For my observation, I have viewed video recordings of three separate groups of children being engaged in play. The first video seems to show two caretakers playing with two children, using toy balls and cubes. The second, imaginative play video, contains three toddlers playing with the caretaker who is talking to them in both English and Spanish. The third video shows a group of at least 4 children engaging in role-playing activities. I have watched these videos on an evening, and will be using them to analyze, and measure the children’s behavior and level of development.
For the 3 to the 8-month group, I will be primarily discussing the boy in a blue onesie, who is featured prominently in the video. The infant seems to be in a good physical condition, using the strength of his arms and body to support himself in a semi-crawling position. He is able to move around the playmat, as well as sit. Another prominent signifier of his development is the boy’s ability to grasp objects. He can be seen taking hold of the green cube and pushing the red one away.
In terms of cognitive and linguistic development, the boy also seems to be quite adept. Firstly, he is seen actively interacting with the toys around him, clearly engaging in some form of play, reaching for objects that he wants to play with, and keeping them to himself. Furthermore, as seen by the interaction with the caretaker, the boy recognizes his own name being called and pays attention. In addition to that, he is also seen following toys and other objects with his gaze, as well as mouth on them.
As for social and cognitive development, the child in a blue onesie seems to be a little behind. While the child recognizes the caretaker and engages with her play attempts, he does not appear to fully recognize the presence of another child nearby. The attempts of the caretaker to direct his cube play towards the infant in red are not successful as he keeps to himself. He also does not appear to be reaching out to any people around him or smiling, which are another two signs of social development. While his face is mostly obscured, no laughing can be heard, and even some crying is audible instead.
The child in a 9 to the 17-month group that I will be discussing is a girl in a blue strawberry shirt that seems to be around 14 months old. The girl has a good level of physical development, being able to walk without support in a slow, waddling fashion. She is also seen picking up and carrying objects, such as various kinds of toys. In the later parts, I could also see her crouching down slightly. As seen by the toy camera, the girl in blue has the ability to engage with smaller, more intricate objects and control her motor skills. The action of pointing the camera at the caretaker is made successfully, without dropping the object or hurting the woman.
Cognitive development also appears to be up to speed, as seen by her interactions with the caretaker and others. She is seen repeating the actions of the caretaker, such as playing with the kitten toy to see the results. By picking up the baby toy, she also simulates household activities, such as feeding the baby and carrying it. With the photo camera, similar results are achieved. She places the camera near her face and looks through it, mimicking the actions of the caretaker. While she does not seem to speak, she does copy the actions of another toddler.
Her level of social and emotional development seems up to par with the rest of her growth milestones. The girl actively cooperates with the caretaker during play, accepting toys from her and doing the things she was shown to do. The girl appears to be emotionally engaged with the activity as well, displaying an eagerness to do things. She is also able to play alongside other children, walking to take the baby doll when another child does so, and engaging in play alongside them, while not directly interacting.
The boy in a black blouse looks to be about the age of 24 months, judging by the amount of hair he has and the appearance of his body. Physically, it looks like the boy is quite well-developed, being able to confidently walk around without falling. His walking is efficient, and he does not waddle around much. The boy is also dexterous with his hands, being able to touch other people’s hair without causing much discomfort. He is able to stop himself from continuing when another child does not engage in play further, as well as to navigate the room without bumping into obstacles.
The linguistic and cognitive development of the kid is shown to be quite good, as he is able to effectively interact with the environment around him and other people. Most apparently, the boy engages in make-believe and pretend play, as seen with the hair salon he has organized. He shows an ability to symbolically perform activities in the face of an absence of actual tools. Without a hairbrush or any hairdressing tools, he is using his hands to simulate the activity. In terms of language, he also shows an ability to communicate well. Responding to the questions and narration posed by the caretaker, he is shown to be able to voice his thoughts in a short sentence.
Social/Emotional development is the focal point of this video, as the child actively works with other kids in coordinated play. His actions are directed towards the caretakers and the other children present. He seems to show a willingness to the caretaker to join his play session, as well as other children joining in. The boy is able to maintain a conversation with the caregiver and also seems to show attempts of communicating with the girl in pink he is playing with.
I have observed caretakers playing with multiple toddlers, teaching them to pass the ball around. The play consisted of each of them receiving the ball and then giving it to one of the other children present. In my eyes, this activity was used to facilitate both the social and physical domains. The activity of passing around the ball can be considered the training of smaller motor skills and arm muscles, while the action of sharing the toy with others facilitated coordinated cooperative play with other children.
