Running head: OBSERVATION

Preschool Observation
Elizabeth Shields
Ivy Tech Community College

PRESCHOOL OBSERVATION

Introduction
For my second child observation, I observed my friend Jammie Johns little boy Jamison
Johns. Jamison will be five in December. Jamison was right on track for his physical,
intellectual, emotional, social, and ethical development. Out of all the items listed that we needed
to observe, there was only one item that Jamison could not do.
Physical Development
For physical development Jamison could do all the items listed except for drawing
alphabet letters. When I was observing Jamison and asking his mother questions, she said that he
could probably write them but it would just be drawing shapes to him. Jammie said that he would
not know what he was writing. When Jamison went to skip he gave himself a running start and
then skipped, ran a little and skipped with the other leg. During this observation, he stacked
dominos instead of blocks (there were no blocks around), but I have observed him stacking
blocks in the nursery at church.
Intellectual Development
For intellectual development Jamison could do all the items listed. While I was there he
was playing with the dominos a lot. He was using his imagination with the dominos and using
them as tickets for a train and he was a conductor. He was giving both me and his mom tickets
and we were to go on the train. Jamison likes to group things by color, shape, and size. He is able
to count to ten and was counting the dominos on the dominos box.
Emotional Development
For emotional development Jamison showed all the signs of being on track developing
properly for his age. Jamison shows self-control, although sometimes he chooses not show selfcontrol. Self-control would be defined as the ability to control ones behavior and to inhibit

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impulsive responding to temptations (Kail, 2010). He also shows empathy to others, if a child
gets hurt he goes to see if they are okay. He also shows pride in his abilities. Jammie said that
Jamison loves to draw and that when he draws something he will usually take his art work over
to Jammie and say Look mom. When I first got there they were eating lunch and after he was
done he automatically took his plate to the sink and threw away his applesauce container. I was
really impressed with that because what I have observed in public with children his age, they
usually do not willingly do chores.
Social Development
For social development Jamison showed that he was developing properly for his age.
Jamison will play with a group of children, for example building blocks in nursery with other
children. He will join in on activities that were suggested by other children for example, playing
cops with his brother. He will suggest activities for example, playing dominos. He plays
cooperatively with others and refers to his brother, DJ, as his best friend. When I asked Jammie if
he showed awareness of the differences between boys and girls, she said that he did and he was
quite the ladies man. According to Kohlbergs Cognitive Theory of Gender Identity there are
three elements that involved in fully understanding gender differences. The first step would be
gender labeling which occurs between the ages of two and three, the second step is gender
stability (knowing that gender is stable) which happens in preschool years, and the third would
be gender consistency (knowing that gender does not changed based on situations) which
happens between the ages of four and seven. (Kail, 2010)
Ethical Development
For ethical development Jamison showed that he was developing properly for his age.
Jamison knows that certain actions result in reward and certain actions result in punishment.

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Jammie said that he does show signs of guilt and if he does something bad he will say Mom,
Im sorry. Jamison will also tell an adult if a child breaks a rule.
Typical Observations
From my observations, Jamison is developing right on track. He was able to do all items
listed except for one, which was writing his alphabet letters. He is a typical four-year-old in that
he has a lot of energy and says a lot of funny phrases. He loves to play and considers his older
brother his best friend. He shows pride in his art work and usually takes the picture to his
mom, saying look mom.
Unusual Observations
When I was observing and researching I noticed that there were two items that were not
typical of Jamisons age group. The first item that was not typical for his age group is that when
he was asked to count he could only count to ten. According to Allen and Marotz (2010),
children should be able to count to twenty by the age of four (p.148). The second item that was
not typical for his age group was being able to draw letters. According to his mother, he would
be able to replicate an alphabet letter that an adult drew but he would not be able to write them
from memory.
Observation Experience
This observation was not only fun, but it was also informative. Through the observation
and the research that went along with it, I have a better understanding of the development of
preschool aged children. The information I learned from researching and observing is definitely
something I can take with me to my future classroom.

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5
References

Allen, K. and Marotz, L. (2010). Developmental profiles pre-birth through twelve. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.
Kail, R.V. (2010). Children and their development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.