1|Page

Cortes

Child Case Study

Guadalupe Cortes Child Development 201 September 14, 2013 Professor: B. Hunter

2|Page

Cortes

This child case study is on a young girl name Mariela P. She was observed at the Richard J. Daley Child Development Lab. Her birthday is on August and she is four-years-old. She has an elder sister and lives with her father, mother and sister. Throughout the paper, it will compare Marielas development to what develop mentalists say is normal. This paper is focused primarily on physical characteristics, self-esteem, social/emotional characteristics, language, play behaviors and evidence of special interests. The paper gives examples of how Mariela is successfully developing normal for her age. Mariela lives at home with her father, mother and sister. She is four-years-old, and the youngest member in the family. Marielas mother is the one that always brings her and picks her up from the Daycare Center. Mariela has no trouble at all separating from her mother when she is brought to the Daycare Center. Mariela is verry active child for being four years old. Mariela is normal average for her physical development. Mariela is physically fit and enjoys playing with others when allowed to do so. She enjoys running around every chance that she gets. When playing outside, she was able to skip, hop, and climb the playground ladder. She has a good sense of balance; she can jump, stand on one foot, and ride a tricycle. Mariela shows a preference for her right hand the most. She writes with her right hand, grabbed toys with both hands but more with her right hand. She is able to insert objects and use drawing and writing tools with control. Mariela is able to unfasten and fasten zippers and buttons all by herself with no trouble at all and with no help from the teacher. She likes the independence of being able to do things on her own. She is self-reliant in the bathroom and washes her hands when she arrives at the Daycare Center and when it is time to eat. At the Daycare Center, Mariela is able to use regular

3|Page

Cortes

pencils, colored pencils and markers quite well in order to write, draw and color. One of her favorite activities to do is to paint and draw. While painting, Mariela likes to make a mess because she thinks it is fun. She likes to draw her friends. Mariela is able to write her name precisely. She also likes to pick up the mess she makes. She is good at using her fine and gross motor skills while working on crafts and art. While being observed, Mariela likes to play with others and on her own as well. She is also a good friend to her classmates, and she gets along with them quite well. Mariela is in the constructive stage of play. She plays cooperatively with other children. Cooperative play is playing together, taking turns, and playing games. Mariela enjoys being physical, and it is beneficial for children to get a lot of activity, because it keeps them active. Overall, Mariela is in the average range for a four- year-old girl. In all aspects her physical growth is normal. She does everything that a four- year-old would do. She is a very active child and enjoys playing. Mariela is physically fit, and she enjoys playing outside doing physical activities. Mariela enjoys attending the daycare center and learning at the Richard J. Daley Child Development Lab. She likes to do many activities that deal with learning. For example, she likes to draw, paint, write her name and put puzzles together. Mariela is able to separate from her parents without difficulty. She makes eye contact with both of her teachers when they are talking to her or to the class. When teachers ask Mariela to choose an activity, she is able to choose an activity without the teachers help. Before Mariela chooses an activity, she first has to look around the class room in order to chooce the right activity for her. Mariela enjoys playing in the dramatic play area a lot; she spends most of her playing time in the dramatic play. She also displays enthusiasm when doing things for herself. Every time she makes a mess playing, she

4|Page

Cortes

always cleans up; the mess she makes without the teachers asking her to clean it up and every time she moves from one place to another, she cleans up the mess she makes. While observing Mariela, it is noticeable that she is friends with some of her peers in class. She knows that they are individuals, and they are all different from one another. Mariela loves to play in the dramatic play area and so do some of the other girls and boys in her class, so they get along and play well in that aspect. She typically plays with the girls because they are interested in the same things. Mariela plays well cooperatively. Mariela is smiling most of the time. She is always happy. She shows love for her friends by hugging them. She knows how to share. She also sometimes spends time watching others play for a while. She likes to do hands-on activities; so she is good at constructive play, as well. It is necessary for preschoolers to start developing good social skills. Overall, Mariela has many of the expected social/emotional skills and abilities for her age range. She is right on track developmentally for social and emotional skills. Mariela continues to grow rapidly in each stage of her life, and will continue to do so in the social/emotional stage. Cognitively, Mariela is in the normal category because according to develop mentalists, she is developing normal for her age. Examples are that Mariela knows how to write the letters of the alphabet. She knows how to write her name. She just does not know the correct order the letters go in. She is able to count. She is a good listener, and she is becoming interested in how to sound out certain words. These are just a few cognitive abilities which are normal for four-yearolds. As each year passes, and as Mariela continues to get older, cognitively she will continue to progress.

