Category: Child Observation

Preschool Classroom Observation Essay

I observed a 3-year-old girl Pennylope in CDC Mission College, Santa Clara on 1 October for 1 hour 30 minutes from 10:00 am- 11:30 am on Friday. This room’s name is Sunflower Room. It’s open at 7:30 am and closed at 6 pm. This center is open Monday to Friday. In this center, 14 children were enrolled. Some are for a full day and some are only for half a day. This class is for 3-year-old to 4-year-old children. In this classroom three teachers were present. Ms Suchi was a head teacher and Ms Mona was an assistant teacher and now she was doing his course in early childhood and development at Mission College. The third teacher Ms Fransia is the curriculum teacher and she comes only on Fridays. All the teachers were very nice and lovable with the kids. I spoke with the teachers and got permission for observation.

The Sunflower Class was a spacious room. The entrance door is a single glass door. Near the entrance door of the center at the right sight, a Shelf is placed which is occupied with some stuff, and on the upper side of this shelf on the walls, a notice board was placed. On the Left side of the main, door a rack was placed which was occupied by some craft stuff and near this rack, a sink area was occupied with art stuff. In this area, upper shelves were placed which were occupied by stuff, and a hand-washing instruction chart stuck on the shelf. Half the room floor was wooden and in half the area a grey carpet was placed. Five tables were present in the classroom which were in different sizes and for different purposes. Near the entrance door, two rectangular tables were placed with six chairs. On the left side of the entrance door near the sink area, a rectangular table with four chairs was placed which was used at craft and play dough time. In the front of this table, a small round table is placed with two chairs and this section is separated by two shelf racks. After the round table, one more big rectangle table was placed with eight chairs. All the furniture was light brown and wooden. In the room, more racks were present for storage in the play area. Two small sofas were placed in the book area. One rack near the playground area door was placed. The room was simply lightened with 17 white tube lights and there was plenty of natural light coming from the windows and doors. One inside the door, one big glass door in this room which was a play area facing, and 11-12 windows were in the room. The room looks so lively. The wall color was light brown and the walls were wooden. One big flower painting in the play area and craft and art projects were placed on the walls. Some fruits and face charts were on the walls. The classroom was a quiet place there was not much noise coming from outside. At the left side of the entrance door washroom was situated. In the wash room, there were two basins and two seats. One big table rack was in the corner with stuff. Hand soap, tissues, and brushes for all the kids were in the washroom and three lights were in the washroom. Out of the washroom science area and water area were situated. The room was full- equipped with age-appropriate toys and books. In the backyard, one art table with water paint, a slide, and other outdoor toys were available for kids. All the kids were happy and the teachers were cooperative and soft-spoken.

The classroom of this center was designed properly in each area. The classroom is organized with kid-sized shelves, baskets, and containers. In this class, children put their stuff on a shelf which was near the play area door. It was a wooden two-sided shelf with 12 blocks on both sides with brown jute baskets. On each block, the children’s name was written. In this basket, kids put their clothes and other important stuff. A hanging rack was placed near the play area door which was occupied by kids jackets.

The art area was on one side of the room. A round table with two chairs was placed and this area was separated from the playdough area and the other side by racks. One rack was occupied with art stuff and on the other side, a steel board was placed which had alphabet magnets. On the table crayon boxes were present.

The children’s imaginary and dramatic area was situated at the end of the classroom carpeted area. This area was occupied with kids-sized shelves and containers. This corner is designed as a play area for kids which is occupied with important toys like kitchen stuff, soft toys other learning stuff.

After the entrance and at the starting of the carpet area blocks were placed and this is also known as the maths area. In this area, two-sided wooden shelves were placed which occupied different types of blocks and pattern puzzles.

A small area was in the corner near the play area side door with a small grey carpet with flower printing with two small sofas. This area was organized as a book area with one bookshelf and an almira with different types of stuff.

The science area was near the washroom with the dotted wall. In this area insects, herbs, and solar system pictures were stuck. One glass box with sand and one small plant was placed. Puzzles, legos, and other connecting toys were placed in the book area and play area on different shelves. In the corner of the carpeted area, a big block shelf was placed.

The cooking area is placed on one side of a carpeted play area near the book area. In this area one kitchen set and other kitchen stuff were present. In this area, different types of food boxes were placed in the basket.

The music area was at the start of the carpeted area. Lots of different types of musical instruments were in the basket. This area was also used for storytime.

When any kid was crying and frustrated then he came near the playdough area which was in a corner. Children are mostly impressed by the play area and they are interested in toys and blocks.

