Emily Walker
I. Background Information
My observation was done with a four-year-old boy by the name of Braxton Wood. This
child study observation was done at the home of the Woods located in Avon, Indiana.
The subject often enjoys spending his time outdoors, and lets his imagination run
completely wild. The subject is four years old, and just recently had a birthday on
February 22. The subject has a younger sister who is the age of two named Tarren. The
childrens parents mother is 35 and the father is 41, and they are married. The subject and
sister are adopted by both parents. You could easily tell the love they have for those
children just by looking at their toys at their home. Each toy had ranged from many
different colors, shapes, and sizes. All the toys the parents have are age appropriate for
the children. It made my heart feel so delighted that both children were taken care of
regardless if they werent the parents biological children. In the home downstairs and
upstairs there were playrooms for the children. The subject has many toys such as stuffed
animals, cars, balls, and much more. The subjects favorite thing that he enjoys doing is
watching SpongeBob every morning with his daddy. This home is what I wouldve
dreamed of living as a kid. I couldnt believe how much they spoil each child.
The subject follows a daily routine every day and one thing that the mom had
stated about her sons routine is that, structure is a must. Every day the subject awakes
at 7:00 AM, and goes downstairs to watch SpongeBob with his father. After the subject
watches, SpongeBob with his father for about thirty minutes, the father then prepares his
son some breakfast. The father explains that the subject is very picky when it comes to
food, and his breakfast normally consist of different types of cereal. While his father
prepared him breakfast, the subject then walked upstairs to get himself dressed. I found it
Running head: CHILD STUDY OBSERVATION 3
spectacular how the subject instantly went upstairs, and immediately dressed themselves.
I thought that it was unusual for a four-year-old to dress themselves at such a young age.
The subject had randomly picked clothing to wear for the day. The subject did need help
buttoning his pants, and as well as buttoning his shirt. It was amazing being able to
experience how children view things versus how adults view them.
While the subject walked upstairs to get his clothing I briefly had noticed how the
subject wobbled while walking upstairs. The father had explained to me that the subject
always holds onto the rail as he walks upstairs. I had found this completely normal for a
child of the age of four. The subject had wobbled like a penguin as he proceeded to go
upstairs. After the subject changed his clothing we had went outside to enjoy the fresh air.
The subject had run around the backyard pretending he was an evil witch. The whole
time I couldnt help but chuckle at the subject. One thing I had noticed is that as the
subject was running it had reminded me of an angry penguin. The subject had wobbled
each time he switched directions while running. While being outside the subject had
wanted to play ball. I had told the subject to throw the ball to me. As I demanded the
subject to throw the ball he had hesitated. As he threw the ball the subjects arm had
twisted and the ball had immediately hit the ground. The subject had seemed extremely
disappointed after this occurring. The subject didnt understand why it was so challenging
to throw a ball. After playing outside the subject, and I had walked back inside. The
subject had wanted to draw and color with new markers the parents had purchased. While
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the subject was coloring, I had got out some blocks. Immediately the subject had shown
more interest in the blocks than coloring. I had instructed the subject to stack blocks
without making them fall. The subject had then proceeded to stack blocks next to one
another. The subject was easily able to stack eight blocks without the blocks falling.
Intellectual development is when the child can solve problems, and think creatively.
While being in the basement the subject played with his stuffed animals. As the subject was
playing with his animals he had pretended they were real life people. While playing with the
subject we had pretended that the couch was a home for his pretend people. It made my heart
so happy experiencing how broad the subjects imagination was. The subject and I had
pretended that the stuffed animals were a family. According to the article it states, Children
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at this age begin to develop their own unique personality. (Morin, N.D). One task that I had
the subject do is sort a set of buttons by colors. The colors of the buttons had consisted of
pink, yellow, red, orange, and green. As I told the subject to sort the buttons by color, he then
proceeded to tell me that his favorite color was yellow. He told me that color of yellow
makes him happy. After the subject, had sorted the buttons by color, I then had told the
subject to sort the buttons by size. The subject had no problem grouping the buttons by size. I
had found that it had taken the subject longer to sort the buttons by color than by size. I had
asked the subject which task was easier, and the subject had explained that sorting the
buttons by size was harder for the subject. I had found this abnormal because the subject
didnt take that much time sorting the buttons by size as he did with color. After the button
activity I had asked the subject to count how many balls he had in his playroom. The subject
had easily counted five balls in the room accurately. It was pretty impressive how the subject
While being in the basement with the subject, I had noticed how difficult of a time the
subject had sharing with his young sister. Instead of having self-control the subject had
immediately snatched a toy right from the subjects sisters hand. The subject then proceeded to
play with the toy as the sister got upset, and bit the subjects hand. In the article, Preschooler
Emotional Development it states Four-year-old children may use hitting, biting, and pushing to
solve conflicts (N.D). It had come to my knowledge that the subject didnt like sharing with
others. At this age, its perfectly normal for children to not want to share with others. In their
Running head: CHILD STUDY OBSERVATION 6
heads, they dont understand, and believe that everything belongs to them. While playing with
the subject the sister had smashed her finger while playing with a toy. The subject had felt
empathy for the sister as she then proceeded to cry. The subject had then immediately run over to
comfort the subjects little sister. I had found it pretty astonishing on how the subject had shown
a good understanding on why she was upset. The subject had thrown a toy at the wall. The father
had spoken to the subject and explained that its not okay to throw toys. The subject had seemed
V. Social Development
On February 14, I had the opportunity to experience the subject in a social setting. At
White Oak, Elementary is where the subject attends Seedlings Preschool. The subject isnt so
ecstatic about his mother dropping him off early in the morning. As his mother drops him off,
and gives a kiss goodbye the subject then begins to weep. I couldnt help but begin to feel
sorrowful for the subject, because I know when I was a youngster I dreaded when my mother
would drop me off at school. As children filled the classroom the subject had hid behind a
teachers assistant back hiding from all the blaring children. The subjects friends had spotted
subject behind the teachers back hiding from everybody. I had thought to myself that this was a
red flag for the subject not wanting to separate from the teacher. Immediately, the subjects
friends ran up behind the teacher to hug the subject. In the article, Child Development
Milestones for 4 Year Olds-Social it states That children develop at different speeds (N.D). I
had come to conclusion that it was perfectly normal for the subject to not feel comfortable being
around his peers. Every child learns, and achieves milestones at different rates.
Running head: CHILD STUDY OBSERVATION 7
children
Joins in activities
No
understanding why
we should share.
around the
classroom.
Shows difference The subject said hes
another friend.
Towards the end of this observation I was amazed on how big the mind of a young four-year-
old could be. I never realized how much a four-year-old can do. It was nice having a comparison
of what a young subject can do versus what an adult can do. While being in the classroom with
the subject I had stayed while the children took a nap. Every day they take naps right after lunch
at 12 pm. The children are then each assigned a spot in the classroom with a cot to lay on. Each
child has their own sleeping stuff which had consisted of a blanket, and pillow. The teacher had
explained that every Friday the children take their nap stuff home so its able to be washed. The
number of children in the classroom was sixteen. I had found that this was an extremely high for
the number of preschoolers being in an undersized classroom. As the preschoolers were resting,
the teacher had played soothing lullaby music. I had spoken with the teacher, and asked her what
they do with children that are ill during nap time. She had mentioned that in the developmental
preschool room they have a room where children can be isolated from others. The developmental
preschool room was located right down the hall from the classroom I was in. The teacher then
had expressed how every childs needs are met at this school. This observation has boosted my
perceptive of child development. Ive come to conclusion that not every child can grow up, and
speak at the same rate of others. This observation has opened my eyes to the world of children. I
have gained much awareness on the subjects weaknesses, strengths, interests, and as well as
skills.
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Resources:
Child Development Milestones for 4 Year Olds - Social. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28,
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/preschooler-emotional-development#1
Morin, A. (n.d.). Developmental Milestones for Typical 4-Year-Olds. Retrieved February 28,
symptoms/developmental-milestones/developmental-milestones-for-typical-4-year-olds