Child Growth and Development CHDV 100

Observation Assignment: Domains of Development

SLO1: Identify the typical and atypical physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of
young children from conception through adolescence.
SLO 3: Apply developmental theory of the analysis of child observations, surveys, and/or
interviews using investigative research methodologies.
SLO 5: Analyze the importance of the early years and the interaction between maturational
process and social/environmental factors and the effects on various areas of development.

PLO 1: Demonstrates the ability to integrate knowledge of (the needs, the characteristics, and multiple
influences on) development of children (birth to age eight) as related to high quality of care and education of
young children.
For this assignment you will be observing a preschool aged child between the ages of 3 and 5. It is not required
that you do your observation at one of these sites; however, if you choose to observe at a different site, please
contact me so we can discuss the site you have chosen. Students may not observe their own children as it is
often difficult to remain objective.
This observation will give you a better understanding of each of the three Domains of Development. These
domains include the childs physical, social-emotional and cognitive development. Remember, in studying the
young child it is essential that we look at the whole child. In your course readings you will learn how a
childs progression in one domain is both influenced by and influences development in the other two domains.
The three domains of development are very much interrelated. I often challenge students to name something
that happens in one domain of development that does not have at least a minimal effect in the other two
domains. So far, no one has been able to meet this challenge!
Lastly, it is important to remember that a childs development is sometimes uneven, or what we call
asynchronous. It is not uncommon for children to develop skills and abilities within each domain at differing
rates. Your textbook and other course readings frequently refer to milestones of development, or skills that
children development during various developmental timeframes. Remember that although a childs
development progresses in a sequential manner, the speed at which this occurs varies from child to child.
The required format for this observation begins on page 2 of these guidelines. It is REQUIRED that you
follow this format.
**If you are unable to answer a question(s), based on your observation notes, you must still address the
question by defining the concept and providing an example (provide your own example. Do not use the
same examples provided in the text).
Remember, this observation must be saved for your CHDV210 Professional Portfolio. Prior to be
submitted to the portfolio, this observation may need to be revised to meet the VVC Child Development
Professional Portfolio expectations.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Adopted information from Dee Dee.

Childs First Name: Payton

Childs Age: 4 Years 6 Months
DOMAIN: Physical Development
1.

Appearance and growth: Describe the childs body build, posture, heights, and weight. (2 points)
He is the tallest in his class and he looks about 35 pounds. He has very good posture.

Gross & Fine Motor Skills

2. What types of play did you observe the child engaging in? Based on your observations of this play,
determine which parts of their play involved Gross or Fine Motor Skills and list them accordingly in
the space below. (4 points)
Gross Motor Skills
1. Caught a ball that was bouncing.
2.

Throws ball to his friends.

3. Played hopscotch.

Fine Motor Skills

1. He took sweater off by himself.
2. Uses one hand for most activities.
3. Built tower with blocks.

4. Rode tricycle around playground.

4. Can print some capital letters.

3. Does this child seem to prefer large or fine motor skill activities? Why do you say this? (2 points)
He liked large motor skill activities because most of the time he paid most of his attention to the ball he
was playing with.
4. Describe the gestures and facial features used by the child to communicate. (2 points)
While he talked to his friends he moved his hands around a lot. He used a lot of hand gestures. When his
friend asked him about girls he scrunched up his face and laughed.
5. Describe at least 4 indications of good health that you can see by observing this child. (2 points)
During snack time he ate healthy food and he was very active. He was consistently running around and
had a lot of energy. During snack time he ate yogurt, carrots, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and he
drank milk.
Physical Development/Concluding Thoughts:

Payton has a typical physical development. Based on his fine and gross motor skill he is having a normal
development. According to Martin and Fabes, by age 4, they can turn somersaults and walk up and
downstairs, alternating their feet, (Martin and Fabes, pg. 249). Payton was able to walk up stairs on the
jungle gym, so this is why he has a typical physical development. He did not need help walking up the
stairs. Martin and Fabes stated that, by 4, most children watch the ball coming and hold their hands
open to receive it, (Martin and Fabes, pg. 251). When Payton was throwing the ball with his friend, he
was able to throw it and catch. He did not have trouble throwing or catching the ball. According to
Martin and Fabes, by age 4, children can dress themselves, (Martin and Fabes, pg. 251). Payton was
able to put his sweater on and was able to take it off when he got hot. He did not need help from an
adult. Martin and Fabes stated that, a healthful diet for a young child includes the following: two
servings each of milk, meat, and fruit, three servings of vegetables, and six servings of bread and
grains, (Martin and Fabes, pg. 255). Payton had all of these for his lunch and he also was very athletic
with tons of energy.

