ECE 372: Child Observation

Spring 2016

Observer: Josie Parry Age of Child: 5 years, 11 months, 6 days Group: Kindergarten Date & Time: April 7, 2016 @ 9 AM

Context (what is happening at the beginning of the Observation: The children are sitting in a circle while the instructor is reading them a
story in Spanish. Multiple children complain of being thirsty, so the instructor advises them all to get a drink. The children then return to the circle
and listen to the story. Halfway through the story, eight Rodeo Princesses walk in all dressed up. The children begin to lose their focusand for good
reason!

What is happening? Areas of Development Preschool Observation: What do you think

(fine motor, gross motor, cognitive,
language, social, emotional label
next to observation to indicate which
domain(s) this part of the observation
illustrates)
this interaction/behavior means? What
might the child be trying to figure out?
What might be a developmental theory to
support this? What might be a
developmental principle to support this?
Is the childs dev. progression appropriate?

Kindergarten Observation: What might the

childs theory be to support this? (plus
questions above).

Child A lies on her stomach and listens
intently to the story Instructor A reads.
Instructor A reads a story in Spanish.
Instructor A asks what she has just
read and Child A repeats the words
back.
Child A questions why Instructor A is
speaking in Spanish: Can you please
speak in English instead?
TRANSITION: In the middle of the
story, eight women walk in dressed up
as cowgirls.
Child A loses focus on the story and
starts to stand up and stretch her neck
to look at the guests.
Instructor A continues to read the
story. Child A continues to question
what the eight cowgirls are doing.
The cowgirls are finally recognized--
Child A rushes to the front row of the
Gross Motor & Cognitive
Cognitive, Language & Social
Cognitive, Language, & Social
Spanish and is displaying Eriksons
initiative vs. guilt stage (Berger, 2014,
TRANSITION
Gross Motor & Cognitive
Cognitive, Language & Social
Gross Motor & Cognitive
Child A seemed to be seeking
meaning from the story. She was both
listening to the story and paying
attention to Instructor As non-verbal
signals.
Instructor A is book-reading (Berger,
2014, pg.271), which helps children
build vocabulary-- Spanish vocabulary
is being emphasized in this particular
story.
Child A seems challenged by the
pg. 289). Child A starts to feel guilty
when she cannot grasp the Spanish
being taught.
TRANSITION
Previous to the entrance of the
cowgirls, Child A paid strict attention to
the story being told, but Child As
concentrated effort was not consistent,
which aligns with developmental
progression for a six year old (Marotz
& Allen, 2014, pg. 164).
Child A is displaying selective attention
(Berger, 2014, pg. 333), but she is
focusing on the wrong stimuli (eight
cowgirls), and ignoring the correct
stimuli (story being read).
Child A is excited to finally hear from
the cowgirls; she hurries to find the
bleachers to watch the eight cowgirls.
The eight cowgirls introduce
themselves, and the children introduce
themselves. Child A says her name
and adds, I like tacos.
The children are broken up into six
groups, with two children per cowgirl.
Child A chooses the Rodeo Princess
who is holding a stuffed horse who
announces she will teach them how to
tie up horses.
TRANSITION: The Rodeo Princess
leads Child A and Child B to a corner
of the classroom.
The Rodeo Princess asks Child A and
Child B what they should name the
stuffed horse. Child A exclaims, It
needs to be a girl!
Child A and Child B are given a long
piece of string. The Rodeo Princess
demonstrates how to use the string to
tie the horse. Child A listens and
watches intently, then exclaims, I want
to try!
Child A begins to imitate what was
previously demonstrated with aid from
the Rodeo Princess.
best spot on the bleachers.
Language, Cognitive & Social Child A is demonstrating Vygotskys
idea of using language as a tool
Berger, 2014, pg. 264). Language
advances in early childhood by
creating internal dialoguechild A is
expressing her internal dialogue to the
whole class.
Cognitive & Social Child A is using theory-theory to decide
what group to go with (Berger, 2014,
266). She first listens to what the
cowgirl says she is going to teach, then
makes her own assumptions about
what she will be participating in.
TRANSITION TRANSITION
Language, Cognitive & Emotional Child A is utilizing her gender schema
to identify the horse as a female.
Cognitive, Language & Social While Child A observes the Rodeo
Princess, she uses her sensory and
working memory to process the
information and actions taking place.
This way, she can later perform the
task independently.
Fine Motor, Gross Motor & Cognitive Child A is once again demonstrating
Eriksons initiative vs. guilt stage; she
is inserting herself into the activity, and
giving herself more autonomy.
Children across the classroom begin to
make a ruckus with chairs (pretending
to ride a bull). Child A becomes
intrigued by their actions.
Child A returns her focus to the Rodeo
Princess. When Instructor A comes to
take a photo, Child A poses and
proudly shows the horse she has tied
up.
Child A successfully ties her horse,
and is rewarded by the Rodeo
Princess. Child A excitedly high fives
with the Rodeo Princess.
The Rodeo Princess asks Child A and
Child B how old they are. Child A
boasts that she is five and a half.
All the children are placed back on the
bleachers. Child A skips back to her
spot in the front row, never letting go of
the horse with Child B.
TRANSITION: The children are asked
to demonstrate what they just learned
in their groups (assigned Rodeo
Princesses ask them questions).
Two boys start to demonstrate how
they learned to ride horses; Child A
imitates the boys and sways back and
forth in her spot on the bleachers.
Cognitive & Social
Emotional, Cognitive & Social
Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Cognitive,
Emotional & Social
Cognitive & Language
Gross Motor & Social
TRANSITION
Gross Motor, Social, & Cognitive
Child A loses her ability to keep
selective attention on the task at hand.
Child A exhibits initiative, not guilt, for
she completed the task successfully.
Child A is starting to dive into Eriksons
industry vs. inferiority stage. The
Rodeo Princess is encouraging and
praising Child A for her hard work, and
she becomes confident in her abilities.
Child As theory of mind thinks the
Rodeo Princess will find the age five
and a half to be impressive. (The
Rodeo Princess acted impressed,
which was appropriate!)
Child As theory of mind is that Child B
wants the horse as much as she does.
Child A wants to have as much control
over the horse as Child B.
TRANSITION
Child A is imitating the young boys
demonstrating their skillsshe is
having fun while learning.
TRANSITION: The Rodeo Princess TRANSITION TRANSITION
assigned to Child A and Child B states,
Lets show them what we have
learned, girls!! Child A jumps out of
her seat into the middle of the rug in
front of the children.

Child A sits on her knees along with Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Social & The Rodeo Princess is acting as a
Child B and starts to demonstrate what Cognitive mentor, scaffolding Child A and Child
she has learned with help from the B, providing temporary support
Rodeo Princess. (Berger, 2014, pg. 262).

Child A finishes the task at hand and Emotional, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Child As theory of mind is that
holds up the stuffed horse for all to see Social & Cognitive everyone is impressed with her work.
what she has done. She has taken initiative and
succeeded.