Running Head: Kindergarten Observation

Child Development and Early Learning:

Kindergarten Observation
Sydney E. Henderson
Kennesaw State University

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This observation was done on a female kindergarten student named Sofia, age 5 years
and 8 months. This observations was performed at the residence of the child. Sofia was born to
a 19 year old mother and a 21 year old father. Both her parents are former Marines. When Sofia
was a baby, she resided with her mother and father in her fathers parents home. Sofias
caregivers are her paternal grandmother, whom she calls Gigi and her paternal grandfather
whom she calls G-Daddy. When Sofia was between the ages of 1 year and 2 years, custody
was granted to her paternal grandparents.
Sofias mother is a former Marine who is currently a gymnastic coach. Sofias father is a
former Marine who is presently a chef at Kennesaw State University. Sofias paternal
grandmother is a homemaker who looks after her grandchildren while her children are at work
and school. Sofias paternal grandfather is an IT manager who works from home 95% of the
month. At age three, Sofia was enrolled in a K-3 program at a local church which she continued
to attend for K-4 as well as Kindergarten. Sofias Kindergarten program is a half-day program in
which she attends from 8:30-12:30, Monday through Friday.
Sofia has a 3-month-old half-sister that comes over everyday from 10 am - 4:30 pm. As
well as a year and a half old cousin who is babysat by her grandmother Sunday night Wednesday afternoon each week. According to Amanda Morin, in gross motor development
kindergarteners should be able to walk heel-to-toe, hop on one foot, jump rope, pump their legs
to swing on a swing set, catch a softball, swim, dance and play sports. They should be acquiring
the fine motor skills to have a dominant hand, to grip a pencil the standard way, use eating
utensil properly, and cut out simple shapes. (Morin)
She also states they should be able to name color and shapes, know all the letters in the
alphabet, know that stories have a beginning, a middle and an end, as well as count to twenty.
Kindergarteners are learning to tell stories, how to use plurals, pronouns, and the correct verb
tenses. They should be aware of how to reason with others, and how to follow simple, multi-step

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directions. They are aware of opposites and how to compare things to one another. According to
the Georgia Department of Education,
SSKG3: Students will state the street address, city, county, state,
nation and continent in which he or she lives. (GeorgiaStandards.org)
Morin also asserts that kindergarteners begin to prefer same gender friendships over
opposite sex friendships. Kindergarteners begin to want attention and approval from their peers
and others. During my observations, Sofia played with her toys for a little while. Since Sofias
father recently had a new baby, Sofia was pretending to be a mommy. Her baby had a stroller
and a car seat, and was all bundled up in a blanket, because if she gets too cold then she will
get a cold. While pretending to be mommy, Sofia stated that she needed to go warm up a bottle
for her baby to eat and that she had to have a burpie (burp cloth) so the baby did not get her
clothes all dirty.
After play, Sofia told her Gigi that she needed to do her homework before dinner so that
she had it done in time for the following day of school. Sofia was able to write her name
completely legibly as well as hold her pencil properly (using the tripod grip). She told me that
she knew all her ABCs, because she learned them in Ms. Lisas class last year, and that she
could count all the way to 100. Sofias homework consisted of memorizing and writing 50 sign
words from the Dolch word list as well as coloring different and writing next to them the numeral
for how many there were of each drawing.
Sofia was able to tell me her full name, first, middle and last, but was unaware of her
address or phone number. The mini lesson I chose was learning your address and phone
number. This is extremely important information for a Kindergartener to know; it can keep them
safe in many situations.The materials needed for this lesson include: a phone book, pen and
paper, as well as an old/toy phone. First, we practiced finding the information in a phone book.
We searched for Sofias information and my information. Then, we copied the information down

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onto a new sheet of paper. The sheet with her phone number on it was kept at her home, in

order to continue practicing even after our lesson was over. We made up songs about her
address as well as her phone number. Sofia giggled and giggled as she sang her song. She
repeated her address three times singing the new song. Next, we practiced dialing her phone
number on an old cell phone.
The assessment I chose for this lesson was simply listening to her recite the information,
as well as, having her execute a call to her grandmothers phone. I chose these assessments,
because I know if she can say them, and punch them in on the phone, that in cases of
emergency she would be able to call home. I chose not to have her write them, because she
does not need to write them in order to execute the call or in telling a police officer where her
home is located. Children this age are gaining to ability to take written test, but it is not
developmentally appropriate for all of her testing to be written.
I feel that Sofia successfully learned her grandmothers phone number during this
lesson. Sofia needs a little more work with learning her address, but with practice I believe that
she will be able to recite it in no time. I strongly recommend that all Kindergarteners be taught
this information. It could be priceless to them, and in keeping them safe. It seems to me that if
you can create some sort of fun in learning this long string of numbers, that the children will
catch on quickly. Although we had a rough start to learning the numbers and a little frustration
when we mixed up the order, Sofia bounced back quickly when the information was put together
to the beat of a song.

References
Fink, L. S. (n.d.). Learning Your Address and Phone Number. Retrieved November 01, 2016,
From http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/activities-projects/

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learning-your-address-phone-30275.html?main-tab=2#tabs

GeorgiaStandards.Org - Official Site. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2016, from

https://www.georgiastandards.org/
Morin, A. (2014, February 22). Developmental Milestones for Typical Kindergartners. Retrieved
November 02, 2016, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attentionissues/signssymptoms/developmental-milestones/developmental-milestones-for-typicalkindergarteners