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Child Study

Miriam Sanchez

Umass Global

ECED 398: The Intentional, Reflective Teacher

Dr. Negussie

October 23, 2022

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Initial Description

Ken is a Mexican/ African American 2-year-old boy. He is the only child and lives with

his mother, father, grandparents, uncle, and great-grandmother. His home language is English

and Spanish. Ken has been exposed to English since he was an infant. He was mainly exposed to

English when he attended childcare. Ken attended childcare at 14 months. He attends the Early

Head Start program full time from 8:30-5:30. Ken is a typically developing child who can walk,

run, jump, climb, kick and throw a ball, is able to manipulate utensils, can say a couple of words,

follow two-part instructions, and participates in parallel play. According to his mom, he enjoys

being outdoors and playing sports. His mother works at the same childcare Ken attends at. She

works as an infant teacher in one of the infant classrooms.

Methods

The observation methods I used in this study were anecdotal notes, learning story

physical development checklist, and photographs. As stated in the ECE competencies, educators

are “familiar with the different types of documentation processes commonly used in early

education settings, including anecdotal records, work samples, video clips, photographs, and

dictations”. (ECE Competetencies, (2011), p. 56). I chose these methods because I am familiar

with them and they helped me document the child’s strengths. These methods are appropriate

because they collect data required for teaching and planning while carefully considering

students’ learning (Epstein, 2014, p. 27). Using these observation methods, I collected data on

whole groups, small groups, individualized instruction, child-selected activities, and outdoors.
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Analysis

Physical Development

Ken’s strength in physical development was gross motor skills. I used the anecdotal notes

and physical development checklist to determine his strength. I observed him playing outdoors

and he was playing with a ball. The child was able to kick the stationary ball. He is exceeding the

expectations for his age in the foundation “at around 36 months of age, children move with ease,

coordinating movements and performing a variety of movements” (CDE, 2009, p.96). Another

strength in physical development is fine motor skills. I observed Ken do a painting activity using

a pedagogical narration. He was able to hold and manage the paintbrush. This falls into the

foundation “at around 36 months of age, children coordinate the fine movements of the fingers,

wrists, and hands to skillfully manipulate a wide range of objects and materials in intricate ways.

Children often use one hand to stabilize an object while manipulating it” (CDE, 2009, p.98).

Social-Emotional Development

Ken’s strength in social-emotional development is being able to express his feelings

through facial expressions. There were many occasions I observed Ken smile. The example I will

use is the pedagogical narration of child-selected activities. In this observation, Ken chose

kitchen play. Ken pretended to eat from a pot with his teacher and one of his peers. He smiled

when the teacher and a peer interacted with him. He is exceeding the expectations for his age in

the foundation “at around 18 months of age, children express emotions in a clear and intentional

way and begin to express some complex emotions, such as pride” (CDE, 2009, p. 25). Another

strength is recognition of ability. During the brushing teeth activity, Ken looked at his teacher as
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he brushed his teeth and expressed with a smile. He is showing that he was able to brush his teeth

on his own. Ken is meeting the expectations of his age and it falls into the foundation “at around

36 months of age, children show an understanding of their own abilities and may refer to those

abilities when describing themselves” (CDE, 2009, p. 23).

Language Development

Ken’s strength in this domain is understanding words and utterances. For example, during

the teeth brushing routine, the teacher said that it is his turn to brush his teeth. He understood her

request and walked to the sink and waited to get his materials. As he gets his materials, he

brushes his teeth. Ken is exceeding the expectations for his age in the foundation “At around 36

months of age, children demonstrate understanding of the meaning of others’ comments,

questions, requests, or stories.” (CDE, 2009, p. 47). Another strength in this domain is interest in

print. When I observed Ken in circle time, the teacher read a story. He sat closer to the teacher

and looked and pointed at the pages. This shows that he is interested in print books and is

exceeding the expectations for his age in the foundation “At around 18 months of age, children

listen to the adult and participate while being read to by pointing, turning pages, or mak­ing one-

or two-word comments. Children actively notice print in the environment.” (CDE, 2009, p. 53).

Cognitive development

The child’s strength in this development is understanding and participating in personal

care routines. Ken was able to understand and participate in their morning teeth-brushing routine.

He brushed his teeth, spit into the sink, and rinses his toothbrush. He also wipes his face with a

paper towel without being prompted. The foundation that falls into is “at around 36 months of
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age, children initiate and follow through with some personal care routines” (CDE, 2009, p. 82).

