Preschool Child Observation

Observation #2
Class/section: FHS 1500 JATC

Name: Annika Peterson

Assignment: Observation 2

Background Information
Childs age: 4 years old

Fictitious name: Jeff

Location: Preschool in the JATC

Brief There were three adults, and around ten children. They were
Description: playing at different tables and then had a group activity on the rug.

Physical Development
While observing Jeff, I noticed that he had a lot of energy and was very active.
He was the most active of all the students yet he was also the most calm when the time
came for the students to settle down and listen to the teacher. As the body gains
strength, children develop motor skills, both gross motor skills (such as skipping) and
fine motor skills (such as drawing). Mastery depends on maturation and practice,
(Berger, 2014, p. 170). Jeff exhibited this growth in physical development as he walked
around the room with ease. In addition, at the beginning of class he was drawing
pictures. Obviously they were not perfect but he did a really good job at not just
scribbling. He held his crayon correctly and was also able to go back through his
drawings and tell the teacher what each drawing was. Upon observing Jeff and the
other children it was evident that he was much more mature in this and other
developmental areas. This resulted in an overall positive acceptance from the other
children in the preschool. Although most children still played alone, or independently
while doing the same thing as the child next to them, Jeff was still accepted by the other
children.

Cognitive Development
 One of the first things that I noticed about Jeff was his language abilities. He had
a wide vocabulary and talked a lot. He responded to the teachers and was coherent
and loud enough to be heard. This impressed me because so many of the other
children would talk very quietly, or wouldnt talk at all. For example, as he was drawing,
he told the teacher what he was drawing. He also had an awareness of the time of year
which was amazing, he talked about Halloween and Christmas that are coming up.
Those functions of the brains that make us human, not merely ape, begin in infancy but
develop primarily after age 2, enabling quicker, better-coordinated, and more reflective
thought, (Berger, 2014, p. 178). Jeff especially showed a lot of reflective thinking. For
the question of the day, the students were asked if they had seen Moana at school. Jeff
quickly asked if the teacher meant in real life. This shows a great amount of reflective
thinking and understanding. He was able to separate real life from fiction. Many kids
his age have imaginary friends therefore he is showing that he has matured faster than
many of his peers.
Jeff also exhibited a very focus behavior. When coloring he stayed focused on
what he was drawing and did not stop coloring until his drawings were finished. He then
proceeded to the puzzle station. He completed a puzzle on his own very quickly. Later
he was able to count out loud all on his own. Each of these show us he has very
advanced cognitive skills. He is a very smart boy.

Social/Emotional Development
Although Jeff was very advanced in both cognitive development and physical
development, he seemed to be on the same level as most other children when it comes
to social and emotional development. When I was observing the preschool they had the
nurse come in and she took one student out at a time and did an eye test on them. Like
many of the other students, Jeff was hesitant to go to the nurse but was not resistant.
He looked to the teacher for approval of the nurse before going to her. This happened a
lot within the preschool.
Play with peers is one of the most important areas in which children develop positive
social skills, (Berger, 2014, p. 212) Jeff expresses great social skills. He was very
comfortable being with a group of students. At the rug, he participated and was
confident in his answers. One of the things that I noticed was that there was one
student that while at the rug, each student had to perform a certain task. This particular
student got very impatient with other students if they were slower completing a task.
Jeff however, displayed a great amount of patients towards other students. This was a
very passive behavior that he showed which was impressive. He also did not show
many signs of attachment to his parent. He is learning a lot and has become
comfortable at the preschool and comfortable leaving his parent. Meaning he has built
a trust with his parent. Knowing that they will be back to pick him up.
 Reference List
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.