1. Describe the physical development of the child you observed.

Describe exactly what the child was physically doing. What small muscle skills and/or large muscle skills did the child use? How active was the child? I observed Zoe, a 13 month old child, for a period of several hours at a family gathering. According to the text and the Degree of motor development, Zoe is slightly ahead in her large muscle/gross motor skills development. Zoe walks easily, sometimes using furniture for support, but not often. She is still wobbly in her gait. She occasionally fell a bit off balance, but was able to correct it without falling down. During this visit, she was not allowed to venture up or down stairs, so I was not able to observe her development in that area. The fine motor skills she has developed where observed in several areas. Zoe was able to use a sippy cup with handles. She was able to pick up her food and put it into her mouth. Zoe played with several different types of toys. With one toy, a musical toddler mailbox that was about her size was a favorite. She was able to easily open the mailbox handle, place the letter (thick plastic toy mail) in the mailbox, and close the mailbox. Another toy (one that my wife purchased and really wanted Zoe to play with) was a Weebles playhouse. The Weebles slid down an opening and when they hit the bottom, music played and the toy lit up. The opening to the slot for the Weebles to slide down was not much bigger than the Weebles themselves, and Zoe did not have an easy time getting the Weebles to slide down so she could see/hear the lights and music.

2. Did you observe the childs language skills? Include an example of the childs verbalizations. How did the child communicate? How does this relate to expectations for this age? What nonverbal communication skills did the child use? Apply language development theories and stages of language development for a child this age. Probably the most interesting non-verbal manner in which Zoe communicated was in simple sign language. Zoe knew the signs for eat, more, please and tired/sleepy. I had never observed a child that knew any sign language, and this appeared to be a perfect example of conditioning. This was her primary means of communication. When she wanted something to eat drink, she walked or crawled (crawled when tired), put her arms around her leg and after she got her attention would give the sign for the item she wanted. Zoe was able to verbalize just a few words, the most frequent being the name of the family dog, a Boston terrier named tic-tac. When she said his name, it sounded like teh-teh, but there were two definite syllables. She also said ma for her mom, which sounded much like her spoken word for more. The Variation in Milestones graph in our text indicates that her language development is average, and as expected, she has not yet hit her vocabulary spurt. Zoe understood many words including kiss, hug, bye-bye, eat, car, and the names for her cousins and aunts and uncles, among other things. I did note that there was much child-directed speech, which I had not paid much attention to in the past.

3. Describe the types of social interactions with other children and adults you observed for this child. Who did the child interact with? Was the child an onlooker, unoccupied, or involved in cooperative play. Describe characteristics of the childs interactions that indicate unique development (e.g. leader/follower, cooperative/competitive.) What levels of play (symbolic, games, constructive, parallel, cooperative, etc) are included in these activities? Relate this childs behavior to what you have learned about social development and play in Santrock. Zoe interacted with a variety of people, all older than her. At the time I observed Zoe, she interacted with her 8 year old cousin, her 15 year old cousin and numerous adults. She interacts with the majority of these people, aside from her parents and grandparents, one time her month/month-and-ahalf. In all instances, the first play interaction between Zoe and other were initiated by other people. After the first play interaction, Zoe would initiate play, most often with her 8 and 15 year old cousins. Zoe exhibited sensorimotor play, as with the mailbox mentioned earlier. Zoe liked to play with toys or objects that produced a sound, music or noise. For example, a telephone. When playing with another, Zoe would press the buttons that would make noise, and then hand the phone to the other person and expect that they would talk to whoever was on the other end. I would say that she also exhibited practice play in her interactions, such as with the mailbox mentioned earlier. Zoe did not exhibit pretense or symbolic play, always

using objects with the purpose they were designed for. I did not see any instances of competitive play, either. 4. Describe the cognitive abilities you observed (e.g. problem solving curiosity, knowledge of the basic skills, memory, and other cognitive skills)? How did these abilities compare to expectations of this age? Refer to at least two theories such as Piaget, social learning theory, behaviorists, etc. to explain the cognitive level of the child. Although I understand the criticisms of Piagets view of the developmental stages, Zoe clearly fits into his description of the 5th sub-stage of the sensorimotor stage. This stage is described as the stage where a child begins to explore and learn the things that an object can do. For example, a ball that will bounce, a toy phone that will say different phrases when different buttons are pressed, how the dog reacts when his fetch toy is thrown. According to Piaget, Zoe will remain in this stage for several months before she learns and incorporates imaginative and symbolic play. I can see why the early behaviorists theorized that language was learned simply by being rewarded after mumbling a certain phrase. However, when I observed Zoe, her 8 year old cousin and 15 year old cousin would state a word; Zoe would attempt to copy the sound they made on about half of the occasions they tried to get her to speak a certain word associated with a toy or game they were playing. 5. Describe the emotions you believe were expressed in the child? Emotions that may be evident are the following: fear, boredom,

