environment he is exposed
to. Evidently, Charles may progress faster than other children proximal to his age because he is
the youngest of three brothers, meaning that he has constant interactions with individuals who
are slightly above his developmental levels.
During middle childhood, children are able to remember more and process information
more efficiently. During every observation that I had with Charles, I asked the following
question: Do you remember my name? Charles would silently ponder to himself, trying to
recall my name from the last visit. Every single observation I had, Charles would answer this
question with, Jassy! Obviously, I am not Jassy. As a result, I would explain that Jassy was the
individual who was observing his older brother John, and that my name was Jordan. The
remainder of the visit he would call me Jordan, not Jassy. Ironically, every time I attended our
next observation, despite his ability to call me Jordan during the rest of the previous visits,
Charles would still continue answering my question by saying that my name was Jassy. I became
curious as to why Charles clung to the name Jassy more, opposed to Jordan. Hypothetically,
I came to the conclusion that Charles associated more readily with the name Jassy, which sounds

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like jazz. Since Charles attends Cold Springs School, which has an elaborate music program, I
assumed that Charles has been exposed to various types of music, such as jazz. Even though this
form of remembering is not a control strategy, metamemory, or cognitive elaboration, Charles
was still able to associate something from his environment and link it to the question that I
posed.
Socio-Emotional: Developing Big Boy Social Skills
Growing up in a household made up of only sisters, I was quite shocked when I was
exposed to a family with three very young, very wild, and very energetic little boys. As we
discussed in class, there are not many differences within the sexes. One of these three differences
is the notion of physical aggression. It can be argued that males are more physically aggressive
than females. I witnessed more pronounced aggression in every observation that I participated in
with Charles. From football to roughhousing, Charles was constantly pushing and climbing on
his brothers. Evidently, based on his environment, Charles has observed the behavior of his
brothers and adapted that into his own personal actions and reactions.
Charles is in the stage of answering this personal question: Who am I? With the
pressure of two older brothers, Charles is attempting to establish his own place in the Contakes
family. Largely, at the age of six, Charles is dealing with the concept of industry-versusinferiority. Erik Erikson states that, this stage is characterized by a focus on efforts to meet the
challenges present by parents, peers, school, and the other complexities of the modern world
(Feldman 333). During every observation, Charles was challenged by the interactions with his
brothers, particularly John, the eldest Contakes sibling. The peak of almost every interaction
resulted in a disagreement and tears. It may seem that Charles is struggling with the challenges

CHARLES CONTAKES: OBSERVATION AND STUDY

that are being presented by his older brothers. As a result of this challenge, Charles may lean
more towards feelings of inferiority in the future.
Charles: The Young Man
Ultimately, Charles is a wonderful six year-old who is seamlessly budding into the
individual that God is shaping him to be. It seems as if Charles is effortlessly developing into
middle childhood with ease and significance. I am excited to see where his adventurous,
inquisitive, and energetic spirit takes him in the future.

Works Cited
10 Benefits of to Playing with LEGOs. (2013, July 16). Retrieved November 24, 2015, from
http://outsidethebrick.com/blog/2013/07/10-benefits-to-playing-with-legos-part-1/
Feldman, R. (2016). Child Development (Seventh ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson.

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Observation Journal
Child Observed: Charles Contakes
Age: 6
Note: I did my observations with Jassy Verdult. When I say we in my notes, I am referring to
both Jassy and I since we often kept the brothers that were being observed together in the same
activity. We felt that it was easier to see their interactions and see more of their true personality
when they were interacting with someone else. Also, one day, John (the brother that Jassy was
observing) did not show up because his soccer game ran late. Therefore, our observations and the
events in our observations will not match up.

First Observation
parents say that he shows possible signs of Autism (they say he repeats phrases a
lot)
his parents are: a Westmont professor (science) and the mom is a stay-at-homemom a majority of the time, she works a small job at a school
has two brothers= Philip and John
attended the park with his brothers, Jassy, and their mom
all three of the boys seem very energetic
mom uses a whistle to keep the boys in line

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when the three of them do not listen, she makes all of them stop, look at her, and
repeat the following phrase: Were sorry mom.
all three boys seem very independent while walking to the park, but Charles hangs
back more and walks closer to his mom, Jassy, and me
while at the park, they play a war game: they each have toy guns and they hid
behind rocks, trees, and the play set
Phillip and John seemed to team up and separate themselves from
Charles, which seemed to hurt Charles emotionally
therefore, Jassy and I paired up with Charles and became a part of
his team (Philip & John vs. Jassy, Jordan, Charles)
The boys seemed to be getting angry with each other, so we decided to play hide
and seek instead
once again Philip and John did not want to be on a team with
Charles; therefore, Jassy and I decided to be on his team for hide and seek
Observation 2
penny game: he would roll a penny over the table, next it would fall off the table;
he would have me guess if it landed on heads or tails
played this over and over again for at least 15 minutes
he seemed fixated on this game
he was a lot more calmer than the previous observation, possibly because he was
separated from his brothers
his dad was observing the game and he seemed to have positive correspondence
with his dad
Next: we played Legos
Legos was one of his favorite tasks to play
he got a new Lego set
this was the only point in the observation where he
had negative correspondence with one of his siblings (had an argument
with John, his older brother over a lost Lego)
he has wonderful kinesthetic movement with his hands: he is able
to easily attach and unattached Legos
he has a vivid imagination for building things: we built towers,
cars, mailboxes

Observation 3
once again, we played Legos!
this time, I was trying to interact with him more and attempting to ask him more
questions

