Name: Delia Pauley Class: EDUC 121 Child Development Date: April 22, 2017

Observation

Purpose: Identify the signs of development in school-age children.

Directions: Observe a group of six- to eight-year-old children for at least one hour. You may want

to observe these children more than one time. Record your responses to the questions or statements

that follow.

Site: Fusion Gymnastics/ Birthday Party Date(s) of Observation(s): April 8, 2017

Number and Ages of Children: 8, 7 and 8 year old girls

1. Describe the small-motor skills you observe in these children.

The children I observed were 8 years old. Their small motor skills were very good. They were able

to put small straws easily into their Capri Suns. One child used her fingers to gesture how the water was

spraying in the shower. This motion displayed her ability to use her fingers independently of each other

and in a controlled manner. They also were able to tie their own shoes and zip their own jackets. Kail

says, According to dynamic systems theory, development involves many distinct skills that are

organized and reorganized over time to meet the demands of a specific task (Kail, 2015, p. 149). At

age 8, children have mastered fine motor skills enough to perform many skills to meet their needs and

more.

2. Describe the large-motor skills you observe in these children.

I was able to observe the kids in a gymnastics gym. Kail says, When children play sports they get

exercise and improve their motor skills (Kail, 2015, p. 155). He also says, Sports can enhance

participants self esteem and can help them to learn initiative (Kail, 2015, p. 155). This observation at

the gym was optimal for witnessing large-motor skills. Much of what the children did involved posture
and balance. The coach placed three-foot tall blocks, of different size, out on a mat. The kids were told

to jump from block to block as part of an optical course. They were able to jump one leg at a time onto

the blocks and then able to balance on the block before moving on to the next block. They kids also

used large-motor skills on the balance beam and double bars. They were able to hold their bodies on

the bar and then using their strength to flip their bodies over the bar and jump to the ground, landing

without falling. It took strength and balance. Finally, there was a rope hanging from the ceiling. They

attempted to climb the rope. Although none of the students were able to climb the rope very high,

several of them were able to use there hands to grip the rope and used the strength of their arms to pull

themselves up a couple of levels. They also used their feet to grab the rope as they moved up the rope.

3. According to Erik Erikson, school-age children strive to be industrious. Describe several behaviors

or actions you observe that support this theory.

One child, Marlee, was very sure of herself at the gym. You could see her parents support of her

ability and their attention to what she was doing. They enjoyed her successes and even her failures on

the floor. Marlee worked harder at accomplishing things that were tough for her. On the other hand,

there was another little girl, Sydney, whose parents were uninvolved. They spent their time talking to

other parents and paid little attention to what Sydney was doing. This little girl gave up quickly on

things that were too hard and seemed to not be as involved with the group. As the day went on you

could see her frustration with the obstacles and her perception of her ability to conquer them.

Eventually she fell. She made a very big deal about falling and found that she got more attention falling,

than with trying to succeed on the floor. So, she never went back to the floor. I think this was a perfect

example of Erik Eriksons theory of industrious children verses inferior children. In stage 4 of Erik

Ericksons theory he says, When teachers, parents and other significant people encourage and support

the childs efforts and abilities, the child feels industrious and confident. However, when the child is
discouraged, ignored and controlled, he may feel inferior and doubtful of his skills (Erickson, 2012). I

think this observation of Marlee and Sydney was the perfect example of this.

4. Observe school-age children involved in a group project. How do the children utilize social and

language skills to work cooperatively?

The children were broken up into two teams to compete in games against each other. Immediately

Marlee, the athletic, sure of herself, girl, was the favored person for teams. The girls began arguing

about who was going to have Marlee on their team. Socially, Marlee was fairly quiet, always smiling and

kind to everyone. All the kids knew she was the best athlete. The social tier was in place and she was at

the top. Sydney, the whining girl, not as good an athlete, but not really terrible either, was at the

bottom of the tier socially. She was the last picked. The coach was smart and chose team captains to

avoid any conflict over Marlee. When the team captains were picking teams the kids would yell out

pick me. At this age they did not seem to be shy about why they should be picked. Kail says, During

the early elementary-school years (social-informational stage), each child understands that the other

wants to do something different, and they explain their differing views in terms of the other person

lacking essential information (Kail, 2015, p. 339). It didnt seem to bother any of the kids that the

others wanted to be picked too. They were thinking more about themselves and you could recognize

that they thought the other children should understand their need to be next. In the social-

informational processing theory stages, these children were more concerned about their goal than the

outcome of their behavior.

Guided Observation: School-Age ChildrenSix to Eight Years

Name: Delia Pauley Class: Coached Obstacle Course and Games Date April 8, 2017

5. During physical education time or outdoor active play, observe school-age children in an organized

group game. What rules are the children able to follow?

