Child Development Observation (Preschool/Early Elementary Age)
Kimberly Thomas
ECE 205 Week 4 Assignment
Instructor Nadia Hasan
November 10, 2014
The preschool years which are the ages between 2 ½ years to five years old is an exciting time for children. It is during this time that they use all of the development learned during the infant and toddler stage to actively explore and engage in school. Preschoolers learn how to make their own choices, develop socially, and explore their environments. Parents and caregivers still play an important role in helping children during this time take initiative and explore their environments. Adult’s behaviors, attitudes, and styles of thinking contribute to preschooler’s
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Through play they are able to learn their environment and it helps with learning. In the area of language development preschoolers are developing well as they learn more words and are very verbal. Children are more vocal about their surroundings, feelings, and other individuals. It is important to pay attention to speech during this time as most delays in language are noticed during this stage of development. “It is important to encourage talk at this time, and to seek advice from a specialist if any delays are suspected.” (Christina J. Groark, Stephanie K. McCarthy, Afton R. Kirk, 2014) Socially children are developing as they show interest in playing with other children. “Children are driven by the desire to be liked and place the utmost importance on friends.” (Christina J. Groark, Stephanie K. McCarthy, Afton R. Kirk, 2014) It is during this period they children learn how to share and respect other feelings. Children learn how to follow rules and know their boundaries during this stage of development. Each stage of development is essential in how well children are able to enjoy the exciting time of preschool.
In the video “Draco’s Transition to Group Time” We are introduced to Draco who is in a preschool setting. Draco and his class are transitioning from playing with Lego’s to group time. As Draco is helping place the Lego’s back in their proper place he is gripping a green chair. Another child attempts to take the
Corresponding concerning this article should be addressed to Kirby Magbie, Department of Early Childhood Education, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401. Contact: knmagbie@crimson.ua.edu
Nursery schools provide early learning for three to five year olds preparing them for full-time school
Social play becomes more prominent during preschool age when children being to socialise with other children and practitioners within the pre-school. They tend to carry on playing alone but will play near a wide range of their peers. The development change involved in this types of play is pre-schoolers cognitive development. Social play involves children interacting with their peers and practitioners in the setting this can be done using speaking, signing and body language. When participating in social play this can involve game rules that the children have to communicate and consider when playing together.
The study included 238 preschool-age children from middle, and high-income families and 118 preschool-age children from low-income families all ranging from 2-5 years of age. The results of this study revealed that as the middle and high-income children’s age increased, performance
In this chapter, the topic is centered around the topic of what is developmentally appropriate for children and what it means to early childhood educators. When it comes to what is developmentally appropriate it is important to ask, “Is this activity, interaction, or experience age appropriate? Is it individually appropriate? Is it socially and culturally appropriate?” When it comes to age appropriateness, it is important to consider what children in a certain age range are capable of and then select activities based on these capabilities. When it comes to what is individually appropriate, it is important to understand that not all children in an age group are the same and each child develops differently and has different skill sets. It is
While observing at the Child of God Preschool in Newark, Ohio, I got to actively engage with several preschool age children, each in their own stage of development. I specifically interacted with two children, one four year old and one five year old who were both different developmentally but appropriate for their ages’ milestones. Among the twelve children in the preschool class, I noted that the majority of the children were four years of age and would be attending kindergarten in the fall.
There are always changes in regards to the development of preschool-age children and the roles of early childhood professionals within the preschool setting. I want to learn and gain more knowledge of every aspect of the preschool environment in which can be helpful to making sure that the children that I work with are developing physically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively. This course has enhanced my knowledge of play and the preschool environment and how they both can shape children’s development. But I would love to continue to learn more in how I can provide a classroom environment that will allow for me to give the optimal learning and development experience to the children that I work with. I want to be able to take the experiences such as my observations of the preschool classroom that I observed and turn those experiences into ways to enhance my own teaching and learning experiences for the children that I work with. According to the text teachers who observe children see opportunities to reinforce and enrich children’s learning experiences (Gestwicki, 2014, p. 381). I definitely believe this to be true, and I also believe that the more things that you learn it can only be beneficial for both the children and the teachers. I know that this course has continued to help me build on the foundation of learning that I need to be a successful early childhood professional in a preschool setting and also help in the development of preschool-age children. This course shined a light on the fact that the role of early childhood professionals has several dimensions which include the children playing a role in their own development as well. I think that in the preschool classroom today that all early childhood professionals must acknowledge this and go forth accordingly in how they approach the development of the whole child in regards to
In developing my goals for my activity, I consulted the curriculum guide by The Albert Shanker Institute (2009), the HighScope curriculum (Epstein, 2012), and research by Dodge et al. (2002) describing preschool development. According to Dodge et al. (2002), there are four main areas of development that are relevant to preschool aged children: social/emotional, physical, cognitive, and language. I will be focusing mainly on language and physical development, while briefly touching on cognitive development.
