Observation Paper #1

Name: Ema Condori Teves

Class/Section: FHS 1500 Lifespan Human Development
Assignment: Observation #1

Background Information
Childs Age: 19 months
Fictitious Name: Maddie
Location: Dancing Moose Montessori School (West Valley Campus)
Brief Description: There were a total of 14 children within the classroom all between the ages of
18-36 months. There were two other teachers in the classroom, making a total of three teachers.
The child was observed throughout the entire school day (8:30-3:40).

Biological Development Word count: 299

I noticed quite a few things concerning Maddie’s biological development, she seems to

have mastered the walking milestone well and I even observed that as she picked one of her

works she walked backwards with the tray without difficulty. This demonstrated that she has

developed and mastered her gross motor skills at around the same time frame that most infants

her age do, showing that she is on track with her development. According to the text, 90% of all

babies master the skill of “walking well” around 14.4 months and “walking backwards” at

around 17 months (Berger, 2016, pg. 101). As she continued to pick and do her works for the day

it seemed that her fine motor skills were also developing well for her age, she choose a variety of

different works that involved many different fine motor skills such as: works that required her to

use tongs to transfer objects, watercolor, and a variety of different kinds of puzzles. The fine

motor skill demonstrated among all these works was the thumb and finger grasp which is a fine

motor skill that is mastered around 10 months (Berger, 2016, pg. 103). As Maddie played outside

she demonstrated more of her gross motor skills developing as she picked up objects she had

dropped without difficulty and even attempted to ride the smaller toddler bikes. Other gross

motor skills did seem to be a little rigid in the child as she continued to play outside, skills such

as jumping off of large steps and “running” were definitely more rigid and she tottered a lot more
performing these actions. This made since when considering that “running” and “jumping up”

are gross motor skills mastered among 90% of children at the ages of 20 months and 29 months

(Berger, 2016, pg. 101).

Cognitive Development Word Count: 298

Maddie’s cognitive development seemed to be on track as well as I observed her amongst

her peers. She often took the verbal directions given to her the first time she was told. This skill

would follow more along the lines of “information processing theory” where the child’s thinking

process is compared more to a computer analysis data where there is an input, the directions

given and an output, the following actions (Berger, 2016, pg. 117). Although her comprehensive

skills were developing well, her verbal communication skills was a skill that was still

developing. Many times when she spoke her words were mumbled, although she was forming

sentences very well for her age considering that the textbook has the norms of: three or more

words a day at 18 months, two-word sentences at 21 months, and sentence formation at 24

months (Berger, 2016, pg. 120). Although her enunciation was a skill she was still developing,

her vocabulary seemed to be in track as she demonstrated knowing and learning many new

words that she was adding to her vocabulary. According to the text, that is normal for children

her age as children pick up 50-100 new words per month after reaching a vocabulary of about 50

words, a phenomenon known as “naming explosion” (Berger, 2016, pg. 121). It also seemed that

Maggie was learning a lot through observation as she watched her peers do their work and then

put away her current work so that she could acquire the same work as a friend and practice the

same skills they were working on. The textbook mentions how children, after the age of one,

“learn from parents and strangers, from other babies and older siblings, from picture books and

family photographs, and from their own walking and talking” (Berger, 2016, 119).
Psychological Development Word Count: 280
Although it was only Maddie’s 2nd week at the school, she seemed to be very well

adjusted to her environment because she seemed very comfortable and content in the classroom.

She was a bit distressed as her mother dropped her off in the morning but then hugged her

mother goodbye and joined her classmates in a circle time they were doing. This initial response

from the morning seemed to be a sign of secure attachment, which is “a situation in which the

child obtains both comfort and confidence” which seemed to be apparent in the child as she

seemed secure in her environment and knew her mother would return later (Berger, 2016, pg.

140). Although I was a new face she quickly trusted in me and only wanted to play with me

when we were outside during their recess, although she didn’t refuse playing and interacting with

other classmates in the classroom. This demonstrated that she either had no stranger wariness

which is the “fear of unfamiliar people” (Berger, 2016, pg. 130) within the classroom, or more

likely was demonstrating classic attachment, which is “an affectional tie that an infant forms

with a caregiver”, which at that time was one of her teachers (Berger, 2016, pg. 139). Although

this was true for the first half of the day, after she saw her older sister who was in another

classroom, she became very distressed and anxious to be with her sister. After our class had left

the presentation she continued to be distressed and often cried out for her sister and mother. This

demonstrates separation anxiety which is “distress when a familiar caregiver or loved one

leaves” (Berger, 2016, pg. 130).

Reference List
Berger, K. S. (2016). Invitation to the life span (3rd Ed.) [With Salt Lake Community College
supplement]. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.