DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Name: Ashlie Bray

Date: March 31 & April 12, 2011

Name of child observed: Ashley and Felix

Age of child observed: 16 Months and 3 years 3 months    

Location of observation: Motor Development Lab and Toddler Observation Lab

 

General Observation Characteristic:

 

  1.  Describe objectively the child’s physical appearance. Give physical characteristics that are unique to that child. 

The first toddler being observed was a sixteen month old named Ashley.  First to be noticed was Ashley’s curly black hair and her big round brown eyes. She had a brown skin tone she was petite and her belly appeared to be less pot belly looking. When Ashley opened her mouth there were a few visible deciduous teeth in the bottom front of her mouth.    

 

The second toddler being observed was a three year old boy named Felix.  Felix has bright short blonde hair and thin blonde eye brows.  He has pale white skin a small button nose, full round cheeks, and a round face.  Felix also has big brown eyes and a mouth full of teeth.  

 

Physical Development:

 

  1.  Describe  an example of the child’s fine motor skills observed 

Ashley used the superior forefinger grasp to pick up the half spiked ball and the plush lady bug on the floor.  She used the pincer grasp to grasp the cheerio Tara (her mother) had placed on the red plate.  With Ashley’s fist she held the spoon at the very top of the handle.

 

Felix used his hands and fingers to link together the link toys and to strum the strings of the toy guitar.  Felix was using his small motor development to pull the plush circle out of the mirrored plush wedge toy and then push it back in along with the square and triangle.  When it was snack time Felix had full control over his sippy cup with one hand while drinking it.   

 

  1.  Describe an example of the child’s gross motor skills observed 

    Ashley was walking all over the motor development lab.  She was throwing the plush lady bug at a few different classmates and waiting until they threw it back to her, even though she did not catch it.  Ashley was standing wide legged with her feet spread far apart.  When she was walking she was wobbling and walking with her feet spread apart, she also did not swing her arms with the motion of her legs like an adult would walk. At one point during the observation Ashley was squatting down in from of the toy drum banging it.  

Felix was crawling around on the floor with one hand while pushing the toy Lego car with the other hand. He was balancing one knee with both of his hands still on the floor reaching for another toy. Felix put one hand on a high activity table in the middle of the room and the other hand on the lower activity table next to it and lifted himself up off the floor, then placed himself back down. 

 

Cognitive Development:

 

  1.  Describe  examples of the child’s cognitive skills observed

  When Ashley’s grandma, Nana, was drumming on the toy drum Ashley imitated her and drummed back after her.  Tara placed the plush lady bug underneath the toy drum and Ashley went over and pulled the drum up to retrieve the plush lady bug, this is an example of object permanence. When Ashley was walking around the motor development lab with the spoon (as mentioned earlier) in her hand she was trying to pick up the cheerio on the red plate with the spoon.  Tara placed a plastic to-go Chef Boyardee soup on the floor, Ashley had associated the soup with the spoon, she was tapping the spoon on the lid and trying to open the soup. 

 

Felix began to play with the Cinderella dress and butterfly wings, dancing around pretending that he was a ballerina.  When he was finished playing with the dress and the wings he knew he had to put them away in the basket. While Felix was playing with the big Lego blocks he discovered quickly which blocks fit with the correct blocks. Felix played with a toy guitar almost all day; at one point he had picked up the blue toy microphone and placed it inside the top of his shirt with it sticking out just a little bit. He place it here and started dancing around while pretending to sing and play the guitar at the same time. While Felix was playing with the link toys he linked the green with the green, then the blue with the blue, and then the yellow with the yellow.

 

Language Development:

 

  1.  Describe an example of the child’s receptive language skills observed

Ashley was forming sounds, articulation, to try and communicate with her mother, grandmother and sister.  When Tara or Nana would say her name she would turn in their direction and look at them.  During the observation Tara looked at Ashley and said, “how are you doing?” and Ashley looked back at her and shrugged her shoulders.

 

When Ethan (a classmate of Felix’s) was talking to Felix, Felix was responding back to him continuing to have a conversation about the blocks they were playing with.  While Miss Mary, another teacher of Felix’s, was reading Brown Bear Brown Bear during snack time she asked, “what do you see?” and responded, “blue horse.” He then said, “goldfish” for the next page when Miss Mary asked the same question.  When Miss Sylvia asked the girls in Felix’s class if they were butterflies (because they too were wearing butterfly wings) and Felix responded to her saying, “I’m a butterfly too!” 

 

  1.  Describe an  example of the child’s expressive language skills observed

When Ashley first came into the motor development lab she began to cry a little bit and get fussy.  When Ashley brought the Chef Boyardee over to her Nana to open it and her Nana told her “no” Ashley began to throw a temper tantrum.

 

When it was snack time Felix appeared to be having difficulty opening his goldfish package, he turned to Miss Mary and said, “help me please” while handing her the goldfish package.  When his goldfish were all gone he said, “I’m still hungry” and Miss Sylvia offered him a few crackers.  When Felix was finally done with his goldfish he said, “I’m done.”

 

Social-Emotional Development

  1.  Describe examples of the child’s social skills  observed

After Ashley appeared to become more comfortable with her new surroundings she began playing with the classmates by throwing the plush lady bug to a few different classmates including myself around the room.  When her Nana smiled at her she would smile back to her and when Nana played with the bells she tried to play too.  When Tara pulled out a book she smiled at the book. 

 

Felix was playing with Ethan and Miss Mary linking together the link toys.  When the girls in Felix’s class were playing instruments and pretending the throw a concert, Felix joined in playing the guitar. Felix played with the Lego blocks with Miss Sylvia.  When he was done playing with the Lego car Ethan tried to play with it and Felix stole it right back.  While Ethan was playing the recorder in the cardboard house Felix joined in playing the guitar.

 

  1. Describe  an example of the child’s emotional skills observed 

When Ashley ate all the cheerio’s and there were none left she cried.  Ashley also cried when she could not open the Chef Boyardee soup and threw the spoon and began throwing a temper tantrum.  When Tara came over and offered her three different options of food she stopped cry.

 

When Felix’s mom dropped him off at day care, he did not cry when she left the room, he just began to play.  Later in the morning when Miss Mary tried to take Felix to go to the bathroom after snack time he began to cry and throw a temper tantrum. 


DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.