Before the completion of this assignment, I have not considered the differences between the ways in which children interact with each other depending on their age. My initial assumption was that a toddler of any age group should be able to play cooperatively with others, it seemed like a simple and essential skill to develop. By witnessing the difference between the approaches of younger and older kids, I was able to see that their capacity for play with others expands and grows with age.
The setting of this interactive play is a table stationed outside. The children and the caretaker are sitting around the table playing various games connected with clouds, made to improve their cognitive, motor skills, memory, and coordination. Children of different ages are present, an older girl of around 5 in a flowery dress, a 4-year-old boy in a red shirt, and an even younger girl dressed in pink. With this examination, I am planning to examine the behavior and developmental level of different children, as a way to improve my skills in identifying child development and showcasing them on paper.
In the video, a 3-year-old girl in pink can be observed, as she is playing with the other children. Her level of physical development is good, as she is able to sit at a table without the support of a char’s back and lean on it as well. During the card matching game, she demonstrates the ability to pick up and flip over cards, which speaks to the development of her motor skills. Furthermore, during the section where children create their own clouds, she can be seen being able to arrange cotton balls in a pattern and glue them to the paper without issue.
Cognitive development for the girl appears to be adequate, as she is able to fully handle the tasks outlined by the caretaker. She is seen flipping over and trying to match cards, recognizing the similarities and differences between pictures observed. Furthermore, she is able to create her own cloud in her hand, and use glue and markers while holding them in her hand. In terms of language, she appears to be less developed than her peers, speaking up more rarely and generally being more focused on observing the environment.
Emotional and social skills are well-developed in the pink girl. She plays with children, taking active participation in the activities they perform. She follows the instructions and guidance shown by the caretaker, as well as showcases her creations to others. Due to the constraints of the video, not many other factors pertaining to emotional and social development can be seen, unfortunately.
The 4-year-old shown in the video is a boy in a redshirt. His physical development is hard to estimate since the children are sitting down most of the time, but he can be seen sitting comfortably and leaning over the table, showing control of his movements. Furthermore, he is able to coordinate his actions well, in both holding the glue with his hands and properly handling a marker to draw lightning. He also shows the ability for careful and precise movement, as seen by his flipping over the cards.
In the domain of cognitive and linguistic development, the kid in red also succeeds, showing a great capacity for both action and communication. He seems to understand differences in various pictures, as well as to know what positional words mean. In the cloud-making exercise, he is seen being able to make a cloud out of cotton balls, as well as to answer questions about it. The directions given by the caretakers are also being followed. In terms of language, he is able to communicate well, and use different words to either answer questions or explain something.
Socially, the boy plays with others, understanding the rules of the games made by everyone. During the match a cloud to its description process, he is seen working with other children to make correct decisions and working alongside them with no problems. He reacts positively to success and recognizes how his actions affect the space around him.
The oldest child that can be seen in the video is a 5-year-old girl in a flowery dress. His physical development is great, evident by the height difference between her and her playmates, and her ability to sit near the table and handle all the aspects of the 3 plays the caretaker engages them in.
She understands the differences between objects, as seen by her ability to explain how to play memory. She is also able to recognize which clouds are on the top or the bottom, as seen by her skill in the last game. The girl can work with smaller objects, such as markers, glue, and cotton balls to take a picture of a cloud. Her ability to relay the rules of the game and constant coherent talking also showcase her linguistic proficiency.
Actively engages in playing with other children and has an ability to coordinate her movements in a group of others for convenience, as seen by her taking the cotton balls out of the box. Does not require the assistance of the caretaker to create her picture, and is able to operate independently from other children.
An activity I witnessed was a drawing exercise, led by a caretaker among 5 children. They were tasked with drawing a robot using markers and pencils, as well as other kinds of supplementary crafting tools. After each child was finished, they had to explain what their particular robot could do to others kids. The activity was focused on improving the physical skills of the children, and their ability to handle small objects such as pens and markers. It has also facilitated communication between them and the development of linguistic skills. An ability to play with others was also improved.
Before my completing this assignment, I had not realized that children are able to understand complex phrases and difficult words, thinking that a caretaker should seek to make their speech more understandable and childlike for them. During the process of watching the video and writing down my observations, I have found out that they are much more perceptive and context-vary than I had imagined.