Physical and Motor Development Observation

During this session, you will observe one specific child and use your observations to support three different writing assignments. Select a child ages 0 – 6 years of age and observe that child for a total of five hours. During this time, take notes on the actions, words, and behaviors of the child. Your notes serve as the foundation for the papers you will write on each area of this child’s development. 1. Choose a child for the child observation paper. The child must be between the ages of 0 – 6 years of age. This child can be in a childcare center or a friend’s or relative’s child, but should not be your own child. 2. Observe a child for a total of 5 hours. This observation can take place over several days. Take notes on the child so you can develop your paper. Write down what you see the child do and what you hear them say. Remember that your written notes must be objective, painting a word picture that allows anyone reading them to see what you were able to see so that you can accurately reflect upon them later. 3. Write a paper based on your observations of the child. For this paper, you should focus ONLY on physical and motor development. Do not use the child’s real name in your paper (you may choose a pseudonym for the child if you would like). You must maintain confidentiality. Use resources provided in the assigned reading material and videos from class to support your observations. If you use other resources, including web-sites or books you must cite those. The paper will consist of: 1. An introduction to the assignment. This paragraph should introduce your paper, the purpose, and some overall statements about the assignment. For example, why is it important to observe the physical and development of children? Include a description of physical development and motor development. 2. A paragraph giving an introduction to the child (age, gender, ethnic background, description of the child’s physical characteristics, family composition, siblings, etc.) 3. At least one paragraph for each of the following topics: a. Large Motor Development An overview of the child’s large motor development (this is your interpretation from your observation) Give specific examples of what the child did or said that will illustrate what you are describing above (these are from your observations) Make connections to the readings and other material from the course – for example, how does this skill that you’ve observed connect to what you read about large motor development? (be sure to cite these, for example: Santrock, 2018, p. 134; and be sure to include each citation in your list of references.) Recommendations for the child’s teacher or parents based upon your observation and interpretation (i.e., what types of activities/experiences is this child ready for next? What are the skills the child will most likely be developing next?). b. Fine Motor Development An overview of the child’s fine motor development (this is your interpretation from your observations) Give specific examples of what the child did or said that will illustrate what you are describing above (these are from your observations) Make connections to the readings and other material from the course – for example, how does this skill that you’ve observed connect to what you read about fine motor development? (be sure to cite these, for example: Santrock, 2018, p. 134; and be sure to include each citation in your list of references.) Recommendations for the child’s teacher or parents based upon your observation and interpretation (i.e., what types of activities/experiences is this child ready for next? What are the skills the child will most likely be developing next?). 4. A self-reflection/conclusion that ends the paper, and shares some of your personal experiences, feelings, and responses to the assignment. What specifically did you learn and how will you apply this learning in your work with children? 5. Reference List containing all cited works in appropriate APA format.