MOHO Model Of Human Occupation Model

The Model of Human Occupation is an occupation-focused theoretical model that is categorized into concepts that examine the person’s volition, habituation, and performance capacity when participating in an occupation (Forsyth et al, 2014, p. 506). By applying MOHO to my community partner Sunshine, the dynamics of how his personal factors and environmental factors influence his overall occupational participation are analyzed.

I observed a classroom of four-year-old students who are enrolled at the Child Development Center on the George Mason University campus. This observation lasted about fifteen minutes with a total of twelve students in the classroom. At the time of my observation the students were engaging in free playtime where they are allowed to play games, make crafts, and interact with their fellow classmates. I was seated in the corner of the classroom where the children could not easily see me or get distracted by me. I stayed seated throughout the whole observation so the students would not be affected by my presence. Many different activities were happening at the same time, but a couple standout situations reminded me of many subject areas we

It's a regular Tuesday morning, just like any other. A Hispanic mother is called to the school for a meeting for a consultation about her son’s performance. While in the meeting, the principal tells her that her child is in the 2nd grade, but is very behind. He adds the fact that her child does not understand the language the teacher speaks, and consequently, is not learning. The mother feels helpless since she cannot help him by reason of not understanding the language either. Hence, this is the difficult reality for numerous Hispanic families.

Did you know that play expands a child’s learning and development? Once parents understand that play is crucial in their child’s life then they can begin to help their son or daughter be the best he or she can be. According to Lev Vygotsky “play shapes how children make sense of their worlds, how they learn thinking skills, and how they acquire language.” After spending time at the Bombeck Center I learned that children play in many diverse ways, thus learning numerous new things within each center in which they interact. Lev Vygotsky along with Jean Piaget researched the need for guided social interaction as well as the necessity for spontaneous, self-discovered learning. The Bombeck Center focuses on a play-based learning curriculum to ensure a child’s ability to access social interactions and self-discoveries at the tip of their fingers.

The interaction a preschooler has with the surrounding environment, whether it be physical or social, has a significant impact on the child’s development. Ramani (2012), had taken a look at playful environment versus a structured environment to see which one benefited children more when it came to social interaction and joint problem solving. The interaction shown in the experiment showed that a playful environment benefits children more because they are free to communicate and interact with other children, they were more observant of their environment, would imitate more to get their point across, and were overall more positive. Denham, Bassett, Zisser, and Wyatt (2014) evaluated the child’s engagement with the surrounding physical and social environment, along with taking a look at the ways social-emotional learning can predict how academically ready the children are.

For this assignment, I interviewed Alejandro Perez who my current significant other. He currently works as a subcontractor for construction. He is twenty-six years old. He is the oldest child in his family. He has four other brother and one sister. He identifies as Mexican because he was born and raised in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. At the age of sixteen, his father along with a guide immigrated to California. During the interview, I asked him what it meant to be a male in the Latino Culture. We talked about his primary cultural values, his bicultural experience, and consequences of oppression, counseling issues, and his perception to an effective learning environment.

E5 Include an explanation of how observations can inform planning to meet children's learning needs

Young children learn and grow everyday. Especially, young children, the ages three years to five years old, learn important skills while they play with friends and interact with their teachers. Janice J. Beaty (2014) states that for young children, “play is their way of learning” (p. 167) Thus, teachers need to observe children while they play and assess the development of the child because “Knowing the development of a young child helps a teacher to plan the curriculum, to set up activities for individuals, or to ask for special help when necessary” (Beaty, 2014, p. 3).

The observation of Eddy, a 43 months old child born in the United States but whose parents were born and raised in Cuba took place on a Saturday early afternoon in the living room of the kid’s house. The house from front to back was covered with toys of different colors and shapes along with security measures for the kid’s safety in every room. According to the mother, the family is trying to continue with parent’s traditions along with some acquires in the States like Christmas and Thanksgivings. Also, the mother explained that the child has been raised talking a mix of Spanish and English and they

Play-based learning is described as a “context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they actively engage with people, objects and representations” (EYLF 2009, p. 46). Headstart Early Learning Centre has a strong emphasis on play-based learning as they believe it is the best vehicle for a child’s learning as it provides the most appropriate stimulus for their brain development.

At the Lehman Day Care center, I observed children from ages three to four years old. Students are mostly Hispanic, few are Asian, and their only two students that are Black. There are two male East African teachers and a Latino female teacher assistant. The main teacher set up assignments for the class and the second teacher helps the students to complete their assignments most of the time. The job of the teacher assistant is to help set up student’s food and help with any language barrier between Latino students and the main teacher.

While observing in Mrs. Lewis’ Kindergarten classroom I noticed that there are several diversities that exist amongst her students. I am aware that two students in the room have IEPs and are accommodated for as needed, specifically in the time they are given to complete activities and the scale in which they are graded in comparison to their peers. Also, there several children that are a different ethnicity than Mrs. Lewis herself, but are always treated in an unbiased manner by Mrs. Lewis as well as her aid, Ms. Pam. In addition, I am aware that there are no ELL students within the classroom, but due to the presence of Latino children Mrs. Lewis has laminated posted taped to objects in the class that have the Spanish term

Play contributes to children’s “physical, emotional and social well-being” (Else, 2009, p.8) and through play, the child’s holistic development and well-being is being constantly accounted for as is it led by the individual. The child decides what s/he wants to do and does it; it is

In addition to play promoting pleasure as well as physical activity, play forms the holistic growth in children’s development, or to put it in another way using Brown (2003) acronym, acknowledged as ‘SPICE’; play represents the ‘social interaction’; ‘physical activity’; ‘intellectual stimulation’; creative achievement and emotional stability, (with the addition of “compound flexibility”) in a child’s development. Compound flexibility is the idea that a child’s psychological development occurs using the relationship between his/her environment with the adaptability of the child himself. Thus the flexibility of surroundings and his/her adaptableness can provide children the means to explore; experiment and investigate (Brown, 2003, pp. 53-4). On the contrary, the absence of social interaction and physical activity through the means of play can inhibit children’s overall development and without the consistency of play children suffer a “chronic lack of sensory interaction with the world, [which leads to] a form of sensory deprivation” (Hughes, 2001, p.217 in Lester and Maudsley 2006).

Fine motor skills refer to the ‘small muscles’ in the hands. Proper development of these muscles is crucial for children to succeed academically in writing and self help skills. According to the National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC), “Fine motor skills form an important foundation for the acquisition of many other skills, including literacy, numeracy, self-help and the ability to perform many everyday tasks” (2008). Children start to develop motor skills from birth, and the ways in which children’s muscles develop will later affect their motor function. Caretakers often look for the typical milestones that infants develop; however, infants acquire development at different rates benefiting child growth. From birth through the early grades (preschool to second grade) children are constantly using their fine motor skills to eat, dress themselves, and in social settings such as school. These skills link to infancy development and are factors in knowing how well children will succeed. The following sub-topics address fine motor development and the importance of occupational therapy interventions: