Early Childhood and Parenting - Research Paper Example

Topic: TMA 03: The Children I Support; Observing and Assessing Lecturer: Presentation: Part This observation was made on a 3 year old child in a private nursery. The child tended to discover virtually everything that she could come across during play. The senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing and seeing were mainly applied by the child in trying to explore the nature of the object of play, for example touching and looking all over the object, tasting, listening to sounds and rejecting the objects that had awful smell. The sweet smelling and colorful objects were the most preferred. The child usually ignored any form of interruption to complete a particular play. She was creative and could always try to do something else to make the play better. She was acquiring language skills fast, with pronunciation improving time and again. However, the sentences used in communication were short but the grammar continued to improve. This was mainly observed when the child viewed other children playing especially with objects or fun that matched her interests. The child often tried to initiate a conversation regarding the other children's toys and most of the time would seek support from a familiar adult. The child was also developing the capability to reason regarding how to play as well as the choice of play. She was able to organize fragments to make a complete object. On the other hand, she understood that an object was composed of variable parts that were significant for its proper functioning. This was evidenced by the reaction of the child when she found that one ear of the toy girl was broken. She held the toy gently and sought the teacher's explanation as to how the ear can be replaced. She refused to play with the toy until a new one was bought for her by the parent. The home school book revealed that the child's mood had changed since the breakage on the toy. It was most likely that she had learnt that the ear was essential and the toy was not complete without it. Moreover, records indicated that this was the second time in three months to demand a new toy as a result of one of the parts being destroyed. The kid was moving confidently and was capable of running around jump, climb on chairs, ride a tricycle among other activities that seemed energetic. She struggled to hold on to a play ball and tried to run with it. The hands had developed some strength that could allow the child to model some shapes with the use of clay. While playing, it was easy to hold some objects. However, even if the child demonstrated confidence while playing, there was a tendency to feel insecure when there was no adult around. She would abandon the play and follow the adult. While playing, she would constantly seek assurance from a trusted adult to ascertain that all was well, even though her independence seemed to develop day after day. She would some times play with other children whom she seemed to be fond of. While playing with the newly found friends, she would often seek assistance from the teacher when there seemed to be a conflict. She would therefore avoid playing with others when there was no one to turn to in case a problem arose. Even though she felt more secure while playing, she could manage her emotions when there was no adult around although prolonged stress when the adult failed to show concern during play would culminate in crying. When the teacher would organize general play sessions for all the children, the child enjoyed wearing the costume that made her look like the butterfly or the animal that she was supposed to act like. She enjoyed singing her favorite song during play and would also manage to sing with a good voice. She used to derive enthusiasm from participation in staged plays such that even when the play comes to an end, she could continue acting in the same way as in her previous role in the play. In most cases, the child's play involved actions that had been witnessed by the child among adults. She would tie the baby toy on her back and assume that she was consoling her to stop crying. On other occasions, she would assume a mother's role of cooking by organizing some small imaginary utensils. She could assume that the smaller kids were her children. However, she could differentiate between cooking a real meal and the fantasy meal. Each time she engaged in such plays, she would always try to make some improvements. Part 2 Assessing and observing children's learning and development is significant in the development of an effective plan and also supporting the particular developmental pathway for the child. Practitioners acquire the necessary information regarding the reaction of the child to the interactions with the environment, which is significant in determining the support needed for proper growth and development. Observation and assessment helps in understanding the manner in which a child relates with peers and adults, who might be of great influence to his/her cognitive development (Fisher, 2002). After making an analysis of the observation, the practitioner is able to reflect on the important issues that need concentration. He/she becomes aware of a child's thinking and growth and is capable of avoiding unnecessary judgment. It is important to understand the interests and preferences of children to enhance learning and development. This understanding helps to maintain enthusiasm and motivation to learn when the children are in their comfort zones. Martin (2004) observes that learning and development largely depends on the environment in which the child lives and the people that he/she interacts with. When a caretaker understands the child's comfort zone, he/she can maintain it to ensure that effective cognitive and social development is accomplished. On the other hand, child assessment and observation allows the caretaker to understand the level of development in the child so as to offer the appropriate assistance to enhance learning. The talent of a person can be discovered while he/she is a child. Observation allows the caretaker to discover such talents and assist the child to develop it. The caretaker introduces the plays that he/she has observed and noted that they are likely to be encouraging to the child. Such arrangements allow the children to appreciate the learning environment, and they can always trust the adults who understand them. Bee & Boyd (2007) argue that understanding how a child thinks through observation and assessment allows the adult to be capable of engaging in significant conversations that assist in understanding the child even better. The child