Symbolic play is another strength of this development. Ken played in the kitchen and pretended

to eat from a pot. After that, he sets up plates on the table and sat down to eat a slice of cake. He

then pretended to feed a baby doll his cake. Ken is meeting the expectation that “at around 18

months of age, children use one object to represent another object and engage in one or two

simple actions of pretend play” (CDE, 2009, p.79).

Approaches to learning

Ken’s strengths in this domain are being able to share the use of space and materials. In

the observation of child-selected activities, Ken selected to play kitchen. He shared materials

with the teacher and a child joined their play. Ken smiled at him and made room for the child to

join in pretend play. Ken has developed an understanding of group life that requires interacting

with others and sharing materials. This shows that Ken has mastered the measure ATL-REG 7:

Shared Use of Space and Materials: integrating -earlier, “offers to share space or materials with

others in the absence of explicit expectations for sharing” (CDE, 2015, p. 7). Another strength of

Ken’s is his attention maintenance. In the same observation of kitchen play, Ken brought the pot

to the teacher and pretended to eat from it. He observed and continued to play by pretending to

eat from the pot which extended to pretending to feed a baby doll.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1

After reviewing the data I collected, I learned that Ken needs assistance in language

development. His teacher says he can say a couple of words but not sentences. In my
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observation, I have not heard him speak but instead, use gestures. I would suggest that the

teacher should encourage him to talk more. Epstein mentions how educators should “gently

encourage them to speak… the more they talk, the better their language skills will become.

Humor is a good way to get them to talk without forcing them to do so.” (Epstein, 2014, p. 105).

When Ken says 1-2 words or gestures, his teachers can use this opportunity to expand his words

into 1-2 sentences that he can easily understand. (Epstein, 2014, p. 105). His teachers can also

create natural opportunities to conversate throughout the day and ask questions.

Recommendation 2

The second recommendation is to provide opportunities to expand his gross motor skills.

Ken has mastered the gross motor skills for his age and I would suggest moving on to the next

milestones. I would recommend participating with the child in activities that require gross motor

skills. The teachers can use the child’s interest to encourage and challenge him to practice and

extend some movements and manipulative skills. (Epstein, 2014, p. 77 & 79). For example, Ken

was able to throw the ball but not catch it. Being able to catch a ball comes after mastering

kicking. The teacher can engage with him in this activity by encouraging him to extend his arms

out and attempt to catch the ball.

Recommendation 3

Lastly, I would recommend introducing mathematics such as encouraging exploration

and manipulation. The teachers should “provide materials that have diverse sensory attributes

and allow children to have a sufficient amount of time and space to discover their properties”

(Epstein, 2014, p. 131). Throughout my observation, I’ve only seen Ken play with playdough. I
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would suggest to teachers that they should provide many opportunities to “promote exploration

about the components of mathematics” (Epstein, 2014, p. 132). They should also provide the

language for mathematical properties, processes, and relationships. As Epstein states, educators

should use opportunities to “introduce the language for children to label their observations,

describe transformations, and share the reasoning behind their conclusions” (p. 131). By doing

so, Ken will begin to understand the concepts of mathematics and soon he’ll be able to label his

own explorations.

Reflection

What I have learned about collecting data about children’s progress

What I learned about collecting data about children’s progress is that we use many

observation methods to gather information. With the information we collect, we get an

understanding of the children’s background and their development. Collecting data gives us

information about what the children can do and what they are ready to do next. Educators collect

data to see what their strengths are and what needs to be strengthened.

What I have learned about analyzing data

What I learned about analyzing data is that we look at the information to see what the

children’s strengths are. We often assess their strengths in each developmental domain to

determine whether they are appropriately exceeding their progression based on their age. Not

only do we assess what their strengths are but we also come up with recommendations that

support the children's learning. We include measurable outcomes and teaching strategies to

support the child in achieving our recommendations. This also gives us the opportunity to reflect
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on our own teaching to see if we need to adjust and modify our teaching styles to help progress

the children’s learning and development.

What I have learned about making data-based decisions to guide children’s learning

What I learned about making data-based decisions is that we assess the data we collected

to come up with measurable outcomes and strategies that help support the children’s learning. I

was able to see Ken’s strengths in each developmental domain as well as what he needs to

improve on. As mentioned above, this is very helpful as we get the chance to see the children’s

progression and modify our teaching styles to better support their learning.

