JOURNAL #1: AGES: BIRTH – 5 YEARS

Journal #1: Ages: Birth – 5 Years

Kevin Killgore

Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School

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Journal #1: Ages: Birth – 5 Years

Introduction

Cassidy is 3 years old. She has very light green eyes, long and wavy bleach-blond hair,

and a glowing face. She is actively playing outdoors with her sister and myself. She is on a

horse ranch in the mountains with a dirt path and lively flowing creek nearby. There are many

animals around her in including horses in their pens, and dogs. She is very familiar with the

outdoor area. The following observations were gathered over a time period of roughly 1 hour

and 15 minutes.

Observation

Cassidy is sitting in a chair at a table just outside the horse arena where her mother

teaches horseback riding lessons. She is accompanied by her older sister who is 7 years old.

Cassidy is a bit shy at first, and hesitant to talk. After a short amount of time sitting at the table,

Cassidy’s sister stands up and begins to walk around, at which point Cassidy follows her

somewhat timidly. She follows her sister to one of the nearby horse pens and begins to speak.

She talks about the two baby horses and what they are named. Cassidy says the color of the

horse as she describes it, and points to it with her arm outstretched each time she shares a fact

about him. Soon, Cassidy and her sister walk away from the pen and over to the wide open

arena, which is empty. Her sister picks up a toy gun that shoots a small tennis ball. The two

engage in a game very much like fetch. Cassidy runs powerfully and proudly as fast as she can

to retrieve the tennis ball. As she runs, she frequently glances down at the ground to ensure her

safe stepping. She stops as she approaches it, picks it up, turns her body back toward her sister,

and then begins to run back in the same fashion. Breathing a little heavier each time, Cassidy
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and her sister repeat this 6 times. Cassidy then expresses her fatigue and that she wants to take a

break. She returned to the table for a couple minutes. She grasped a soda cup with both hands

and brought the straw to her lips to take a few sips.

After a short break to catch her breath, Cassidy and her sister walk down the dirt trail a

little bit until they reach a boulder near the edge of a small hillside. They both climb on top.

Cassidy uses both hands to brace herself on the boulder as she brings one foot up at a time. She

is very careful as she does this maneuver. She then sits down and begins to toss small rock

pieces down toward the running stream below. Her throws involve holding the rock piece by her

fingertips and swinging her nearly-full extended arm from behind her back and forward, at which

point she releases the rock piece from out in front of her. Shortly after a few throws, she stands

up and steps back down from the boulder. She then leads the way further down the dirt trail. As

she gets closer and closer to the edge of the stream, she vocalizes to her sister when to stop and

not go any closer. Cassidy shows a very clear knowledge of physical boundaries, and perception

of potential danger. Soon, she decides that it is time to walk back up the trail to where the table

is. On the way up, her sister runs quickly up the rocky slope. Cassidy, however, is not yet able

to traverse a rocky slope without carefully watching each step of the way. This is another

example of her knowing her physical limits and erring on the side of caution. As her sister runs

ahead, Cassidy says, “It’s not a race to the top,” which seemed like a vocal self-validation for not

being as quick or agile as her sister.

Not much later, as Cassidy and her sister return to the table area, Cassidy begins to create

a make-believe scenario while her sister finds something else to do. Cassidy starts to use her

imagination and creative thinking to cook a meal to serve the adults sitting at the table and pour

them coffee. To simulate this, she uses dirt and grass from the ground, a plastic cup, and an old
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travel coffee mug she found nearby. At this point Cassidy is extremely vocal, dictating

everything she is doing as she does it. Occasionally she would say something and repeat it until

she saw an adult respond and knew someone heard her words. Her facial expressions are more

vivid than before. She makes more eye contact and smiles more frequently. Throughout this

make-believe dinner setting, Cassidy makes it a point to include each adult equally and give

them fair portions. She enjoys the role reversal where she performs the caretaking role to the

adults, which she has learned from her mother.

As the sunlight starts to diminish slightly, Cassidy stays nearby the horse arena where her

mother is in the middle of teaching a lesson. Cassidy and her sister start to play with a tennis

ball, and when it rolls under the car they use a rake to reach for it. Cassidy and her sister then

start to play with a toy car which is big enough for one to sit on while the other pushes. This

time they both take turns, however Cassidy enjoys it more when she gets pushed in the car by her

sister. Each time they push the car along the same path and back, Cassidy expresses the same

amount of excitement and happiness as the last. Repetitive actions, so long as they are fun, do

not diminish her enthusiasm. Near the end of the observation period, Cassidy’s aunt gives her a

very belated Christmas present. Cassidy excitedly begins to unwrap the gift by tearing small

pieces of wrapping paper away, little by little. She opens it using only the tips of her thumb and

index finger pinched together.

Conclusion

Cassidy is a healthy and cheerful 3-year-old girl who is developing in a standard fashion.

Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development accurately describes her behaviors. She

shows knowledge of object permanence, in the case of locating a tennis ball after it rolls out of
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sight underneath the car. She also engaged a lot in pretend play, where she showed only limited

logic in her way of thinking, and much creativity and imagination. She did, however, show

consideration of the point of view of others and constituting fairness. This might indicate a very

early transition to Piaget’s concrete operational stage of cognitive development. (Boeree 1999)

Physically, Cassidy shows pride in her ability to run, climb, and hop. A child’s capacity

to perform those actions is a notable milestone of development for her age. (“California

Department of Education” 2016) Her gross motor skills appear to be developing well. Her fine

motor skills are still developing. Her limited dexterity when unwrapping a Christmas present

demonstrated this, in addition to holding a soda cup with both hands.

When it comes to communication, Cassidy is very vocal. Her verbal communication is

very strong, she pronounces most of her words correctly, and she is able to recognize when

someone else is communicating with her. Her body language and facial expressions indicate

interest in those she communicates with. She expresses herself non-verbally more when she is

comfortable around others in her present environment.

Based on my observations, I noticed developmental patterns that are supported by various

previously existing theories. I recommend that Cassidy continues to play and explore in the

outdoor setting where she can exercise her creativity, imagination, and curiosity.
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References

Boeree, George. Florida Department of Health. 1999. Web. 16 Feb 2017.

http://www.floridahealth.gov/alternatesites/cms-

kids/providers/early_steps/training/documents/cognitive_development.pdf

(2016, September 23). California Department of Education. Foundation: Gross Motor – Child

Development (CA Dept of Education). Retrieved February 16, 2017, from

http://www.cde.ca.gov/SP/cd/re/itf09percmotfdgrom.asp