Child Observation Reflection Paper Sample

Paper Instructions

Academic level – Undergraduate 1-2
Type of paper – Reflection paper
Topic Title – Child Observation
Instructions:

• Is the child learning through their play? If so, what is the child learning?
• What accommodations can be made to facilitate learning?
• Is the child involved in investigation, socio-dramatic, or exploration play?
• What questions can you ask the child to encourage critical thinking?
• What follow-up activities can be developed to expand upon the child’s current interest/learning and abilities?
• Are there any emerging interests?
• How can further exploration be provided in other subject areas? (math, art, music, social studies, dramatic play, literacy/language arts) Are there any developmental skills the child needs to improve?

Reflection Paper Sample

Play is the primary method adults use to teach children because young kids effectively accept and understand information while playing. The video Levi 2.5 Years Worksample demonstrates the boy’s involvement in playing: he focuses on drawing and appropriately responds to the adult’s requests and advice. Thus, the child is learning through play, proving that adults should use this approach to help children gain new skills and improve their awareness of the world around them.

The video Levi 2.5 Years Worksample shows the boy drawing a human. Initially, he paints a face, eyes, and lips; when the adult reminds him about a nose, legs, and hands, he adds these body parts to his drawing (Beckett, 2013). This game improves the kid’s knowledge about human body parts and encourages him to use his critical thinking to understand where these body parts should be added. Moreover, the child replies to the adult’s questions and advice, proving that this game influences his communication skills. The boy also develops fine motor skills since drawing requires him to regulate his movements. The adult can give the boy a table and chair to make painting more comfortable for a kid. Using paper can make the overall process more exciting and give the child more space to depict the body parts, while paints will help him learn new colors. As a result, this boy is involved in investigation and exploration play since he has to understand what exactly he must draw, find the correct locations for each body part, and realize how he can depict them in the painting.

Undoubtedly, adults’ involvement in the playing process significantly influences children’s development since parents or teachers help kids explore the world from different perspectives and constantly accept new information. Asking children various questions encourages their critical thinking, helps them analyze their actions, and allows them to develop their language skills (Leahy & Zalnieriunas, 2021). In the video, the adult can ask the boy to answer the following questions:

• Whom have you drawn?
• What color would you use to draw eyes/nose/lips?
• Where would you locate cheeks/forehead/chin/ears/hair?
• What is the man in your picture doing?

The adult can teach the boy to depict other body parts and show that he can also draw clothing and objects surrounding the man, such as the sun, trees, and grass. Likewise, the kid can try to paint not only a human but also animals and multiple objects he can see around. This task will encourage the boy to analyze how he can depict various things in the picture, positively influencing his fine motor skills, critical thinking, and ability to understand other people’s requests. The boy enjoys drawing his picture, proving that drawing can be recognized as his emerging interest, and the adult’s task is to provide him with opportunities to develop his skills. Therefore, the boy can try to draw using pencils, felt pens, or chalk under the supervision of adults, while adding child play dough, puzzles, books, and pictures with different objects can deepen the child’s thinking.

In conclusion, the adult should encourage the boy to continue developing his skills by providing new materials for learning, communicating with him about his actions, and constantly giving him new information about the objects surrounding him. The boy’s parents or teacher can stimulate further exploration in other subject areas through the game: they must use toys and playing materials to help the kid develop his critical thinking skills and investigate the world around him. The boy needs to gradually improve his skills in all fields, including math, art, music, social studies, dramatic play, and literacy/language arts, to make the learning process comfortable and gain new knowledge through play in a peaceful environment.

References

Beckett, R. (2013). Levi 2.5 years work sample. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4R1PTpwKtE&list=UUaQ3YASu4MThYaiogrUIthA

Leahy, B., & Zalnieriunas , E. (2021). Might and might not: Children’s conceptual development and the acquisition of modal verbs. Proceedings of SALT, 31, 426–445. https://doi.org/10.3765/salt.v31i0.5082