usually has his/her approach towards accomplishing some simple tasks. Setting the learning strategies requires the incorporation of the child's approach to ensure that the child is able to learn with ease. Observing children and understanding their goals even in the simple tasks that they engage in is important in providing an idea of what they are up to in their life. For example, when observations reveal that at the age of 3 years a child is spending most of the time trying to discover what is around him/her and that the senses are utilized to a great extent during this period, the best thing that an adult would do to assist the child is to facilitate the use of the senses to help the child to explore as much as possible (Carr, 2003). The adult uses the information from observations as well as their comments to understand what the child is up to. When an adult observes a child, he/she is able to understand what makes them wonder, when they become happy many other situations that allows understanding of the child's world. From this point, it is possible to tell when the child is getting following the right track in regard to behavior and play. It is also possible to speculate their thinking as well as their reaction to stimulus. In other words, questions regarding why a child behaved in a particular way may not arise since it is already known. Rather, the observer makes an informed guess about the actions of a child and may even caution him/her before things get worse (Hutchin, 2007). Moreover, when the child is asked a question regarding a particular issue, the answer that he/she gives can be anticipated if properly observed. This is important in the enhancement of learning in the child. Observation and assessment can also be useful in determining hindrances in a child's learning and development. This is important especially if the child has special needs. Abused children can also be identified through observation of their behaviors and the way they interact and socialize with others. When the rights of the children are abused, they are unlikely to socialize effectively with other children. This may hamper their learning and development. Parents need to be core partners in the observation and assessment of learning and development in children. When a teacher makes successful observation on the child, he/she can make informed reports to the parents, who understand the child better and can easily tell when there is a change. This can help the teacher and the parent to intervene and help the child if there could be possible negative interference in the learning environment. It is also important to ensure that the child's emotional and physical welfare is maintained Bove (2001) observes that when the caretakers are adequately informed regarding the child's behavior through observation, it is possible to provide important information that can be used in the improvement of childcare and education programs. Some of the behavioral characteristics observed among children are similar and they might be used to improve teaching. To promote further learning for the child that was under observation, it is recommendable to engage the child in individual and group learning to enhance her social skills. These are necessary to help her cooperate with others to accomplish the learning goals. With the skills, the child is able to play with the others and learn to appreciate their weaknesses and strengths. Social skills such as generating a conversation, helping others and seeking assistance can be learnt through group learning. Individual learning strategies will involve helping the child to develop communication skills by helping her to write perfectly. This may also include correct pronunciation of words and use of grammar. It may be important especially to help the child to overcome chances of dyslexia (Drummond & Pollard, 2000). Bove (2001) argues that when the child is trained as an individual by a person whom he/she trusts, there are high chances of success in the individual learning program. From the observations, it was clear that the child trusted her teacher. She felt secure playing while the teacher was around and therefore she is the most appropriate person for the coaching. It is recommendable that multiple dimensions be included in child assessment. The teacher needs to focus on all the important areas such as the child's age, the cognitive abilities as well as mental health among others. Information from other sources needs to be used such as from the previous records to facilitate understanding of the child. The individual and group learning programs are significant in developing a positive attitude towards learning. When the child is able to communicate effectively as an individual, she will certainly develop the desire to know whether she is competent among other children. Individual approaches work best when the child wants to please the educator and therefore they ensure that they are perfect in practicing what they learn. The social skills learnt through these programs are significant in brain development especially from the knowledge gained through interacting with others. The child also develops trust in the teacher and can always report problems with confidence. The learning strategies help in maintaining focus towards specific issues in the child's learning and development. They allow planning and setting measurable learning objectives (Giuidici et al. 2001). Parents are encouraged to contribute to the individual learning programs, thereby encouraging the development of a shared vision towards child learning and development. The group programs help to compare the performance of the children, which enhances the identification of weaknesses among the children and hence the educator can plan on the necessary intervention. References Bee, H. & Boyd, D. (2007). The Developing Child, New York:Allyn & Bacon. Bove, C. (2001). Inserimento: A Strategy for Delicately Beginning Relationships and Communications: The Italian Approach to Infant Toddler Care.Teachers College Press. Carr, M (2003).Assessment in Early Childhood Settings -LearningStories.Sage Publications. Drummond, M.J & Pollard, EL (2000). Assessing Children's Learning, London: David Fulton Publishing Ltd. Fisher, J (2002). Starting from the Child, Open University Press. Giuidici, C, Rinaldi, C and Krechevsky, M (2001).MakingLearningVisible: Children as Individual and Group Learners.Reggio Children srl. Hutchin, V (2007).Supporting Every Child'sLearningacross the EYFS.Hodder Education. Martin, S. (2004). Take A Look: Observation Portfolio Assessment in Early Childhood, Toronto:Pearson Addiso-Wesely Read More