sadness, anger, distress, jealousy, excitement, delight, joy, elation, affection. For three of the emotions you observed, describe the situation in which is occurred and describe how the emotion was communicated (i.e. facial expression, body movement, verbal, etc.) Summarize your observation of the childs emotions in relation to what is normative for a child this age. Relate to Ericksons stages of psychosocial development for a child of this age. Zoe experienced several emotions at different times when I was observing her. When I arrived, she had been walking around, playing and giggling on the floor of the kitchen at her grandparents house. As my family walked in, she stopped playing, her eyes widened and she ran to grandpa and put her arms up to be picked up. Because she had not seen my family in the last month and a half, she was reluctant and a little fearful. This falls in step with Ericksons first stage of development- trust versus mistrust. Ericksons second stage of development is autonomy versus shame and doubt, which is where toddler will begin to discover that their behavior is their own and that they have their own will. Erickson states that this stage develops between ages 1-3. I would say that Zoe certainly expressed her own will, especially when it was nap time. After observing Zoe for a couple hours, she was getting tired. She was rubbing her eyes, fussed quite a bit, and only wanted to be around her mom. Although tired is not an emotion, I would say that tired triggers many emotions from sadness to frustration to anger. I also observed delight. This occurred when Zoe was playing peek-a-boo with her 15 year old cousin. Her face lit up each time her cousin removed her hands from her eyes and said peek-a-boo to her. She giggled and smiled.

6. What did you observe about this childs gender identity and/or gender role concept? Did the child exhibit flexible gender role behavior or gender-typed behavior? Discuss in terms of what is normative for a child this age. Zoe did not exhibit signs of understanding he gender identity. This is normal for her age, and generally occurs by age three. Zoes play was not gender specific, and her favorite toys were neither toys geared for boys or for girlswith one exception. Zoe loves shoes. On this particular occasion, she received a belated birthday gift of very glittery, sparkly shoes, and she was elated. Her mother is not especially fond of shoes, and believes Zoes love for shoes is more likely the result of the shiny, glittery, sparkly fabric little girls dress up shoes are made of and from the positive attention she receives when wearing them (i.e. ooohs and ahhhhs.)

7. Based on your observations, what overall conclusions can you draw about the childs physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development level in relation to normative developmental expectations? Base your comments on theoretical foundations. Summarize your observation by discussing the most notable development information that you gained about the child through your observation. Relate your conclusions to at least two specific theorists such as Piaget, Erickson, Brofenbrenner. Refer to class notes and your text as appropriate. This is an overall summary that

must reflect your application of specific theories and developmental properties. An overall picture of Zoes development would indicate that she is progressing at a rate that is normal for her age group. It is unfortunate that the text did not mention more about sign language, as I understand from Zoes parents that she has been signing minimal words since a very young age, and it would be interesting to see where that is incorporated into various theorists opinions about the stages of development- is it a predictor of future development and at what stage of development does it belong? This aspect of her development fascinated me the most, and its tie to conditioning. Her parents mentioned that signing appeared to be growing in popularity as a precursor to spoken language. Zoe fit into the trust versus mistrust stage of Ericksons development, at her age she is appropriately attempting to navigate through, and looking to her parents and trusted adults (grandparents) for guidance. Zoes physical development is also on par with her peers, her gross and fine motor skills within the range of normal. At 13 months, she is walking without assistance and she is able to grasp objects on her own for play and at meal time. She is fascinated by cause and effect- i.e. what happens when food is thrown out of the highchair tray and onto the floor. This clearly fits into Piagets 5th sub-stage of the sensorimotor stage of development. This stage of development lasts from birth to approx 2 years of age. The 4th sub stage, manipulating objects for a desired result, lasts form approx. 8-12 months.

Zoe has clearly mastered that. She has not yet progressed into the 6th substage. 8. When we are observing our own underlying assumptions (beliefs, attitudes past experiences, family background, race, ethnicity, etc.) tends to influence our observations and interpretations of people and events. Discuss your underlying assumptions about children, your expectations, your background or family of origin, your beliefs and attitudes and how those influenced your observations of the child. Ive not had much experience with children as young as Zoe. I married my wife when my step-children were past that stage, and I did not babysit when I was younger. Because I have now been around Zoe on a semi-regular basis, I am more accustomed as to what to expect, for the most part. Because there were no young children in the family, I did have to learn as I went. There was nothing within this observation of Zoe that surprised me greatly. However, I am always amazed by what unique personalities children have at such a young age. I would say that was a bias of mine- that babies (children under a year) do not yet have a string personality. I enjoyed this observation. You view a child completely differently when you are watching and observing for certain criteria!