Child Observation: 3 1/2 Year Old PreSchooler Essay

Play is essential to every part of children’s lives and is important to their development. It provides the children with different ways of doing things children will want to explore and learn new things.

“Play is a process that is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated. Children and young people determine and control the content and intent of their play by following their instincts, ideas and interests in their own way and for their own reasons. The child chooses when and how to play and this is seen as a biological drive, essential to health and well-being.”

Play is the way children learn and is a word that is used to describe the different activities behaviours that children participate in, this would concur with “Vygotsky’s (1978) social constructivist theory that suggests that play promotes both mental and social development for children” (cited in Goulding, 2016, p16). Early childhood educators such as Froebel and Vygotsky have always promoted the importance of the outdoor learning environment. According to Vygotsky (1978), children learn through interacting with the environment and through social interaction with others. Social constructivist theory, believes play is important for the growth of a child’s cognitive emotional and social development and

The relationship between play and learning seems obvious to many child professionals and parents, and yet there are still lack of understanding surrounding the importance of children's play. Some people believe that children need to "work" not play, and that playing serves no useful purpose in a learning and development environment. This is surprising considering that play, with its high levels of motivation and potential enjoyment empowers children (as well as people

This child observation was carried out at the ETSU Child Study Center, after an appropriate permission was taken. I arrived at the Child Study Center at about 7:50am on Friday November 13, 2015, and I was taken to the Cricket Preschool classroom for my child observation. When I got there, there was only one child present at the class, and when I asked the teacher if he was the only student in the class, she said the rest students were yet to come. So I began my observation of the child. For the purpose of this observation, I am going to call this child Dave.

Development of a Four Year Old Child Works Cited Not Included Enthusiasm in children is like a ripple in the water ... it spreads. ~Anonymous~ The study of child development helps us understand the changes we see as children grow and develop.

I observed in the preschool class for two hours, there were a total of 12 children in the class Most of the kids that are in the preschool class were four years old, but there was one five year old. When I first arrived at the preschool, the kids seemed very shy towards me and they did not seem like they were very sociable. I was a stranger to them, and I would have to guess that all of the children were experiencing a little bit of stranger anxiety. I talked to the teacher about how the children reacted to all “strangers” She said that the children often become very uneasy. As I sat down to observe the children, I noticed one thing right away. The boys in the group were very wild and rambunctious, and the girls seemed to be shy and

This study is intended to document my observation of a child between the ages of 2-5. The small child I observed is a 4 years old male. Family arrangements consist of the mother being the primary caregiver of her son. Since the child is not old enough to consent to my amateur study, I have received permission from the mother and father. The method used in this clinical report is a naturistic observation in which I went to the family’s household where I recorded his behavior for an hour.

There are numerous theories of play and countless theorists, from Freud and Spencer to Piaget and Vygotsky, who have studied play in relation to what it is and what it does for the child. This essay will outline the definition and value of play and the importance of how it can foster the child’s learning in regards to these theorists who studied the effects in great detail. It will discuss the how the environments constructed by educators can impact play and the theories of learning relating to the quote “play and learning are inextricably woven together ...” Ebbeck and Waniganayake, 2010, p. 5).

Edwards, C. P. (2002). Three Approaches from Europe: Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 4(1), 2-14. Retrieved from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/edwards.html

Child development theories focus on explaining how children change and grow over the course of childhood. These such theories center on many different aspects of development, including social, emotional and cognitive growth. (Cherry, Kendra-website) Jean Piaget 's theory defines the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development embraces changes in cognitive process and abilities. In Piaget 's view, early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later progresses into changes in mental operations. During this stage, young children 's play becomes progressively imaginary and filled with fantasies. As children develop cognitively, their play will move from simple make-believe to plots involving more characters and scenarios, games with sophisticated rules, etc. (Early Childhood Development-website). According to Piaget, playing isn 't just fun; it is an important part of brain development (Early Childhood Development-website). All children develop at their own times, but if a caregiver notices that the child is not developing normally it is important to get it checked out as soon as it

Secondly, it is important to consider the strengths of naturalistic observation as a method. This was identified when the child was consistently moving and doing different activities that allowed me to understand how he communicates with other children, how he behaves and what he learns from others. In the play setting the child was able to develop his thinking and according to the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (DOH, 2000) through social relationships, the child was encouraged to express his feelings, emotions, which was achieved by the setting creating an enjoyment environment.

Play is the foundation stone of children’s healthy and productive lives (Oliver & Klugman, 2002) and is also a significant means of child’s learning and development (Zigler, Singer & Bishop-

Play is usually a natural activity in early childhood and has significant importance in early childhood special education. Play assists in enhancing the children social competence, creativity, language development, and their thinking skills. Play is usually the key vehicle for the developing of language, social skulls in young children (Rogers ET all. 2009). Moreover, it serves as a functional behavior which contributes to the life quality of the children. .