PEPSI SCREENING

PEPSI Screening

Jelaila Gonzalez

EDU 220

Dr. Rochelle Hooks

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Biography

Tyson Fano is a six-year-old boy who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born on May

28, 2015. At the time of birth, he weighed nine pounds and measured eighteen inches in length.

A c-section delivered Tyson with no complications. His mother's overall time in labor was

twenty hours. Tyson Fano was the first child this couple had together. Neither mother nor father

has other children.

Tyson Fano's ethnic background is Puerto Rican. His mother, Leilani Fano (29), was born

in Chicago, Illinois, and his father, Reynaldo Fano (31), was born in Puerto Rico. Tyson's

parents have been married for four years and together as a couple for eight years. They are still

married. As a result of both Leilani and Reynaldo being fluent in Spanish, Tyson is also fluent in

Spanish. He can read and write in both English and Spanish.

It is usual for the families' relatives to visit the family in their home in the household.

Tyson has five cousins whose ages range from two to ten years old. Tyson enjoys playing with

his cousins and has a close bond with them. Tyson isn't afraid to take the lead when playing with

his cousins or friends. Tyson is considerate and mindful enough to include others in his thought

process. He asks questions often, looking to understand the world around him. Although he is

close to his mother and father, the strongest bond seems to be with his mother. Many adults in

Tyson's life can have a close and consistent relationship with him. This is a result of the size of

his extended family.

Tyson's interests include soccer, shows about animals and making slime. At the age of

five, his mother enrolled Tyson in team soccer. Since then, he has demonstrated a budding

passion for the sport and his relationships with other team members. Tyson shows great pride in

himself when he discusses his soccer team and his role on the team. Tyson's mother and father

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will stick to this extracurricular activity, as they feel it fits perfectly with Tyson's "go-getter"

attitude and natural sense to lead.

Physical Development

Since birth, Tyson has had an above-average height and weight. For most of his early

doctor visits, his weight and size were always in the 90% percentile. Currently, Tyson weighs 65

lbs and is 50 inches tall. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tyson

would be considered 95% taller and heavier than boys of the same age. Leilani says he is often

the tallest child in his class.

Tyson enjoys gross motor activities and has always been known to be more physical. He

enjoys running, wrestling, climbing, and being outdoors. Both Tyson's mother and father

prioritize exercise routines in their lives. They consider themselves to be a very active family. It

is for this reason Tyson's parents enrolled him in soccer at the age of five. "Children in the ages

of 5 to 6 start learning how to jump rope, skate, and start participating in organized sports such as

soccer, basketball, and swimming" (Oswalt, Child Development and Parenting, par. 6).

Tyson has an athletic build and is very lean. Although his energy levels are high, his

mother and father make sure to encourage periods of rest. According to Snowman and Mccown

"Children still need rest periods; they become fatigued easily due to physical and mental

exertion" (pg. 84). As a result of his natural urges to be physical and active, Leilani will still

welcome naps and tv time for recovery.

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Figure 1-1 National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion shows the

average weight and height for boys ages 2-20. Tyson’s height and weight are reflected on the

graph above using red circles. According to this chart, Tyson is well above the average for both

height and weight.

Emotional Development

Tyson is a natural-born leader and communicator. For his age, he seems exceptionally

able to express how he feels and regulate those feelings. During soccer practices, he can show

healthy expressions of frustration and disappointment. Also, during soccer practice, Tyson is

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empathetic towards his team members. Snowman and McCown explain that children start

becoming sensitive to the feelings of others (pg. 87). Tyson is observant and has a clear

understanding of cause and effect within his friendships.

Since starting soccer, Tyson has worked hard to seek out praise from the adults in his life.

He is fueled by being helpful at home, as well as at school. He is observant and frequently

suggests what he can do to be beneficial before someone else suggests it. When interacting with

his cousins, he often plays the role of mediator. Amid a confrontation, he can be heard telling his

cousin to take a deep breath and relax.

Tyson has a strong bond with his mother. She was a stay-at-home mother up until he started

kindergarten. Tyson is observant of when his mom plans to leave the house and when she will

return. According to Pearson, students may struggle between independence and insecurity

(Emotional Development in First Graders, part 3). Before Tyson’s mother started working, he

was used to her always being home. Therefore, Tyson is still working to adjust to the changes

from the old routine.

Philosophical Development

As Tyson gets older, he is getting more in tune with his viewpoints and moralities. He is

becoming stronger mentally, and he thinks about the consequences to his actions. Tyson analyzes

every choice he makes, whether it is short-term or long-term choices. Tyson is confident in his

ability to ask difficult questions and debate answers he does not agree with. In an article by Larry

Bailey, he mentions that participating in debates is good for intense analysis. (Bailey). Curiosity

is a driving motivator for Tyson.

Hereford describes the philosophy and personal development as “More than just a pursuit

of knowledge, philosophy is also an activity, one that teachers us to analyze, assess, and reason”

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(par. 4). Tyson shows he is advancing his skills in philosophy. He comes up with reasoning fairly

quickly and is interested to understand the logic behind decision-making.

