Observation #2

Class/secti
on:
Your
Name:
Assignmen
t:

FHS 1500-004
Cortney Chee
Observation 2

Background
Childs age:
Fictitious
name:
Location:
Brief
Description:

Information
4 years old
Jacob
ABC Pre-School on Redwood Road and 7200 South
Day Care with about 15 children. Ages ranging from 3
months to 5 years old.

Physical Development
1. In class, Jacob was playing with a fire truck in the play room. When he
finished playing with the fire truck he put it down and walked back into the
classroom to play with a ball. When he was finished playing with the ball he
wanted to play with the fire truck again. Jacob remembered what room to go
in and exactly what shelf he left the fire truck on. This means that his
"hippocampus" was working inside of his brain. "The hippocampus is a brain
structure that is a central processor of memory, especially memory for
locations." (Berger, 2014, p. 180.)
2. Jacob seemed to have fear and anxiety around the children that he did
not know as well. He acted wary of them and did not want to be very social
with them. I believe that this means that Jacob's "amygdala" was working in
his brain. The "amygdala is the tiny brain structure that registers emotions,
particularly fear and anxiety. " (Berger, 2014, p. 180.)
3. When Jacob was outside playing at recess, his shoe came untied. He tried
and tried to tie it by himself and could not do it. Finally, his teacher went up
to him and asked him if he needed help. Jacob told her that he could do it as
long as she did it with him. The teacher tied her shoe and showed Jacob step
by step how to do it. Jacob tied his shoe all by himself. This is an example of
"zone of proximal development" this is "Vygotsky's term for the skillscognitive as well as physical- that a person can exercise only with assistance,
not yet independently.

Cognitive Development
1. When Jacob was sitting at his desk during coloring time, he had every tool
that he was using in a specific place. He even arranged the crayons laying on
his desk in a certain order. (Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange.) Every time he picked
up a crayon, he would put it back in the place that he thought it belonged. If
a child borrowed a crayon from him and put it back in the wrong spot, Jacob
would correct it. Jacob has what is called "just right" which is "the tendency
of children to insist on having things done in a particular way. THis can
include clothes, food, bed-time routines, and so on." (Berger, 2014, p. 169.)
2. When I was observing Jacob in his class, his teacher told him that she will
miss him when he leaves her class next year. Jacob said, "Why are you going
to miss me? I am not going anywhere, I will be in your class forever." This is
an example of Jacob using "static reasoning" because Jacob thinks that he
will be in pre-school forever and will never move onto another class. "Static
reasoning is a characteristic of preoperational thought whereby a young child
thinks that nothing changes. Whatever is now, has always been and always
will be." (Berger, 2014, p. 185.)
3. During reading time, Jacob was trying to explain to his reading buddy
everything that he saw in the book. For example, he saw a dog digging in the
dirt and he went on and on about how the dog lives in the house and likes to
go in the back yard and dig in the dirt but he gets in trouble when he does
that because it makes his mommy and daddy angry. This is an example of
the "theory-theory" this is "the idea that children attenpt to explain
everything they see and hear." (Berger, 2014, p. 186.)
Social/Emotional Development
1. When Jacob was sitting at the table coloring, he was particularly rude to
one little boy. I could tell that they did not like each other very much. Jacob
seemed to have a specific hatred toward him. Jacob was nice to everyone
else on the table except for that one boy. I believe that this was an example
of "antipathy- feelings of dislike or even hatred for another person." (Berger,
2014, p. 226.)
2. During playtime, Jacob went up to the little boy that he disliked and bit
him on his arm very hard. The child started crying and Jacob started
laughing. The teacher witnessed the whole thing and put Jacob in time out.
This is an example of "antisocial behavior- actions that are deliberately
hurtful or destructive to another person." (Berger, 2014, p. 226.)
3. When Jacob bit that little boy's arm, he did it for no reason. The little boy
was not being rude to him or antagonizing him at all. Jacob just bit him out of

his own anger. When his teacher caught him in the act she told Jacob that
this was his third time this week doing the same action to the same little boy.
This is an example of "bullying aggression- unprovoked, repeated physical or
verbal attack, especially on victims who are unlikely to defend themselves."
(Berger, 2014, p. 227.)

Reference List
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.