Samantha Ulloa
Week 4
Chapter 4 : Using Checklists to Look at Physical Development
Facts
Using the Checklist
Some Examples of Checklists
 Valid Checklists state specific
knowledge, behaviors, and skills in
developmental sequence, which
describe exactly a movement, skill, or
behavior
Limitations to Checklists
 Beaty, in Observing Development of the
Young Child (2014), inserts a column
next to each criterion to use for note
taking in order to make the Checklist
more of an open method. Beaty refers
to these notes as “evidence” because
they retain details of why the observer
made that judgment.
How to Find the Time
 Checklists are not time consuming if
you select only a portion of the
Checklist and observe all the children
for the chosen developmental area.
What to Do with it
 An individual Checklist is kept in each
child’s Portfolio or file and noted on the
Portfolio Evidence Sheet
Your Frame of Reference
Cultural Self
 These define your cultural self and
subconsciously reflect on your own
childhood. These factors also influence
how you see the child.
Education and Training
 The educational level and philosophies
learned affect the teacher’s perceptions
and judgments of the child being
viewed.
Past Experiences with Children
 Those new to the profession, with little
experience, are going to see behavior
Reflection
 As an observer, it very convenient to
already have a set checklist that is specific
and efficient. This is way, all they have to
do is simply check off the completed task
along with the date. The observer could
then focus on looking for any actions.
 I like the idea of including a column that
has a space for note taking. As Beaty
mentions, it provides evidence and details
of how it occurred. It gives more insight on
why it was checked. I personally do this
such as creating checklist but jotting down
what needs to be included rather than just
the simple task.
 Focusing on one area every day is less
overwhelming and much easier to
complete every day. When you have
different tasks all at once for 20 students, it
is difficult to truly capture everything.
 Combining all the checklists from everyday
into one document helps to look back to
the child’s record. If they ever need any
information, it will be on their personal
portfolio
 I agree with the books statement that our
society, especially in here the USA, it has
become a melting pot of a variety of
ethnicities.
 We learn from what we have heard or have
been taught by others. Education level and
philosophies vary amongst people in what
judgments we make on the child. I think it
is important that they are accurate & not
create false statement
 I can personally relate to this because I
have not had much experiences with
children. My judgements may not be as
 and incidents differently from those
with much experience.
Own Learning Styles
 The observer will absorb information in
different ways: auditory learner – from
language and sounds the child makes,
visual learner – from actions, scenes
and pictures of the child’s behavior,
tactile learner – from touching the
child.
Smudges on the Glass
 There may be smudges on the glass
that are biases that keep the observer
from seeing the child objectively.
Biases for or against the Child
 Strengths of the child may be
overlooked because of a prejudice or
bias that will negatively affect objective
observation
Personal Factors, Affect Observation
 Some days might not be good ones to
gather information and make decisions.
The professional acts ethically.
Looking at Physical Growth & Development
Common Characteristics of Development
 There are milestones in every area of
development that are predictable; one
almost always comes before the next,
but when each child reaches each one
may be different.
Small Muscle Development
 Documentation of small muscle
development can be made with
Checklists, Anecdotal Records, and
samples of the child’s work on paper.
Physical Development & Other Areas
P. D and Health/Obesity Concerns
 Social issues such as food insecurity and
poor nutrition, homelessness, exposure
to environmental toxins, and limited
health knowledge contribute to poor
health and negatively affect physical as
well as cognitive development
great as those individuals who have
dedicated years on children. I do plan to
change this as it will only be beneficial.
 I personally learn best through visuals as I
can clearly see what I should be doing.
Whether that is through examples,
pictures, or videos, I am better at retrieving
the information.
 I agree that bias is incorporated as it is the
observer’s judgement. The observer may
have different perspectives from the
theories therefore interprets the
information differently.
 I think it is sad when they are cases of
discrimination in a workplace especially
with children because they will feel
vulnerable. Therefore, these biases should
not even be considered as it a job and
should be treating every child the same
 We are human beings and sometimes we
will have off days where personal factors
may get in the way. I think if it is really
affecting your work then you should take a
break and come back when you can give
our best
 I thought this was important to note
because every child develops differently.