How I have grown in NAEYC Standard 1, in each of the three key elements.

This assignment has helped me grow in NAEYC Standard 1. Gathering background

information on the child and observing him in the center has helped me grow in element 1a:

Knowing and understanding young children’s characteristics and needs. Gathering this data gave

me the opportunity to really get to know the child and asses him to understand his development

progression and understand where he needs help to meet his needs. Analyzing the data I

collected has helped me grow in the key elements of 1b: Knowing and understanding the

multiple influences on development and learning. When analyzing the collected data, I was able

to see what his learning and strengths are in his day-to-day interactions. I got to see what his

strengths were in each domain and how he was progressing appropriately for his age. Based on

my analysis, I was able to provide data-based recommendations. This helped me grow in the key

element 1c: Using developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and
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challenging learning environments. I was able to provide recommendations that help support the

child’s learning and development.

Appendices Artifacts

Anecdotal record

Activity: child selected activities

Name: Ken

Date: 9/26

Recorder: Miriam

Notes: kitchen play

Ken went up to a teacher and gave her a pot. The teacher pretended to eat from the pot and she

shared it with Ken and another child. The child joined and pretended to eat from the pot. Ken

smiled and joined in pretending to eat from the pot as well. The other child went to bring plates

and shared them with Ken and the teacher. They all pretend to eat together. Then they went to the

kitchen table and pretended to eat cake. Ken then fed a baby doll his slice of cake. The other

child saw Ken and did the same. They both smiled and laugh.

Anecdotal record

Activity: individualized instructions

Name: Ken

Date:9/26

Recorder: Miriam
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Notes: Brushing teeth

The teacher called Ken to go brush his teeth. He walks to his teacher with a smile on his face and

gets on the stool by the sink. He waits patiently as the teacher gives him his toothbrush.

Ken grabbed the toothbrush and began brushing his teeth. He brushes his front teeth then the

sides. He looked at his teacher and smiled and continued to brush his teeth. He then spits into the

sink and turns on the water faucet and watches it wash away. The teacher told him to rinse his

toothbrush, and he followed as prompted. He placed his toothbrush under the running water. The

teacher got his cup and Ken placed his toothbrush in the cup. He turned off the faucet

and grabbed a paper towel to clean his face. He then throws away the paper towel in the trash

and walks away to join a center.

Anecdotal record

Activity: whole group

Name: Ken

Date: 9/27

Recorder: Miriam

Notes: circle time

The teacher called all students to come sit down on the carpet. Ken walked to the carpet and sat

down. The teacher greeted everyone and Ken smiled. Ken clapped and patted his leg when the

teacher was singing “(child name) came to school today”. When the teacher called his name he

put a smile on his face. Next, it was story time, Ken looked at the teacher as she read them a

story. He sat closer to the teacher and looked and pointed at the pages. After reading the story,

the teacher sang the song “jump up and down”. As she called a child, Ken looked at that child
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and smiled. The teacher called Ken’s name and he smiled and giggled, “Ken, Ken, jump up and

down” x2 “now sit, right back down”. Ken followed the teachers’ singing and did just that. He

jumped as she sang jump up and down and sat back down when prompted.

Anecdotal record

Activity: outdoors

Name: Ken

Date: 9/28/22

Recorder: Miriam

Notes:

During outdoor time, Ken walks up to a ball and grabs it. He holds it with one hand on his side

and tries to grab the second ball with his other hand while still holding the other ball. As he got

down to grab it, the ball rolled away. He walked up to it and tried to grab it with one hand again.

The ball rolled away again. He continued to attempt to grab it with one hand. Lastly, the ball

rolls away further. Ken stood there and watched it roll away. He throws the ball he’s been

holding in front of him, kicks it, and walks away. Ken then walks around the playground then

goes behind a tree. He hugs the tree and then stands in front of it. Ken then looks at the ground

and picks up a stick he found on the grass. He holds the stick like a pencil and picks at the tree

with the stick. He continues to pick at it for a few minutes then walks away. Ken begins to roam

around the playground. He approached the slide playground area and turned the steering wheel

on the slide play structure. He steers it side to side then round and round. Ken then saw another

ball and he approached it. He grabs the ball and throws it in front of him.
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Child’s Name:_______Ken____________ Date: __10/5/22_______