The obstacle course was the opportunity to observe an organized group game. The coach laid the

rules of the course down and the children pretty much self-managed the rules without any issues. One

of the rules of the game was that no child could move to the next obstacle until the child in front of

them completed that obstacle. If they broke this rule they would need to start all over and would result

in loosing the game. There were also safety rules for the game, some on how they approached an

obstacle and some just silly rules for fun. They were able to follow all the rules. Every once in a while

they needed to be reminded of where the start lines were because they would inch over it, in

anticipation of completing their run.

At age 8 these children are at the pre-conventional level of Kohlbergs theory of moral reasoning

(Kail, 2015, p. 358). Kail says, Stage 1: Obedience orientation. People believe that adults know what is

right and wrong. Consequently, a person should do what adults say is right to avoid being punished

(Kail, 2015, p. 358). This theory coincides with what Piagets view was on moral reasoning. Our text

says, At about age 8, children progress to the stage of moral relativism, the understanding that rules

are created by people to help them get along (Kail, 2015, p. 357). It was evident during this game that

the children were at this stage of moral reasoning.

6. Are the children dependent on teachers for enforcing the rules, or do the children enforce rules

for each other? How is this accomplished?

 According to Piagets moral development paradigm, age 6 makes the first stage of rules

of consciousness. This means the child is intensely subservient to rules, which they perceived as

emitted from adults, as being external and coercive, eternal and unalterable (Biang & Klett,

2015). At no point did the kids break that rule, even though a few rambunctious kids were

really working hard to hold back from the start line. So I would say the kids were more

enforcing the rules for each other. I think that no one wanted to let the team down so they

didnt break the rules. I heard a few kids saying, your going over the line or you have to

touch her hand. These rules that were set in place and if broken would cause the team to

loose. I believe that the kids were regulating others in part because they knew their team

would loose if they broke the rule. I also believe that there were signs of altruistic behavior in

their self-regulation. When one teammate would remind another of the rule they were, in part,

looking out for that child. Kail says, Altruism is prosocial behavior that helps another with no

direct benefit to the individual. Altruism is driven by feelings of responsibility for other people

(Kail, 2015, p. 364). In this group of children there were definitely those who were more

advanced at the game and knew the rules better than others. Those children who understood

the game helped those who did not, so they could participate and excel.

7. How are group play disputes handled between children? What social values, such as honesty,

do the children strongly defend?

I think disputes were handled easily and there were very few of them. The hierarchy that was in

place prior to the game contributed to the lack of disputes. Kail says, Most groups have a dominance

hierarchy consisting of a leader to whom all other members of the group defer (Kail, 2015, p. 457).
Marlee was the obvious leader and her even-tempered, humble, quiet characteristics contributed to the

lack of conflict in the group. There were, however, lots of reminders from kid to kid before a dispute

erupted. They value rules in general. If the coach said there was a rule, silly or not, they pretty much

followed it and if one of them looked like there were going to break a rule one of the other kids would

point it out. So, honestly was a definite social value. I would also say that being the winner is valued

socially. When the other team lost it was difficult for those team members to deal with that reality.

8. Identify friendships between the children. Considering the behaviors you observe, on what

basis do you think these friendships are formed?

Kail says, A childs relationship with his or her parents is the internal working model for all

future social relationships (Kail, 2015, p. 449). I cant help but compare and contrast Marlees

relationship and leadership in this group to Sydneys (the girls whos parents were uninvolved, and she

was the least in the group). I see how Marlees confidence draws people to her where Sydneys

inferiority, and her actions because of that, push people away. I think another factor that contributes to

the friendships in this group is proximity. Most of these kids live on the same block in a neighborhood.

There were two girls who were actually in the same class at school and they had a much closer

relationship than the others who were in the group. Kail says, For older elementary-school children,

mutual liking and shared activities are joined by features that are more psychological in nature, such as

trust and assistance (Kail, 2015, p. 450). The two girls who were in the same class together who were

also more sure of themselves and, maybe, more agile in the gym seemed to be closer, in part because

of that. They were enjoying what they were doing and felt like they were on the same ability level so

socially they divided out of the group when they were aloud to have free time.
 References

Biang, K & Klett, M. (2015, August). Conflict resolution and moral development in early childhood: An

observational study. Retrieved from http://commons.nmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent

.cgi?article=1000&context=mcnair_scholars

Erickson, E. Erik Eriksons stages of development Stages 3 and 4. Developmental phychology:

psychology notes. (2012, December 10). Retrieved from

https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/eriksonstagesofdevelopment3-4/

Kail, R.V. (2015). Children and their development, (7th ed.). United States: Pearson.