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When asking him about his favorite color, I sensed that either (1)
his temperament was not as relaxed as before OR (2) he felt bombarded by my
questions because he responded: Let me concentrate.
he seemed to be more intense and high-energy with both me and his brothers this
time around
he would climb on me and act as if I was a playground; this then
got his brother (Philip) wired up too because he then started to climb on me as
well
I attempted to get them off, but they wouldnt until I diverted their
attention back to Lego building
we ran around the house playing hide-and-seek
Charles always went back to the same spot behind a training bed
he was carrying one of his newer Lego sets with him during hideand-seek; he realized that one of the pieces fell off during the hiding process and
was lost; he started crying due to the missing piece; he went to his mom to find
comfort and she rocked him back and forth until the Lego piece was found (by
me)

Observation 4
we went to the park this time to help create a better environment between the
brothers
we threw a football back and forth for a little while
Charles, unlike his brothers, was more interested in throwing the
football at the tree than to a person
neighborhood friends ended up showing up to the park; there was a younger and
older brother who seemed to be about 7 and 9--> social interaction example!
the boys wanted to play touch football so we set up a game; the
boys outcasted both the girls (Jassy and I) and the youngest (Charles) to one
team--> it seems pretty typical for most people their age to do something like this
because the mentality of: Girls have cooties and Little brothers cant play as
well.
Charles was not very interested in the game and was instead much more intrigued
with having a conversation with me
he seemed sad when one of his brothers pushed him down
he was less of a risk taker than the other boys; he was much more concerned with
staying with me when walking back to the house; which was not a concern for his
brothers
Observation 5
played outside; just us two (without his brothers)

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when we were running around, he randomly said: Im active!-->

I assumed that was something that he possibly heard from his parents
I generally like to give names to inanimate objects around kids because they think
it is hilarious to give them names and talk to them like they are real
Charles was the first kid that did not think this was believable, he
also did not see this as a form of humor--> instead of laughing at the idea of
thinking of an inanimate object as a real-life thing, he would laugh and respond,
No, silly! Thats not real!!! --> aka: he did not go along with my jokes
we did not see them for two weeks, so I wanted to test his memory a little during
this observation
I asked him what my name was; he could not quite recall what it
was so I gave him a hint and said that it started with a J; he happily exclaimed:
Jassy!; I told him that it was a good try but that my name was Jordan; I
hypothesized that he remembered Jassys name more because he was in the room
the first time his parents heard her name, they commented on how unique and
interesting her name was, Charles also said it was a cool name--> I figured that
this is what implanted the name Jassy into his brain and made him remember it
more than the more common/standard name, Jordan
I tested his memory throughout the observation and continued to ask what my
name was; from there on out, he said Jordan! and one time he even rhymed it and said
Gordon!
we went inside and I saw a stack of puzzles that looked interesting (I thought it
would be a good skill to test his kinesthetic movement and brain activity); I asked him if
he wanted to pick a puzzle out of the stack and he said: No! Those are baby puzzles.

Observation 6
half of our session was spent outside, while the other half of session was spent
inside playing Legos and talking
when we were outside we played various games
the first fifteen minutes of our outside play, it was just Charles and
I
Charles wanted to play Battlefront, which is a
game they made-up based on a Star Wars video game
we got sticks and imagined that they were guns or
bombs
Charles then got distracted from the game and
started throwing his stick as far as he could; I praised him for how far he
could throw
next, he kept trying to hit the tall tree branches with
is stick; he was able to successfully him them with each jump, despite how

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tall they were; I was surprised by how coordinated he was while doing this
because he did not miss or fall once
Charles also made up a game where we kicked a
hula-hoop back and forth to each other; he called it Soccer--> this
showcased his ability to make-up games for his own entertainment
I realized that Charles is really on imaginative in certain things (like outside
games and Legos) but he is much more realistic when it comes to other things (like I
explained in Observation 5 concerning the inanimate objects)
I realized his ability to be more realistic when I commented on the
shoes that he was wearing, which had the Batman sign on it; I talked him about
how cool superheroes were, Charles responded by saying: They are cool, but
theyre not real.
this was surprising because most little kids believe
in superheroes realness; Charles may be more realistic since he has two
older brothers
the second half of our time outside, his oldest brother John and Jassy came
outside
once again (which is pretty typical) Charles became more wired
and fired up
he persistently ran around the length of the house (since there is no
boundaries for the front yard and back yard for their house) even though I was
trying to bring him inside since it was starting to get really dark outside
John stole the stick that Charles was holding; Charles started
crying as he chased his brothers around attempting to get the stick back; I got the
stick back from John and told him that neither of them could have it, since they
were not taking turns or getting along
after, I finally got them inside, but Charles was crying because he
wanted his stick; I diverted his attention, and stopped his crying, when I offered to
show him some pictures of my dog; he instantly forgot about the stick drama
I wanted to do a test on him (the almond one that we discussed and saw in class),
I used Legos and created two rows--> the top row had 5 Legos in it (but it was spread
out longer than the second row, even though it had less Legos in it), the bottom row had
8 Legos in it and was shorter in length than the top line
I asked Charles which one had more Legos in it, he responded
correctly and said that the bottom row had more Legos in it, even though it was
shorter
I asked him why he knew this: He said: Because the top row has 5
Legos in it and the bottom row has 8 Legos in it
I also tested him by building a two towers of Legos --> one was a taller tower
that was made out of only 4 Legos, the other tower was shorter, but was made out of at
least 10 Legos

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I asked him which one used more Legos, he answered correctly

again and said that the tower that was shorter used the most Legos
I asked him why he picked this answer and he said it was because
the taller tower only has four Legos and the shorter one has more Legos
we spent the remainder of the observation session playing and building Legos
Charles was building an island, he said it was King Charless
Island --> possible egocentrism? (showcases: knowledge of what a king, ruling,
and power is)