The classroom had an ample amount of open space for kids to play around. All sections are occupied with age-appropriate toys which are organized on wooden shelves. These toys stimulate the different senses and develop motor skills. Kids put their stuff on a shelf for stuff and hand their jackets on a hanging stand which develops the child’s organization skills and them understand responsibilities. The art area is always fascinating area for kids. In the art area, a small round table was placed and on shelves different types of colors and art stuff were present. Near the door, a sink area was organized with other art stuff like water painting etc and a hand wash.

Kindergarten Classroom Observation Essay

Observation Report

Child’s name: Cailey LauChild’s age: 5 years 3 months

Date of observation: 01-12-2021Setting: Small group

Description:

During small group activities, Cailey had planned to play with the material set in the science corner. She chose the balancing set. She put the paper towel tube on the table and then put the rectangular Styrofoam plate on top of the paper towel tube. Then, she carefully put two building blocks on the two sides of the rectangular Styrofoam plate. She waited for a moment, she found that the set-up was stable. After ensuring that the building block wouldn’t fall, she tried to put another two building blocks on top of the two building blocks. She stopped and waited for a moment again after putting four building blocks on the top of a rectangular Styrofoam plate. I asked her, ‘Do you know why the building blocks will not fall from the setup?’ She was able to tell me, ‘Because the setup was balanced. There were two building blocks on the left-hand side and two on the right-hand side, so they won’t fall.’ I asked her, ‘What will happen if I take away building blocks on the right-hand side?’ She responded immediately, ‘Then they will fall.’ She took away the building blocks on the right-hand side and showed me the result.

Interpretation:

Cailey is displaying an advanced capability of understanding mathematical logic and thinking abilities on the concept of balance. She showed a deep and clear understanding of the concept of ‘balance’. Besides, Cailey can analyze and reason the acquired concept and explain her exploration in complete sentences by using the ‘because of… so…’ pattern, and be able to conclude according to the evidence, which is normally seen in children aged 5 to 6. Cailey showed a higher level of mathematic and scientific understanding compared to the level of the average student, which has been moved to a more advanced level.

Observation Report

Child’s name: Cailey LauChild’s age: 5 years 3 months

Date of observation: 01-12-2021Setting: Free play

Description:

During the free play session, Cailey ran around in the playground with her friends to explore what they wanted to play. Hence, she ran to the balancing beam, which other students set up. She decided to play on the balancing beam and she walked on the balancing beam without any support from her classmates. She walked slower when there was another classmate in front of her, and she speeded up when there was no one in front of her. After a while, her classmates changed the setup of the balancing beam to different levels of height. She needed to walk up and down on the balancing beam. Cailey started walking from the beginning of the balancing beam and was able to walk on the balancing beam with different levels, including walking up and down.

Interpretation:

Cailey is displaying good development in gross motor skills. She can coordinate the movements of different body parts. She can walk up and down the balancing beam with an alternative foot per step. She can maintain her body balance on the balancing beam by coordinating legs and arm movements, which is generally seen in average children aged 5 to 6. She can control her walking speed while walking on the balancing beam. She showed concentration, stayed focused, and showed self-confidence while she was playing on the balancing beam.

Observation Report

Child’s name: Cailey LauChild’s age: 5 years 3 months

Date of observation: 24-11-2021Setting: Small group

Description:

During small group activities, Cailey was playing with her friend (student X) at the hand puppet corner. They were playing role-play. Cailey was using the tiger puppet and said she was the boss of the juice shop in the forest. X said he wanted to be the boss too. They started arguing about who was going to act as the boss. Cailey said, ‘Because we both want to be the boss, how about we take turns? I will be the boss first, and then we swap later. Then both of us can have a chance to act as the boss. Is it okay?’ X agreed with the suggestion and agreed to pretend a customer first. After around 5 minutes, X asked, ‘Is it my turn to be the boss? I acted as a customer for a long time!’ Cailey immediately stood up and swapped positions with him, and they continued playing role-play.

Interpretation:

Cailey displays good problem-solving skills in her capability to give suggestions when she has some argument with X, which is a developmental characteristic we would typically see in children at the age of 5. Cailey also showed concern for her peers’ feelings by asking X whether he agreed with her suggestions. When X showed impatience in acting as a customer for a while, she showed her understanding of X’s impatience and swapped positions with X.

