Children Observation in Child Development Center - Personal Statement Example

Location: Miami Child Development Center First Observation (11/12 9:00 am to 10:00 am) Setting of the observation I observed the two children at the Miami University Child Development Center. I scheduled my visit in such a way that the first day. I observed a boy and a girl for an hour. It was a regular kindergarten classroom. It was not very big but it had all the necessary educational and fun items for children. There were paper charts drawing boards, sofa for kids, baskets, shells, and different drawings pasted on walls made by children. There were 11 children in total in the classroom. There were nine girls and two boys. Description of children Both the boy and the girl were less than six years old. They both looked healthy, active and dressed in casually. General Observation When I arrived in the classroom the boy was already playing with colors and cardboard puzzle pieces. He had scattered them on the floor and he was kneeling down looking over them trying to put together the puzzle. He was busy and it appeared that he liked to work alone. He was surrounded by different shelves he couldve asked the teacher for help to solve the puzzle but he didnt. He did not invite any friends either. Probably he did not want any friends to help with him in his task. The way he was handling the puzzles appeared that he was either comfortable or confident about his task. His by the language showed his self-reliant nature. And his confidence was evident as if he had done this before. I am not sure if he had seen this puzzle before but he certainly seemed confident enough that he was going to solve it. The girl was about the same age and she was busy painting with her friend. The girl with her friend was on her knees drawing and coloring a picture on the drawing board. It was apparent that these two girls were friends as they were talking and helping each other out. The girls seemed a little assertive because she was telling her friend were to color and what kind of shapes she should draw. She was not aggressive at all however, she was the one constantly instructing her friend. Toys During this observation the children remained busy with gender-neutral toys. The boy was solving a puzzle which had a picture of a sailboat on it. The drawing board, pencils and colors are also gender specific. The girl was busy drawing on paper. These toys or activities were neutral in all respects. There was hardly anything which will gender specific in the classroom. There were no pink areas as I have seen in other classrooms which are specific for girls. Usually the teachers put dollhouses and other toys that all the girls like to play with. This classroom did not have those activities. Activities The children engaged in several activities in 60 minutes. The staff members called all the children together around and sit on the benches. The teacher read them a story where she would ask the children different questions in between the story. These questions were designed to improve their cognitive abilities. For instance, the instructor told them a story about a prince who had to cross a river which was full of alligators. Then the instructor paused and asked the children to describe an alligator. The children would respond in unison and sometimes separately. But the encouraging part was engagement of every child in this activity. Observation of staff members The staff members were actively engaging with the children. They were constantly supervising and observing them. For instance the boy that I was observing in the classroom seemed isolated at times. The staff member would approach him and ask him how he was doing with the puzzle. Then she would ask him to show it to the other children to get some encouragement for him. Clearly she was trying to invite him to be more social. There were two supervisors in the room. One was actively engaging with every child. At times the girl that I was observing got a little too aggressive with her friend. To this, she rose to the occasion and encouraged the friends drawing as well. Second Observation 11/13 3:00pm to 5:00 pm General Observation (body language, activities, expressions, etc.) When I reached the center the next day I expected the boy to be involved in some activity in isolation. He had made an impression of being self-absorbed the previous day. But to my surprise he was organizing the books in the shelf with two girls. He did not seem overly cheerful but he was engaging with them. It was encouraging to see that he was more social today. He was hesitant and constantly asking for directions from the instructor about where to put the books in the shelf. Clearly he was not as confident as he was the previous day. He had confused expressions on his face. The girl was socially engaging the way she was doing it the other day. She seemed cheerful, talkative and showed same assertive behavior. She seemed overly confident about where to put the books in the shelf. She also showed some signs that she was difficult to control because she was constantly denying her friends suggestions. Toys During this observation the children did not have any gender specific toys or props to play with. They were arranging the books in the shelf. The facility had the same toys and props as yesterday. Today the children are arranging books on the shelf. Among the books there were distinctions for instance there were specific books about girls and there were books that boys would like to read more than the girls. For instance a book about a girl who builds her pink colored dollhouse and likes to live in it would be suitable for girls. On the other hand, books that have the protagonist of a boy who is adventurous and does things which are suited to boys such as venturing out, disobeying rules and eventually learning the lesson in the end is more suited to the character of the boy. Activities After about 15 minutes at the book shelf, the children were called by the staff member to go near the charts where she was sitting. The boy and the girl sat at the small plastic stools huddled around the supervisor. She had different objects placed in a basket. She picked out those objects one by one and asked the children what it was. She was looking for response from every child. The boy and the girl were sitting separately. The girl was responding to every query by the teacher. The boy was hesitant once again and the supervisor had to prompt him to express his thoughts. The teacher took out things like plastic ice cream cone, an alarm clock, rubber duck, gloves and many other house hold items. She was holding them in her hand asking questions like what does this do, or what is this used for. Observation of Staff Members The staff members very vigilant and active. They were taking care of the children to make sure that they learn good manners and behavior. It was nice to see that the three women in charge of the classroom were not merely giving ‘equal’ attention to every child. They were reacting to every child’s need. For instance, there was a girl dressed in fairy costume with her mother. She already had a supervisor and she did not need much attention. This girl seemed to be utterly uninterested in the group activities. She was nagging her mom to take her home. On the other hand, the boy that I was observing did not seem to participate much in the group activity and the supervisor was constantly encouraging him to take part. She was not asking him to give the right answer. Clearly, the boy was too unsure of his answer. The supervisor wanted him to just participate as if the right answers would come later. The girl was almost screaming out every answer and the teacher only used hand gestures at first to tell her to keep it low. When she did not follow her, she explained to the whole group (she did not point her out) that screaming and yelling is not a good habit. Others get irritated with loud noises. The she made the group repeat her lesson like a moto that when talking it is good not to talk too loud. Overall, the two days proved highly productive for me. I have observed two children, a boy and a girl who showed almost opposite characteristics. Probably, I chose them for this same reason. I wanted to see how they behave while I observed them. I have seen with my eyes the ‘operant conditioning’ in play during these two days. The first day I saw the boy keeping busy with himself. The next day I saw him participating in an activity with other two girls. I am certain that the supervisors of the group arranged it. They too wanted the boy to participate more with other children. Read More