While I had a lot of previous experience with children, I did not have a firm understanding of what preschoolers should be able to accomplish before I started at FUMCN. However, learning about the Key Developmental Indicators (Highscope, 2012) in the Highscope curriculum provided me with a comprehensive knowledge of the progress that preschoolers should be making in each of the four developmental areas: social/emotional, physical, cognitive, and language (Dodge, 2002). Understanding these KDIs was important because they helped to shape how I interacted with the children, as I was always striving to interact with them in a way that may help them develop the skills they should be acquiring before leaving preschool. I believe that the best way to understand exactly what preschoolers should be able to accomplish is to study the full list of KDIs; therefore, my training program will provide each student with a copy of this list (Highscope, 2012). Students will then be encouraged to come up with ways to figure out if children are exhibiting these KDIs and, if not, what type of activities could help the child develop the skills they are
More than half of the United States’ four-year-olds attend some form of an early, adolescent education program. Children who attend preschool achieve more success and are more advanced in structured learning vs. the children who do not partake in preschool. Early education programs, such as preschool should be deemed mandatory due to the lining of many statistics attesting more superior childhood development, advanced decision making, skill-building fundamentals, self-esteem and the introduction of personal confidence.
The parents of today’s society are signing up their children for preschool and head start programs more than ever. “About seventy five percent of the nation’s four year old attend a preschool center, as do fifty percent of three year olds.” (Barnett, 2008, page 3). Preschool has long been though to shape a child’s academic life, putting a child ahead of the curve in kindergarten and leading them into a successful school career. The primary reason for attending preschool in past decades was the known benefits of socialization, but preschool has changed a lot over the years putting much more emphasis on cognitive development. Gone are the days when children only focused on colors, shapes, and numbers. Today’s preschoolers are learning music and second languages. Questions still remain about how successful these programs are when it comes to preparing children for their future academic careers. This paper will examine the known advantages and disadvantages of sending a child off to preschool as well as what qualities a preschool should have.
Babies are fascinating. According to the Center for Disease Control, 3,932,181 of them were born in the United States in 2013, of which 40.6% were born to unmarried women. It is true that most parents want what is best for their children; however, the methodology and resources for childrearing vary from home to home. Today’s society is built on self-discipline, self-reliance, and skill; therefore, the development of little ones must take center stage. However, this development is unique just as the children and the parents who are responsible for their upbringing are unique. While preschool programs can be a beneficial tool, it should not be mandatory because there is no significant evidence of success for federally funded programs; early childhood development occurs diversley among children; and parents alone are best qualified and responsible to nurture their preschoolers as they see fit.
Purpose: Review four articles about Early Childhood development. Description: Barnett and Belfield (2014) talk about a study that shows that three and four year old children that come from poor families with little education have a higher preschool attendance rate than other children. Gaynor (2015) talks about the early childhood development factors explaining the variance in school readiness among five year olds. Bridgemohan et al (2005) talks about how close contact and regular communication between home and school can help Early Childhood programs work better for everyone involved. Weber-Mayrer et al’s (2015) article is about how the educators also learn while they are teaching the children. Results: (self-explanatory)
Child development occurs when there is a biological, as well as psychological, advancement in nature. There have been a plethora of brilliant minds who have had remarkable theories of child development, such as George Herbert Mead, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud. Each of these sociologists, had their own unique approach when it came to child development, portraying some similarities.
A high quality preschool education can boost cognitive and social development with deep-rooted benefits not only for the children’s academic success for years to come, but for the entire society’ prosperity.