Observation on Public Location Essay: Sociology

When Aiki enters the mall in his stroller he glances to his right with his mouth slightly open. This labels Aiki as an observer as he is immediately looking around the environment to interpret his surroundings, this is a clear example of visual perception. Aiki looking at his surroundings fits Gibson’s theory of perception (1972). The theory states that the development of perception is an active process where we focus on a specific object or person that is already available in an environment to gain understanding (E. Gibson, 1969; J. J. Gibson, 1979). The fact that Aiki immediately looks around, suggests he is actively developing his perception as well as trying to make sense of his surroundings. Aiki specifically looks to his right and is fixed in this direction for 3 seconds, this highlights the selective nature of perception. Aikis focus paired with his expression (mouth slightly open) suggests he is trying to interpret an object or person to gain information and understanding.

When Aiki is placed on the floor, he pauses and looks around. Again, this displays another example of his visual perception as he looks around the room to try and understand the environment around him however this time Aiki is smiling throughout this process. Here, Aiki can communicate his feelings through his facial expression, this underlines the beginnings of his social and emotional development. His smiling suggests that he is excited to be in an unfamiliar environment and is ready to explore using his perception. Aikis’s facial expressions portray his current feelings, which is important for his father to recognize so that he can take care of Aiki and his needs. Smiling is an innate characteristic; this is because Darwin (1872) saw that people born without eyesight could still create facial expressions which means that it is not something that is learned through visual imitation but an innate reaction. Darwin proposes that smiling is used for survival in an infant as it brings joy to the caregiver, making it more likely for the caregiver to protect the infant as well as develop a healthy attachment with them.

John Bowlby (1969) refers to innate expressions as social releasers, this includes laughing, smiling, crying, etc. which he believed was there to grab the attention of a caregiver to prevent maternal deprivation. Maternal deprivation is a hypothesis made by John Bowlby which states that infants that are deprived of their mothers (or primary caregivers) would hurt the infant’s future and lead to anxiety or depression. This makes social releasers, such as smiling, an important characteristic for infants to keep their caregivers’ attention and makes them less likely to be affected by maternal deprivation. This idea is similar to Darwin’s (1872) as they both argue that smiling is used as a survival mechanism however Bowlby’s idea is more focused on the consequences of the decline of attachment on infants rather than forming good attachments to develop properly. Both ideas suggest that Aikis smiling is innate for his development to be successful.

One of the primary features seen in this observation is the attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth (1991). The attachment theory is focused on the emotional bond between an infant and their caregiver. In the observation we can see Aiki crawl within the range of his father, this is called proximity. Aikis’ attachment to his father creates this proximity because Aiki does not physically want to be away from his father as he provides safety and security to him, this desire to be around his father is called proximity maintenance. The fact that Aiki did not stray away from his father proves that he feels content and safe within his father’s reach and therefore suggests that Aiki has a good relationship with his father.

To maintain proximity, Aiki calls out to his father by saying “Dadada” This is called babbling as Aiki makes speech sounds that mimic words, this occurs at around 6 months of age. Here, Aiki is babbling to retain proximity between him and his father so that he continues to feel safe and secure. Babbling is an important indication of Aikis’s language development as it implies that he has actively learned the sounds of the English language which he will further develop in the future. Babbling is also used as a social releaser to strengthen the bond between infant and caregiver, this is because babbling is much easier for adults to imitate unlike cooing (Lois Bloom, 1998) which creates a stronger interactional synchrony. Interactional synchrony was developed by Feldman (2007) and it’s the idea that an infant and caregiver give direct speech to one another, which creates good attachment. In this case, Aiki calls out to his father however does not get a response which leads to Aiki crawling up to his father to gain his attention.

Conventionally, the mothers of an infant are labeled as primary caregivers, and fathers are labeled as secondary caregivers. This is because infants spend more time with their mothers and have more opportunities to bond such as when they are being breastfed etc. John Bowlby (1991) developed the idea that there are four stages to attachment correlating with the infant’s age: pre-attachment phase (first 3 months), indiscriminate phase (6 weeks to 7 months), discriminate phase (7-11 months) and multiple attachments (10 months +). Aiki would be at the last stage, hence being able to form multiple attachments at once which explains why he was able to form attachments with his father even though arguably his father is not the primary caregiver.

It is also important to point out that there were no strangers observed in this shopping mall, this may affect Aiki’s proximity to being physically closer to his father or even discourage Aiki from looking around. This is because Aiki is old enough to distinguish strangers from people he is close with. Schaffer and Emersons (1964) conducted a longitudinal study on 60 babies from Glasgow, whom they visited every four weeks for 1 year. They would analyze the interactions between the infant and their mothers and the interaction between the interviewers and the infant. They were able to conclude that stranger anxiety forms at 7 months as the infants showed more distressed emotions when interacting with the interviewer.