Children’s Services Program

Title: Small group: Watercolor painting

The Story

It’s painting time! You walked to the table and sat down. You sat on a chair and

grabbed the paintbrush. The teacher explained and demonstrated to the group how to dip

their paintbrush in the watercolor pallet. As you watched your teacher, you dipped your

brush in the blue paint and painted your paper in swatching motions. Then you grabbed

another thick brush and began painting with them at the same time. You painted doing

side-to-side motions. Next, you put down the brushes and grabbed the thin brush. You

dipped your brush in the yellow paint and stared at the yellow paint as it changed colors

in the palette. “You had blue on your paintbrush, that’s why you see the yellow turning

into green”, said your teacher. You looked at her then at the brush and smiled. Lastly, you

continued to paint on your paper until you were all done.

What Learning is Happening Here?

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What I learned about the child is that he was really interested in painting. He

understood the concept of how to manipulate the brushes and paint on his paper. In the

activity, he learned about color recognition and the theory of how color can be mixed to

create new colors. The child has mastered his fine motor skills.

Opportunities & Possibilities

To continue and extend the activity, I would suggest providing different tools to paint.

The children can explore a variety of materials and see how each of them paints in a

different way.

The Child’s voice

When I read the story to the child he looked at me and smiled.

The Family's voice

I will provide a copy of the learning story for his family.

DRDP Measures (list all that apply):

● PD-HLTH 4: Fine Motor Manipulative Skills

○ Exploring: later

● VPA 1: Visual Art

○ Exploring: later

● ATL-REG 4: Curiosity and Initiative in Learning

○ Exploring: later
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Learning outcomes:

● The child demonstrates fine motor skills.

● The child recognizes colors.

Dispositions:

● Curiosity

● Explorative

● Passionate
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PHYSICAL CHILD DEVELOPMENT CHECKLIST (Beaty, 2014)

Name _________Ken____________ Observer _____Miriam Sanchez___________ Program

____La Petite Academy ____________ Dates ____9/27/22, 9/28, 9/30, 10/5, 10/14________

Directions: Put an X for items you see the child perform regularly. Put an N for items where
there is no opportunity to observe. Leave all other items blank.

Item Evidence Date

Physical Development: Gross Motor

_X_ Jumps in place Jumps when teacher sang jump 9/27

up and down song
____ Jumps over items
Ran in the playground
____ Stands on one foot for 5 seconds

_X_ Runs evenly, arms pumping in opposition

____ Skips 9/28

_N_ Walks on balance beam

_N_ Balances beanbag on head

_X_ Climbs up equipment climbs up the slide 10/14

_X_ Climbs down equipment climbs up and down the stairs

_N_ Climbs across equipment

_X_ Throws ball I’ve observed him playing with 9/28

balls outdoors and indoors.
____ Catches ball

_X_ Kicks stationary ball

____ Kicks moving ball

_X_ Bounces ball

Physical Development: Fine Motor

_N_ Turns knob 9/28

_N_ Opens lid

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_N_ Zips up jacket

____ Ties shoe Picks up little pieces of paper

and glues it on his craft
_X_ Picks up & inserts objects w/ dexterity

_N_ Uses scissors w/ control

_X_ Uses pencil w/ control Holds pencil to draw 10/5

_X_ Uses crayon w/ control Holds crayon to color 10/5

_X_ Builds blocks vertically Stacks a couple blocks 9/30

_X_ Flattens playdough uses different materials to flatten

the playdough and do other
____ Rolls playdough cutouts and prints.
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Work Samples

Brushing teeth routine 9/26/22

Circle time 9/27/22

Outdoor play: Kicking a stationary ball 9/28/22

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Acorn craft 9/28/22

Holds pencil to draw 10/5/22

Watercolor painting 10/5/22

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References

CDE. (2009). Infant/ Toddler Foundations. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents

/itfoundations2009.pdf

CDE. (2012). Infant/ Toddler Frameworks. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/re/documents/

itcurriculumframework.pdf

CDE. (2015). DRDP: A Developmental Continuum from Early Infancy to Kindergarten Entry.

https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cd/ci/documents/drdp2015preschool.pdf

Epstein, Ann S. (2014). The Intentional Teacher: Choosing the Best Strategies for Young

Children’s Learning. Revised Edition. naeyc.