Child Observation Project

Observations: Physical Development

• Body hasn't quite began to lengthen
• Beginning to lose baby teeth
• Motor skills have been developing
• Well-balanced nutrition
• Very energetic/Playful

Physical Development

• Body begins to lengthen/broaden
• Primary teeth lost/replaced
• Facial bones grow (face widens/lengthens)
• Well-balanced nutrition is essential
• Middle childhood sees an increase in flexibility, balance, agility, and force
• Fine motor skills develop by age 6 (allows students to print the alphabet, names, and numbers)

Emotional/Social Development

• Self-Understanding/Self-Esteem (higher in males)
• Self-Regulation (manage negative emotions to gain peer approval
• Gain ability to control own emotions
• Begin to form relationships with peers
• Sibling Rivalry increases

Observations: Cognitive Development

Child Observation Project

General Overview

• Thinking is starting to be become more abstract
• Able to make predictions
• Ability to explain his own thinking
• Very high memory

• The student I chose to observe was Jacob
• Seven years old (Middle Childhood)
• Jacob is currently a 2nd grader
• I worked with Jacob in the Math Lab at ABC
• Taught Jacob various math concepts
• Worked with Jacob for an hour every week for a span of nine weeks

Cognitive Development

• Thought becomes more logical
• Increase in information processing (pruning and organization)
• Larger working memory (rehearsal, organization, elaboration
• Gains in attention
• Metacognition

Interview Results

• The parents stated that the child does fairly well in school
• The child does a good job of learning the content fairly well and easy
• The child is one who exhibits good behavior ( parents will discipline if needed)
• The child has no trouble interacting with others around them (not shy)
• Typically the child does any school work needed then spends time with parents and three other siblings (not involved in any extracurricular activities)
• The child has 3 other siblings (all males) so there is constant bonding and sibling rivalry

Interview

Observations: Social/Emotional Development

• How does the child perform in school?
• How fast does the child typically grasp onto school concepts?
• Is the child, for the most part, always well-behaved?
• How well does the child interact with peers?
• What does the child normally do outside of school?
• How is the child's relationship with its siblings?

• Good interactions with peers
• Worked well in groups
• Able to control emotions in the classroom
• Well-mannered
• Performed all tasks given in the classroom
• Participated well during all classroom activities

Conclusions

• After spending much time with Jacob it is clear that he is where he should be developmentally if not further advanced.
• Active as a young boy
• Very intelligent
• Respects/Works well with those around him

Environment and Benefits

• Good, warm, safe environment
• Suitable for learning
• A good, safe environment is beneficial and will cause stronger, effective learning

Florentino Moreno