Domain: Cognitive And Language Development

1. How does the child show curiosity? Is the child showing interest in a new situation? Describe a time
when a child was curious. (2 points)
He watches the teacher grab a book from the tall shelf. He looked curious and asked how she could
reach that high.
2. When they are challenged some children will stay with an activity for a long time. Give an example of
the length of this childs attention span. (2 points)
He had a long attention span. He did not change activities very frequently. He was consistently playing
with a ball with his friends.
3. Watch and describe how the child participates in problem solving. Did the child learn by trial and
error or by another approach? Was the child supported by another child or an adult? (3 points)
He tried to climb the slide from the bottom up but he failed. So he ended up climbing up the stairs of the
jungle gym and sliding down the slide.
4. Look for evidence of symbolic representation. Did the child use one object to represent another? (2
points)
When he saw his friend throw the ball at the fence by himself, he started throwing the ball at the fence
too.
5. Give an example of a child using classification or seriation in an activity or in play. (2 points)
He showed an example of classification. He placed all the brown blocks in one pile and the blue blocks
in a different pile.
6. Describe an example of the child showing centration in his/her thoughts or actions. (2 points)
An example was when his teacher showed him a pile of three books he thought that had less. Then she
showed him the same amount of books but instead they were lined up. He said that the lined up books
had more.
7. Cite an example of egocentric thinking. (2 points)
He thought that all of his friends liked sports but not all of them did. This is an example of egocentric
thinking because he assumes everyone likes what he likes.
8. How does the child describe object(s) she/he sees, or hears? Quote the child directly. (2 points)
He described the slide as, The tall yellow slide and The fast and swirly slide.
9. Listen carefully to the childs sentence length and vocabulary and look for examples of
overregularization. (2 points)
The example of overregularization were when he said, There are a lot of fishes and I eated carrots.
10. Listen carefully to a childs sentence length and vocabulary and list the parts of speech which you
have heard him/her use. (nouns, verbs, adjectives) Give example/s (in quotations) of the childs sentence.
(3 points)
The parts of speech I heard him use was, Did you see me throwing the yellow ball or I like playing
hopscotch.
Cognitive/Language Development Concluding Thoughts:

I think that Payton has a typical cognitive/language development. According to Martin and Fabes,
centration is the tendency to focus attention on the most obvious and striking characteristic of an object
while ignoring others, (Martin and Fabes, pg. 271). Payton showed centration by thinking the books
that were lined up had more than the books in a pile. He thought there was more because the lined up
books looked like there was more even though there was the same number of books. Martin and Fabes
stated that, egocentrism is evident in many aspects of preschoolers thinking, (Martin and Fabes, pg.
273). He thought that all of his friends thought the same way he did, such as liking sports. Payton

believes that everyone thinks like him, which is egocentrism. According to Martin and Fabes, children
may begin to apply the rules for regular forms to irregular cases, (Martin and Fabes, pg. 284). Payton
overregularized his sentences which is typical for his age, since children are still learning how to talk.

Domain: Social and Emotional Development

1. Did the child express intense feelings with words? Describe an incident. What other means did the
child use to express his feelings? (2 points)
No he did not express his intense feelings with words he just stayed silence. He just say, Grr or Ugh.
2. Which of the following types of play did the child spend time in? Provide an example(s).
* Unoccupied, * onlooker, * solitary, * parallel, * associative, * cooperative. (Partens Theory of Play) (2
points)
The type of play he did was cooperative. He made a tower of bricks with his friend.
3. Describe 3 traits of temperament exhibited by the child. Cite behavior to support your descriptions.
Does s/he seem to be a leader or a follower? (3 points)

4. What evidence do you see of the child acquiring initiative or guilt? Look for things such as creative
play, unusual ideas, reaction to rules, conforming. (2 points)
I saw evidence of initiative during my observation. He asked his teacher if he could help put away the
toys and she did not tell him no. This would have led to guilt but he was encouraged to help.
5. What dramatic play activity does this child seem to enjoy? (2 points)
Payton enjoyed throwing the ball through the hoops and grabbed it after it came back to him.
6. What evidence did you observe for the development of gender awareness? (2 points)
He knew about gender awareness by giving his girl friend a Barbie toy instead of his guy friend. He
knew that people with long hair were girls and people with short hair were boys.
7. Does s/he accept responsibility for small jobs or does s/he attempt to avoid responsibility. Cite an
example to support this inference. (2 points)
When it was clean up time he grabbed two balls and put them away. He did it without being asked.
8. Describe a situation where the child shows empathy for another child. (2 points)
When his friend got hit in the face with a ball and fell, he helped his friend up and asked him if he was
ok.
9. What evidence do you see of the childs prosocial development? (2 points)
When one of Paytons friends was feeling sad because he got hit in the face with a ball, Payton told him
that he everything was going to be ok.
10. Provide an example of how this child avoided or resolved conflict with another child. (2 points)
When another child took his ball, he asked him if he could have it back because it was his turn to play.
Rather than arguing with the child he resolved the conflict.
Social-Emotional Development Concluding Thoughts:

I think Payton has a typical social-emotional development. According to Martin and Fabes, prosocial
emotions motivate prosocial behavior, (Martin and Fabes, pg. 313). Payton showed prosocial behavior
by helping his friend feel better which is typical for a child. Martin and Fabes stated that, if a childs
social world is encouraging, children will learn to accept this control without guilt, (Martin and Fabes,
300). Payton showed initiative because he was encouraged by his teacher to help put away the balls.

According to Martin and Fabes, cooperative play represents the highest level of social play, (Martin
and Fabes, pg. 329). Payton engaged in cooperative play and that helps his social development because
he is interacting with other children. Martin and Fabes stated that, by 4 to 5 years of age, children
understand gender consistency, (Martin and Fabes, pg. 302). Payton understood this because he gave a
girl a Barbie, even though she wore pants and had short hair. So he knew that she was a girl, since he
gave her a girls toy.

Concluding Thoughts (5 Points)

My overall impression was that it was very helpful and showed me how I can apply what I have learned
to actual children. The four concepts I learned from the assignment were: (1) how to apply the different
children at play, (2) the different ways children react with other children, (3) different ways different
teachers discipline their students, (4) how more advanced the children were from the toddler and infant I
observed in the previous observation. I can use this knowledge by helping me apply to my future with
working with children since I want to receive a major in Child Development. My action plan can be: (1)
working with children from different age groups to compare and contrast, (2) apply concepts from the
text to help me better educate myself, (3) make more observations at different places to observe different
teachers and students.