Just because the child did not walk at the
10-month mark does not mean they are
incapable of doing anything. Providing
positive enforcement and acknowledge
each child grows differently will help the
child even more.
 It provides a great example of things we
have learned in past few chapter and how
we can incorporate it into small muscle
development.
 There are many experiences within the
child’s life time that will influence their
healthy lifestyle. If the parents only eat out
once or even having the child being
involved in outside activities will prevent
the child from being obese.
P. D and the Brain
 The interplay of mind and body is not
surprising but is a re-emphasis of the
importance of physical activity to
overall success in learning and living.
P. D and Social –Emotional Development
 Pica (2010) makes the case for the
importance of physical development
beyond fitness, emphasizing the
relationship to social-emotional,
creative, and cognitive development.
Intentional Teaching for P. D
 Planned activities can be documented
using different methods to indicate the
child’s reaction to the experiences and
development of skills.
Physical Development and Play
Observing Physical Development in Play
 Watching children as they play and
move gives the observer information
and leads to knowledge and theories
about the contributing factors for the
following aspects of physical
development: height, weight, and
movement.
For Safety Maintenance
 Children are built to run and climb,
motivated by curiosity and newfound
physical skills.
Observing the P.D of Infants and Toddlers
 Observations can be made while the
infant is moving freely in the
environment, such as in the crib, on the
floor, or in someone’s arms.
Differences in Physical Play, Boy/Girls
 There are other differences seen very
early in life. Male one-year-olds already
spend more time in gross motor
activities, while girls of that age spend
more time in fine motor activities.
 I find it very fascinating that how are body
is built and how many parts correlates
within each other. Such as their example of
crawling which many consider a natural
instinct but this physical action, helps to
develop other balance and perceptual
systems.
 Beyond the benefit of physical activity for
health concerns, it also helps them with
their social-emotional such as confidence
and creativity. A child who plays soccer
may have a passion for the sport and feel
great when they score. Also, a child who is
a dancer enjoys the creative aspect of it.
 Something as simple of a child playing and
the toys the choose, it had a purpose when
the teacher decided to include those.
 As a beginner in observation, I think the
whole aspect of theories of the
contributing factors may be intimidating as
I would not know if they are valid theories.
With proper experience and improving my
skills as the years go by will help lessen
these intimidating factors.
 I definitely see this when teachers are close
to the playground or the balance beam to
prevent the children from falling and being
heavily injured.
 I find it interesting how observations are
done on infants because they need an
abundance of assistance but can still learn
from that. Such as when an infant is being
carried, determining the facial expressions
they make or being able to hold their bottle
on their own.
 It was interesting to read how between
boys and girls, there are differences within
their motor skills. I think this has to do with
boys generally playing soccer, jumping
around whereas a girl will sit and play dolls.
Although these are generally, they are
instances where the roles are reversed.
Play in Nature
 Nature classroom designs include
outdoor spaces for building, music and
movement, climbing, gardening, messy
materials, gathering, and nature art.
They use natural materials in
construction and for storage
Helping all Children w/ Physical
Development
Culture and Play
 Grandparents reminisce about the days
when they went out to play in the
morning and only came in for lunch and
when it got dark. They played in the
streets or in the woods and no one gave
it a second thought. Sometimes several
generations, ages, and abilities all
played a game outside together,
choosing up sides, improvising
equipment, and making their own rules.
Children with Disabilities
 It calls us to look at the person for what
they CAN do, rather than what they
cannot
 When nature experiences include not
having a planned playground gives the
children even more space to be creative. It
allows them things that are around them
such as dirt, grass, and sticks to make up
their own play with this type of play.
 I can definitely relate to this where my
parents would talk about how everyone
in the community would go out and
play. Going on crazy adventures that
lead to injuries but would get back up
immediately as it was more important
to them to continue the fun before it
got dark. Now, I barely hear children
running around through my
neighborhood which can be saddening
as it can be due to the advancements of
technology.
 This statement is very important because
we should start focusing on the things
these children can do. They are capable of
doing amazing things and with our
encouragement, it will make them feel
even more powerful to accomplish these
goals.