Alexis Fodor

Professor Bottliglieri

Educ 111

December 7, 2019

Preschool Observation Assignment

15 Minute Snapshot

Placement: Preschool

Child Name: “Child G”

Child Age: 4 Years

Observation:

Child G said to another child that she wanted to draw. The two girls then nodded their heads to

each other and tiptoed towards the bin of coloring books. Child G opened the drawer and

grabbed one book for the two of them to share and ran over to the art station. She opened the

book and pointed to the different characters on the page. The teacher then walked over and asked

her and the other child to help him clean off the table from the toys that had been left out to dry

the night before. Child G eagerly put the toys in the bin. Once the table was completely cleared

off, she sat down and picked her page. After a few minutes of scribbles she exclaimed “Look at

the girl’s pants!” She then continued to scribble across the page, not paying attention to any of

the guidelines. Suddenly, her head popped up and she ran across the room towards the door. She
looked down the hall and called out for her mommy. Her face changed from a look of concern

into a frown as she slowly walked back to the art table. On her walk back, she invited another

girl to come to the color table. When the girl accepted, Child G skipped across the room to get

another coloring page. She sat down again and picked up a green crayon. She then started

singing everything she was doing – she was singing “I think green will go gooooooood here!”

She then looked up from her page and said to her friend “Wow! You go girl!” as she leaned

against the table doing a little dance. She danced while coloring for about three minutes until the

teacher asked her to sit in a seat. Just as she’s about to sit down another student enters and yells

her name from across the room. Child G gets up and runs over to greet the new boy. She invites

him to come color with her and the other girls. She walks him over to the art table holding hands.

When they get to the table, Child G offers her seat to the boy, but he declines and decides to go

play with blocks instead. She then asked one of the girls at the table to color Tiana for her.

Reflection:

Child G is a very social child. She is able to handle herself and calm herself down – we saw this

when she realized her mother was gone, and then ran back to her station. She seems to take

charge of her peers, but isn’t overly bossy towards them. I would say she is inclusive towards her

friends. Child G clearly enjoys to sing and dance; she was almost always singing a song to

herself or doing a little dance. She was able to follow instructions and lend a helping hand when

her teacher wanted to clean off the art table. Child G also showed that she has an understanding

for social cues. She didn’t get visibly upset or cause a scene when the boy didn’t come play with

her. She was able to move on and get back to her activity in a timely manner.
Implication for teachers:

Teachers could use Child G to their advantage as an ambassador for when new students enter the

classroom. She has a bubbly and outgoing personality that would translate well to new students.

Another thing that teachers could do is include a range of creative/art activities. Child G seemed

to enjoy coloring her page and used a variety of colors and patterns as well. I think a variety of

songs and finger plays could be implemented into the daily schedule and learning times since she

sang about her day.

 Montessori Reflection

Maria Montessori has a lot of strong views on children’s learning and a lot of her findings

can be seen in some modern day classrooms. Some schools even model their plans off of her

methods. There are a few similarities and differences that can be seen in this particular

classroom. Montessori focused a lot on a child's individual learning without adult intervention.

She stressed the importance of adult demonstration, but not interrupting the child’s learning

experience.

She believed that children at younger ages are inclined to want to explore and interact

with their surroundings without needing to be prompted by a teacher or caregiver. In this

daycare, preschoolers are separated into pairs and sent around to different stations on their own.

Most of the adult intervention is simply that, just intervention. Stations are explained prior to

station time and teachers step in when needed to resolve and redirect struggling children. These

stations challenge their creativity with building blocks, counting bears, sorting games, art

activities, reading books, and many other stimulating activities. Even though it isn’t exactly

individual learning, the students are broken up into small groups instead of being in a whole

group setting.

Montessori also believed in learning tools. She created sandpaper alphabets in an effort to

promote reading and writing at a young age. This particular class room may not have had sand

paper alphabets, but they did place an importance on writing. I noticed that there was a large

poster on the wall titled “Group Writing Journal”. I got the impression that at circle time the

group of students work together to write a few sentences about a specific subject with teacher

assistance. This goes against some of her beliefs because teachers are highly involved and it’s

also in a group setting.

 While I was in the classroom a new student was dropped off by her dad for the very first

time. The rest of the class was having a little free play time in their designated station spots. This

little girl cried as her father left the room. The teacher approached the little girl and showed her

the room, putting a large emphasis on the fun toys and games around the room. She then left her

sit at a table with a book to calm down. After the girl had mostly calmed down, the teacher found

an outgoing student to take the new girl under their wing. Immediately, the little girl was

engaged and playing with blocks on the ground. In this situation, the teacher was very aware of

the needs of the little girl. Instead of pushing her to engage in play the girl was left to calm

herself with a small distraction. I think this was a great adjustment for the girl, and a great play

on the teacher’s part.

Overall, I had a good experience in this classroom. It was great watching the children

interact without conflict. I was amazed at how independent and creative most of the children

were. I think that speaks volumes about the teachers and how they run their classroom. The

children were knowledgeable enough to follow instructions and also be caring and considerate

towards their other classmates.

 Mini Book Student Cubbies Door
Space Window to Hallway
Fridge
Supply Closet

Dress
Table Shelves up

Shelves
Table
Table

Dress
up
Shelves
Cabinets/Sink

Kitchen Set

Circle Time
Carpet
Bathroom

Shelves
Shelves

Table

Door to Art Corner