5|Page

Cortes

While being observed in the daycare center, Mariela is showing normal signs cognitively for a four-year-old child. According to Piaget, she is in the pre-operational stage. An example would be, while her teacher is giving instructions to the class, Mariela is listening closely; and she is able to follow tasks after being given instructions. Although when the teacher is reading a book that does not involve dancing or moving around, Mariela does not show interest and starts plating with her hair, hands and legs. When Mariela is working independently on a project, she will show her teacher what she has created in order for the teacher to give her a compliment. Mariela is able to complete assigned tasks without getting distracted. Mariela really enjoys learning and doing fun school activities. Marielas Language Development is improving. She listens to what the teacher tells her but does not speak sometimes. When the teacher asks her where she wants to go play, Mariela gives single word answers by naming the area she wants to go play in. Mariela enjoys chanting and singing every time the children sing a song in class. She has conversations with her friends. Mariela has a special interest on playing in the dramatic play area most of the time. Every time her teacher asks her where she wants to play, Mariela will answer dramatic play most of the time. There was not a day that Mariela will not play in the dramatic play area. Although, she also likes to draw pictures and write down her name in the drawing area. Most of Mariela's interest is devoted to the dramatic play area. When I first saw Mariela, it was during circle time and her teacher was reading a book to the class. Mariela was the little girl that first caught my attention because she could not stay still. She was playing around with her hair, hands and legs. She was uninterested on paying attention to the story her teacher was reading to the class. That is why I chose to do an observation on her.

6|Page

Cortes

I have enjoyed doing a case study over Mariela. I have learned many insightful strategies to see and understand if children are progressing adequately, according to their age throughout the early stages of their life. It is crucial that children progress accordingly, so they do not fall behind in school. After doing a case study, I now know what tips and signs to look for when deciding if a child is progressing in all aspects of life. The experience of visiting the Richard J. Daley Child Development Lab was really fascinating. The room had some pictures and artwork that the children have made. Each age group had their own teacher that taught them. I was observing a class with young children ages three to four, and the teachers name was Ms. Contreras. Ms. Contreras was fun-spirited, exciting, and she was always in a good mood and welcoming children with their parents to the daycare center. I learned many ideas from Ms. Contreras while I observed her teaching. It was fun to see what activities the children did throughout the time I observed, because every child participated in different areas of play. I went to the Richard J. Daley Child Development Lab on my free time to observe Mariela. I was able to observe when her mother brought her to the center and when her mother picked her up, as well. I was also able to observe Mariela doing different activities inside class and playing outside at the playground on her own and with a group of friends. I basically observed Mariela doing the same activities everyday that I went to the Richard J. Daley Child Development Lab. I wish I would have been able to observe Mariela speak more because every time she would speak, she was far away and I was not able to hear what she would say from the noise that was there. I also did not have the opportunity to see her use her imagination. I believe I would have learned more things about Mariela if I would have had the opportunity to speak with her in person.

7|Page

Cortes

At the cognitive level, it is important for four-year-old, to start learning how to write; and I observed this by watching Mariela write her name. She knows the letters of her name, but I was not able to tell if she knew the rest of the alphabet. I watched her interact with her peers socially. I really enjoyed and had a great time observing Mariela. I looked forward to every day that I will have to be teaching and observing young children. It was a great experience, and it will help me in my future with my teaching career.