Observing a child is a fascinating experience. It is amazing to see how differently children view certain things than adults view them. I recently observed a little girl. and I had her complete a few consen/ation tasks, For example, I placed two equally long sticks parallel to one another; Ithen pushed one stick a little farther than the other and asked her which stick was longer. For the purposes of confidentiality the name of the little girl has been changed to Christina. I obsen/ed Christina on December 1, 2001 at twelve in the afternoon. in her home with her mother present. Christina has two older sisters and has just started kindergarten this year. She was born July 09, 1996, and is now five years and five months old.
Christina has wonderful fine motor skills, which involve physical movements with her hands and fingers. i watched her turn pages in her Winnie the Pooh book with no hesitation or problem, After I read the Winnie the Pooh book to Christina we colored together. Christina held the crayons perfectly, with both her thumb and her finger, She is capable of drawing and can use circular strokes, Christina is in the stage of actively experimenting to learn about the properties of obiects, which is also Piagets term for little scientists. After Christina and l were done coloring asked her to cut her draWing out of the page: it wasnt perfectly on the lines. but it was close enough. I then asked Christina if she could write her name for me on a piece of paper. She was very excited to show me that she could. I was actually impressed by her neat writing.
Christina also has incredible gross motor skills, which is the ability to perform large body movements like running. Christina and I went to her backyard so she could Show me her many skills. First, we played a game of tag. Christina chased me until I was too tired to run anymore. I noticed Christina had on her play face while she was chasing me. A play face is a joyful face that indicates that the child does not intend to be aggressive. We then lumped rope, which showed me not only that she can iump rope but also that she can jump in place with both feet together. Finally, we played basketball, I noticed that when she went to go fetch the ball she didnt walk but she skipped, Christina is an exceptionally good basketball player, she can catch, throw, and dribble.
127 our experts are availableright now
Her mother explained to me that she was really good at basketball because her older sister was a basketball player. This is an example of social learning, which is the theory that learning takes place through VlerI’lg and! I spoke With Christmas mother who told me that one of Christmas’s favorite foods was pizza. Also, Christina hated tomatoes. Her mother explained to me thatiust like Christmas’s distinctive personality, which is the manner that makes someone unique; her choice of food is as diverse. Christina’s weight does not seem to be norm, the average standard for children her age. she seems a bit overweight. However. with her energy and will to keep playing I dont think that it will be a problem the future.
Christina’s face seemed to be filled wrth enthusiasm when we saw we arranging all my props. She kept asking me what I was doing With the play dough, and if we were going to play. I started to ask her the questions for the conservation task. Conservation is the concept that the total number, or quantity is the same no matter what the shape. Christina organized the props Without any of my help; this illustrated that she didnt need any guided participation. Guided participation is the process in which someone aids the child in some educational activny. Although Christina seemed to be in cognitive equilibrium, a mental state in which a childs thoughts on the world do not conflict with one another, she does not yet seem to get the idea of conservation. However, I dont think many children her age do understand the concept of conservation.
Christina believed that in all the situations (liquid, mass, length. and number) the quantity had changed. She clearly demonstrated preoperational thought. which is Piagets term for the cognition of children between the ages of about two and six years. implying that children have not yet discovered to use logical principles in their thinking. Christina had impeccable language skills; in fact, she wouldnt stop talking. I know that Christina likes listening to simple stories because I read her the Winnie the Pooh book. I also know that she follows directions because she did everything I asked her to do from playing tag to coloring. This leads me to think that Christina is not very egocentric, which is the tendency to focus on one way of thinking without recognizing any other options. Christina also seemed to be fast mapping, which is when a child hears a word once or twice then adds it to their vocabulary.
She also speaks in complete sentences using plurals and past tense, I even caught her talking to herself once. which is also referred to as private speech. She did not use overregularization. which the tendency to make a language more rational than it really is. Nonetheless. Christina has stellar speech and vocabulary; basically speaking like an adult. A. |nitiative~|ndependence—Identification: The terms initiative. independence, and identification are terms associated With the theorist Erik Erikson. Christina is a clear-cut example of Eriksons terms. Her mother told me that she always has a plan or an idea for a game. Also that she is very independent being that she is the youngest of three shildren and doesnt have anyone to play with that is in her cohort. which is a group of children born around the same time. Christina also makes contact with adults; she seems to have ven/ prosocial social behaVIor an action that is completed to assist other people without the expectation of reward for oneself.
She is also persistent. because she stayed with the conservation tasks the whole time I was doing them, Her great compliance With my directions illustrated what her mother had told me about Christina following an outline of standard events during a common experience. which is also called a script. Christina is also able to independently wash her hands as well as brush! her teeth; a routine she performs everyday, as her mom proudly told me. What‘s more is that Christina shows definite signs of sex-typed behavior, An indication of that would be her bright pink room. which she gave me a tour of. She then showed me her closet and told me that she mostly likes wearing dresses.
To learn more about Christmas emotions I sat down with her mother. First we talked about Christinas distresses and if she cried a lot. She told me that Christina like any child can get distressed sometimes when she has to go to bed or cannot Watch television. However. she also told me that Christina was not a big crier. Furthermore. she told me that Christina rarely got angry or aggressive. When we came to the emotion of fear she did say that Christina had a phobia. a fear that is strong enough to make an indiwdual strive to avoid the objector experience, of the dark. Christina Will not go anywhere that is dark Without another person With her. I also learned that Christina is almost never embarrassed. and every once in awhile shows signs of empathy or guilt; for instance for spilling milk.
Christina definitely has reactions to her siblings. I was told especially when her sisters don’t play with her; she tends to show a form of angry retaliation for some intentional or a’ accidental act by another reactive aggression. Christina like any child loves to play whether it is alone or with other children. I was told by her mother. she plays alone if there is no one around but would much rather play with other children. She also initiates play with other children asking them to play house also called sociodramatic play pretend play in which children act out assorted roles and themes in stones of their own creation.
Christmas’s mother let me know that when Christina wants to play With unfamiliar children she usually introduced herself and asks if they want to play. Her mother said that Christina got her social behavior from her father which can also be called epigenetic systems theory. this theory calls attention to the genetic origins of behavior, Ultimately. Christina will play With anyone Willing to play. whether its messy play. or pretend play. or a game that requires skill; just as long as its played.
When it comes to playing Christina illustrates goal-directed behavior actions stane! d by children in anticipation of events that Will satisfy their needs. After observmg Christina for two hours I came to appreciate how much children enjoy almost everything that they do every day. I admire how Christina always had a smile on her face; now I understand why children make so many people happy. Christina was a well-behaved intelligent young girl, She seemed to be very normal and going on the right track. Although she still has not caught on to conservation i am sure she will understand soon. Christina is avery bnght girl with an even brighter future.
