General Description
- Setting: The child is observed in a licensed early childhood program in a classroom designed for 3-5-year-olds.
- Relationship: The observer is an outsider and has no relationship with the child.
- Age: The child observed is 4 years old.
- Presence: The child’s peers and two caregivers are present during the observation.
- Contextual factors: The child is a white American from a middle-class family. The child is physically able and has no known developmental delays.
- Additional context: The classroom is a brightly colored and stimulating environment with various educational toys, playsets, and art materials. The observation takes place in the morning during the free play period.
Observation Narrative
During the observation, the child was observed playing with building blocks independently. The child examined a red block closely before placing it on top of a blue block. The child then stacked another yellow block on top of the red block and a green block on top of the yellow block.
The child then stood back to admire the tower, said “I built a big home!” and then knocked it down with a big grin on their face, saying “Now home is gone”. After knocking down the tower, the child sorted the blocks by color. While sorting the blocks, the child repeated the colors’ names continuously: “blue, red, yellow, green,” and so on.
Developmental Analysis
The child’s examining and manipulating the blocks demonstrates normal cognitive development. By focusing on the colors of the blocks and stacking them, the child is practicing color recognition, hand-eye coordination, and spatial awareness (World Health Organization, 2020). Knocking down the tower also displays the child’s understanding of cause and effect (World Health Organization, 2020). The child’s play with the blocks can also be linked to language development.
At 4 years old, a child with typical language development reaches a milestone of saying four-word sentences. This can be observed in the sentences the child says aloud, such as “I build a big home!” The child’s reaction to the result of his play demonstrates that he can feel admiration and satisfaction. The manifestations of these emotions show that the child has reached the expected milestones of a 4-year-old’s emotional development. The child also demonstrates normal physical development as he can use his motor functions to build the tower and easily grab and sort the blocks.
Contextual Factors
During the observation, the child was demonstrated to have reached normal language milestones. Linguistic and cultural contextual factors, such as being in a household where family members regularly address and talk to the child directly and in a grown-up manner, help a child reach this milestone. The child’s family’s financial situation may also have impacted how much exposure they received to educational toys and materials at home. The child’s socio-economic status, as he comes from a middle-class family, may contribute to the normal development of his physical and mental health. The observed child is physically able and demonstrates normal health conditions, which are achieved through favorable socio-economic conditions.
Recommendations
The child’s play with the building blocks suggests they are engaged and interested in cognitive and language development. The caregivers could provide additional opportunities for the child to engage in similar activities, such as providing more building blocks or encouraging the child to create more complex structures. Additionally, the caregivers could engage with the child during play by asking questions to promote language development further.
Reflection
Observing the child provided insight into how play can support various domains of development. The child’s engagement demonstrated the importance of allowing children to play independently. In general, observation as a method for learning about a child’s development helps to identify patterns in a child’s development. This can be beneficial when tracking their progress, checking whether the child has reached the necessary milestones, and detecting areas that need additional support or intervention.
Reference
World Health Organization. (2020). Improving early childhood development: WHO guideline. World Health Organization.