Case Study by Alli Bakken:

I. Subject a. Name - AP b. Age - 4 c. Race, ancestry Caucasian d. Gender - Male

II. Information Source I used the Four Year Old Checklist, and Arizonas Early
Learning Standards. I was unable to schedule a formal interview with his parents,
but was able to casually talk to dad a few times during drop-off and pick-up. AP has
attended school every day of my internship, so I have been able to observe him
objectively in a variety of activities and throughout all times of the school day.
III. Background Information a. AP is an only child. I have not met his mom since the
time my internship began about a month ago. He is usually dropped off by Dad, and
picked up by Grandma. b. AP is one of the oldest in class, and has just turned 5
years of age. He is average in height not the tallest, but not the shortest either. I
have not witnessed any specific health concerns, and he exhibits more of an athletic
build. He does not wear any accessories that suggest capability such as glasses or
hearing aids. c. AP attends class every day in the morning from 8:00am to
11:30am. He has not missed a day of attendance in almost a month. He participates
in a variety of activities such as teacher-led projects, and being vocal during circle
time. He also plays in a variety of learning centers during freechoice time. At times,
directions for an activity need to be repeated for AP to complete the task correctly.
d. According to the Four Year Old Checklist, AP is developing appropriately to his age
group. He was able to complete most of the items on the checklist, with an
exception of knowledge of personal information (full name, address, phone number,
etc.) According to the Arizona Early Learning Standards, AP is displaying exceptional
development in Language and Literacy and Approaches to Learning. IV.
Developmental Performance a. APs key area of interest it the Housekeeping Center.

He usually picks this area first during free-choice time, and encourages the same
two or three boys to do the same. After usually about 20 minutes, he notices the
smallgroup area at the tables which is usually a teacher-led activity and almost
always gravitates over there for his turn declaring, I wanna do it, too! He also
very much enjoys large motor movement and outside time he usually is asking,
when are we going outside? the last fifteen minutes of free-choice time. b. The
area of limitation that I noticed on the checklist was personal information. AP was
unable to state his full name, address, phone number, or birthday when asked. He
was also only interested in writing the lowercase letters that appear in his name,
however he had just written the entire uppercase alphabet and I believe he just
became uninterested in rewriting it lowercased. However, he frequently visits all
learning areas of the classroom and shows adequate interaction in each center. c.
AP displays an easy temperament. He enters the room with a smile most days, and
is easily exciteable when his friends are around him. At drop off times, a secure
attachment is witnessed between him and his father. He is able to roll with the
punches so-to-say, and is almost always interested in a new experience or addition
to the classroom. For example, during our Science Day this last week, AP was
intrigued by all of the new materials presented at the tables and sometimes began
handling them before he even knew the directions of the activity!
V. Conclusion and Recommendations a. Based on the observations and evaluations
used, I would say that AP is developing very well for his age-range. He is interested
in new experiences, and is able to interact cooperatively with other children. He is
respectful to peers and teachers, and can express thoughts/ideas/feelings using his
words. He is able to work independently and participate in a group. b. Since the only
area where I could see further attention was needed was personal information, I

would recommend focusing on characteristics of AP that are specific to him. I will

continue to look for ways to make this information valuable to him such as stories
of children his age knowing their full names or addresses. I will also continue
encouraging AP to write his letters in lowercase.
c. To assist in teaching AP his personal information, I would encourage AP and his
parents to make an All About Me display that he could share in the classroom.
They can also encourage writing at home, as well as continue to foster APs creative
side since he does enjoy role-playing and housekeeping in the classroom. Perhaps
parents can involve AP in household duties and chores like cooking, doing dishes,
making the bed,