Ashlynn Johnson

Jake is a quiet, but active child. Jake plays in all areas of the classroom, but prefers to play in the
dramatic play area or read a book. Jake also enjoys sitting down to eat his snack every day. He
knows the routines in the classroom very well and is good at helping the other students know
when it is time to transition. Jake loves reading, playing sports, dinosaurs, and cars and trucks.
At the beginning of the semester Jake struggled with separation from his mother. He would come
into the classroom and cry almost the entire time he was in Preschool. One of the ways the
teachers found that calmed him down was reading to him in the library area. But if they left the
area, Jake would start crying again. About 4 weeks into preschool Jake would come into class
without crying, and instead he had a smile on his face. His mother said that they had a talk with
Jake, and Jake understood how he should be acting in class. Jake continues to come into
Preschool without any complaints and plays in lab with a smile on his face.
At the beginning of the semester Jake didn’t speak much in Preschool, mainly because he was
crying from separation. When a teacher was able to calm him down, he just sat there silently
taking in what they were saying. He loved to read stories with his teachers and classmates, but
showed no language skills. When a teacher would ask him something Jake would point or just
stare at the teacher.
Jake was quite reserved at the beginning of Preschool. He spent most of him calm time in the
reading area, not saying much. This made it difficult to determine his cognitive abilities. When
Jake was able to come to lab without a separation problem, he slowly began to show the teachers
what he was able to do. He would count quietly as he cut pizza, counting 1 through 5, in
February. Jake also counted to four in English, as he pointed to a bakery sign that was hanging.
In the block area Jake said, “this is a triangle” as he built a tower. And while he was reading a
book with a teacher, he pointed to different body parts on him, such as hair, ears, eyes, and nose.
Jake has become quite vocal since the beginning of Preschool. At the beginning, it was difficult
for teachers to get any words aside from “mommy” out of Jake. Now at the end, Jake is saying
multiple sentences a day to teachers about every activity he participates in. While painting one
day in January, Jake told a teacher that he was painting with “blue and red paint”. During
gathering time in February all the children tried to say “Alka-Seltzer” and Jake tried along with
them. In Dramatic Play Jake will feed the teachers and his peers by handing them food and
saying, “eat this”. When we had a car wash he point and said, “This a school bus!”. In the
Library, Jake loves to read The Big Green Scary Monster, Don’t Open the Box, and The Little
Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear which he refers to as “strawberries”.
He will bring a book to which ever teacher is closest and say “Miss! Miss! Read this story” and
while they are reading he points out elements that he knows. Jake seems very interested in stories
and when he doesn’t know a word he asks and repeats. Jake is doing very well with his language
and literacy skills. This also shows his progression in his goal, which is to speak more English,
because Jake is saying all of these things in English to the teachers.
At the beginning, Jake was too reserved for us to be able to determine his cognitive abilities.
Now Jake is quite vocal and diligent in showing what he is capable of doing. Since the first half
of Preschool Jake has grown in his capabilities and interests. He now does puzzles and math
activities in the classroom. At the beginning of March Jake was putting a puzzle together, and
comparing the pieces to the empty spots. As he was comparing he would say, “Does it go here?
No…. Does it go here? No….” and when he found the right spot he said, “Does it go here? Yes!”
And continued in that same pattern for all 6 pieces of the puzzle. During the 3rd week of March
there was a measuring tape set out in the math area. Jake draped the measuring tape around his
neck and went around the classroom, wrapping it around objects. Jake has shown a progression
in cognitive skills throughout the semester.
Throughout the semester Jake has shown an increased desire to learn and read. To further his
cognitive and language skills, provide him with ways to practice and create patterns, and
problem solve. Some activities that allow him to do this are puzzles, colored shaped counters,
different colored building blocks, and even a simple tape measure. To help increase his language
skills would be asking him to read you one of the stories he loves, and providing him with more
books to read and grow from.