Preschool Observation at CCLC Daycare - Case Study Example

 Preschool Observation at CCLC Daycare I made my preschool observation at CCLC Daycare in Newark from 2:25 to 6:00 pm. The child I observed was of a white American background. His name was Tomi, and he is a full-time (8 to 6) four-year-old enrolee at CCLC. His parents both work; he is an only child with a grandmother nearby. Tomi enjoys spaghetti and hot dogs; his favorite activities at school are storytime and blocks. He dislikes arts and crafts. I chose Tomi to observe because of his reaction when I dropped my pencil at the beginning of the observation. Tomi was the only child who looked over at the sound; he picked it up and handed it to me, getting my attention with that gesture of kindness. I could tell with that one action that Tomi was both observant and sociable, and the observation that followed confirmed this instinct. It was just after naptime when I arrived, and the children were picking up their rest things. Tomi was doing so very neatly, gently placing his blanket on the table and handing his rest mat to his teacher. When he was finished with this, he walked over to another child who was still sleeping. He knelt down and woke her up, saying "Hey, its a wake up time, wake up!” His friend stirred and woke up, and as soon as her eyes were open, he asked her if she needed his help. This showed me that Tomi is able to identify with others' needs, which places him at an advanced level within the context of Piaget's theories. At the pre-operational level, most children have difficulty identifying with others, but Tomi's tendency to be helpful without prompting shows that perhaps he is beginning to be able to take on others' perspectives. When Tomi began wandring around the room again, he found a few friends who were already awake and packed up, and started talking with them. The subject of Ninja Turtles came up, and Tomi talked about them animatedly. I was able to observe a great deal about his speech and language development during this time. Tomi uses full sentences of about 5 to 6 words each. He uses past tense correctly, talking about what one of the Ninja Turtles did during an episode of the cartoon. He is able to tell a simple story, using a two-sentence description of what one of the Turtles did in the same episode. In speech and language, Tomi appears to be at a normal developmental level. Snack time followed rest. Cheese and crackers were served, but Tomi asked his teacher for only cheese, because he didn't want the cracker. He made this request very politely, and his teacher was happy to oblige. This showed an ability to make requests to meet his needs and use polite terms like “please,” which he did, placing him at a developmentally appropriate level. When Tomi finished his snack, he found a cube of cheese on the floor and he ate it. He did this without seeming to perceive that anyone might not think it an appropriate thing to do; he didn't check to see if the teacher was looking or act secretive. Without knowing whether or not he has been told not to eat things off the floor, it is difficult to infer cognitive ability from this action. However, it does show an ability to reason logically: Cheese is tasty, that cheese is there, I will eat it. As the children cleaned up their snack, Christmas songs were playing in the background. When Tomi was finished cleaning, he started dancing around the room to the music. When his teacher noticed, she asked him to go back to his place. I couldn't help wishing she had complimented his dancing or remarked that he must be enjoying the music, before she asked him to stop dancing. He seemed very free and excited, and I wanted someone to share his joy. He, however, seemed relatively unperturbed at being asked to stop dancing. This shows that he is advanced within Erik Erikson's Play Stage, usually associated with ages 3 through 7 – a child of Tomi's age would typically experience guilt when their natural desires conflict with rules. After snack came circle time. When the children were seated, the teacher shared a book about healthy bodies, and asked how we kept our bodies healthy. Every student raised their hands, eager to participate and share ideas. Tomi raised his hand, and when the teacher called on him, he replied, “Banana!” His teacher asked, “Why did you say banana?” He replied that bananas make people big and healthy. This shows an ability to reason, a skill that four-year-olds typically develop. Then one of Tomi's friends suggested carrots and broccoli, and the teacher asked why those had come to mind. The child said carrots were good for our eyes. Suddenly, Tommy shouted out, “I am bigger than my mommy and my brother!” The teacher smiled, and gently reminded Tommy to raise his hand to share. She seemed to understand that this type of outburst is typical for an excited four-year-old, who wants to share his thoughts so much that he has forgotten the rules. Then she began to read the book. One page in the book was talking about baby teeth, and Tomi raised his hand to share that that he still has baby teeth and his brother lost two. This showed that Tomi is able to remember and recount past events, which is a typical milestone for four year olds. And at a point in the book that mentioned milk, Tomi told his teacher that chocolate and strawberry milk made him grow. Tommy was clearly engaged with and enjoying the story, unlike his friends, who were moving and talking the entire time the teacher was reading. Tomi's eyes were on every page, and he raised his hand at almost every new topic. He didn't always have the chance to share, but his teacher called on him several times to share his thoughts and ideas. Tomi enjoyed this a great deal and loved talking to the class. In this, Tomi seems advanced for his age, sitting still throughout the approximately seven minutes of story time. Most four-year-olds are unable to sit still for such an extended period of time. Tomi's class is having a holiday show next week, and so after the story, they practiced their poem and their songs. Tomi was singing faster than his friends, and his teacher asked him to slow down and to wait for them. He did, but he lost interest when the class began to practice their other song. For much of that particular song, Tomi wasn't singing at all. He hardly looked at the teacher, who was giving the children cues so they could remember the words and motions. It seemed that Tomi had either become bored or been discouraged when he was asked to sing slower. Of course, the reason could also be that he knew and liked the previous song better, which could explain why he sang it so quickly. It was clear that he did not know the second song, either. This could have accounted for his loss of attention and interest, and a lower level of confidence as well. His attention span was probably overtaxed as well, since he was so focused during the story. Since Tomi is ony four, it is remarkable that he remained engaged as long as he did. Play time came next. Tomi chose to be in the blocks corner, where he built a tower. This engagement in parallel play did not last long. When he was finished, he left his work without fanfare and moved to the science corner. In the science corner, Tomi enjoyed playing magnets with his friend. They decided to make shapes with the magnets, choosing to make a gun shape first. The teacher told them making gun noised and came over to remind them that they were not supposed to play guns in the class. They apologized, then changed to making airplane shapes. They laughed and talked loudly as they played, describing the details of their imaginary airplanes with one another. This time showed that Tomi prefers cooperative and associative play. The boys built their own airplanes and guns, but also engaged these toys with one another. Their play with guns, although forbidden, showed that Tomi uses representational props. After playtime came dismissal; Tomi greeted his mother eagerly and packed up to go home neatly and said goodbye happily to his teacher. I enjoyed watching Tomi. He seems very friendly, and excited by life. He has a lot of friends in the class and loves playing with the other children, an appropriate developmental stage for four-year-olds. He also seems to be at an average developmental level in the speech and language capacity as well as in his play, engaging appropriately in parallel play and with props. Socially, he seems advanced, with a slightly older child's sense of empathy and an ability to redirect without becoming emotional. I was unable to observe if Tomi has any “best” or preferred friends, although he seemed to seek out two other boys in particular. He is eager to lend a hand to people, a characteristic evident in the way he picked up my pencil and offered to help the sleeping girl at naptime. He appears able to problem-solve and to use represenatational objects in play at a developmentally appropriate level. He knows his own mind, whether his preferences are in regards to crackers or flavors of milk, and he shares those preferences with others.He is friendly and pleasant and his teacher seems to enjoy him. I did not see any areas in which Tomi is developing below the average level, which is delightful and encouraging to see. I would conclude that Tomi is receiving excellent care and early education, both at school and at home, and his natural tendencies to share his thoughts and interact with others should continue to be encouraged. Read More