Tyson is passionate about his learning. His class recently started a study on butterflies,

and live caterpillars have been brought into the classroom. He is very eager to share with his

family all of the new information he is learning about the life cycle of butterflies. He is reflective

on the learning happening around caring for the new creatures in the classroom and how to help

them on their journey to becoming butterflies. As a result of his teacher bringing in those live

caterpillars, exploration and discovery are welcomed in the classroom. According to the Child

Development Laboratory “creativity and problem-solving are encouraged” (Philosophy. par 4.)

A new behavior by Tyson that has begun to present itself is cheating. This is normal for

Tyson’s age group. As described by Ellsworth in “Online Lesson: ‘PEPSI’ as a screening tool”

(Philosophical Development, age 6) “Cheating usually increases since a child has to win”. Since

starting soccer, Tyson has become more interested in the concepts of winning versus losing. He

understands that winning at something may result in reward and praise while losing has a

negative connotation.

Social Development

Tyson continues to develop his social skills. He is empathetic, intuitive, and patient. Tyson’s

influences come from his immediate family, friends, and teachers. In the diagram by “Kids

Matter,” these three groups are thought of as the most influential groups when it comes to social

development. Tyson observes the behaviors, viewpoints, likes, dislikes, and so forth of the many

people in his circle and uses that insight to determine his own beliefs. As a result of Tyson’s

large family, he has the opportunity to observe a diverse variety of people with different

experiences and viewpoints.

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Out of Tyson’s five cousins, four are male. His soccer team is also an all-male team. Although

Tyson does have female classmates, he expresses a preference of male friends. He does not have

a female peer that he considers a close friend. Snowman and Mccowan describe elementary

students to have friendships that become more selective and gender-based. (pg. 90).

Tyson can ask adults for help and also tries to find solutions on his own. PBS’ Child

development tracker identifies this type of behavior as part of social development for his age

group. When conflict arises on his team or amongst his cousins, he is an effective mediator.

Intellectual Development

As a first-grade student, Tyson shows no delays in cognitive or intellectual development.

In school, he thrives in reading and writing and is passionate about both subjects. Whereas with

math, he is not as interested and often needs extra help with work related to the subject. Tyson is

working on understanding quantity (more or less) and familiarity with patterns and shapes.

Tyson is able to write complete sentences and is beginning to have an understanding of grammar.

According to Snowman and Mccown: “Awareness of cognitive processes begins to

emerge” (pg. 87). Tyson is beginning to show an interest in storytelling. In his class, each child

has a journal—the teacher shares that he has a genuine interest in writing and the creative

process behind it. In class, he will brainstorm out loud and also share the reasoning behind his

decision-making for the stories he creates.

Tyson’s natural curiosity helps him to excel in subjects like Art and Science. He has an

interest in subjects where he has greater control over the outcomes. He also shows signs of

increased memory and attention span, which are developmental skills found in his age group

(Anthony, Cognitive Development in 6-7-year-olds). Tyson’s vocabulary and pronunciation have

also improved this year. “More precise pronunciation, sentence structure, and word use” (Baby

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Center, What to expect this year: Ages 6 to 8) is considered to be a milestone for Tyson’s age

group in cognitive development.

Recommendations

Physical: Tyson’s commitment to sports can help develop physical activities. Tyson should be

encouraged to continue to spend time outside. Parents should continue to build and model

healthy lifestyle habits as they have been doing.

Emotional: Schedule changes and routine changes should be expressed to Tyson. He is still

adjusting to his mother being out of the house and may need additional help with that transition.

Please continue to provide opportunities for Tyson where he can take the lead and develop that

natural skill set.

Philosophical Development: Tyson has shown a great interest in curiosity and reflective

thinking. His interest in learning should continue to be encouraged and fostered. Observe Tyson

and his interests so that to provide learning experiences for him to participate.

Social Development: Encourage Tyson to form friendships with different kinds of people. Make

sure to have open communication with Tyson, and invite him to reflect on his friendships and

connections in his everyday life.

Intellectual Development: The Child Development Institute has tips on expanding his intellectual

development that includes regular trips to the Library. Tyson may need additional assistance in

mathematics. Continue to observe and provide experiences to monitor his growth in that subject.

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Study Results: In comparison to his classmates Joseph has shown greater development skills in

Philosophical, Social, and Emotional development. His areas of improvement would be in

physical and intellectual development.

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References

Ellsowrth, J. (1998) PEPSI Screening. Sixth Year. Retrieved from

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/PEPSIObserv/year6.html

Fomby, P. and Cherlin, A. (2007) Family Instability and Child Well-Being. US National Library

of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3171291/.

Herford, Z. Philosophy and Personal Development. Essential Life Skills. Retrieved from

http://www.essentiallifeskills.net/philosophy.html

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2000) 2 to 20 years:

Boys Stature-for-age and Weight-for-age Percentiles. Retrieved

fromhttps://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41l021.pdf.

Oswalt, A. (2016) Child Development and Parenting: Early (3-7). Gracepoint. Retrieved from

http://www.gracepointwellness.org/462-child-development-parenting-early-3-7/article/12755-

early-childhood-physical-development-gross-and-fine-motor-development.

Pearson K. (2015) Emotional Development in First Graders: The need for a Stable Home Base.

Smart First Grader. Retrieved from http://www.smartfirstgraders.com/emotional-

development.html

Snowman J. and Mccown R. (2015) Psychology Applied to Teaching 14 edition. Cengage

The Benefits of Debate. (n.d). Retrieved from

http://www.home-school.com/articles/the-benefits-of-debate.php

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