University of the Philippines Diliman

College of Home Economics

FLCD 201

Advanced Studies on Child Development

Child Observation Report

Submitted by:

Therese Margaurite M. Domingo

Submitted to:

Asst. Prof Charla Rochella S. Saamong

May 24, 2018

Introduction

Observation is a method wherein individuals record facts, events, and

significant information with the goal of answering questions, doubts, or
expounding knowledge and skills in the field he is in. This child observation report
seeks to:

(1) Identify the present level of performance of the child

(2) Describe the different characteristics of the child in the areas of:
physical, emotional, social, and cognitive
(3) Relate the characteristics to the child’s development
(4) Observe and apply learned theories to the child’s development

With this report, the observer also pursues to find strengths, weaknesses,
distinct features, special abilities (if any), of the child being observed. The observer
also seeks to find relationships between the domains of the development and in
what specific situation does the relationship happens.

Observation Method

The role as a complete observer only allowed the MFLCD student to

observe the child from a few meters away and did not engage in any form of
interaction. The observed child was chosen randomly from the class list of the 3s
class in UP CDC. The observer was also given permission by the class adviser to
take photos of the child during observation. The observer used anecdotes for
gathering data. The class adviser checked and validated the notes after
observation sessions.

Background Information

Name: Maddox Robin Lopez

Age: 3.5 years old

Health concerns: Skin Rash/Asthma

Maddox has a caregiver who takes him to school and fetches him.
According to his caregiver, Maddox is a quiet boy and he’s very “malambing”
towards his parents, caregiver, and other elders. Even in their home, he doesn’t
get in trouble. He listens and follows well. The only concern they had with him was
his skin irritation and how to avoid getting wounds because of the scratching.
Domains of Development (observed traits)

Physical

A. Gross motor/Sensory-Perceptual
Maddox has an average physique for his age – not too small, not too
big. He walks around the classroom without bumping to objects along his
path. He imitates action songs and shows active body movements –
clapping hands, stomping feet, tapping knees, rolling hands, stretching
arms – during circle time whenever they sing a song. He sits on the floor with
his legs crossed (crisscross) during circle time. He stands and sits with ease
and with balance as well.
During outdoor play, he participates in group games like hide-n-seek.
He looks for places that are far from the “it” so that he/she won’t find him.
He runs with balance and avoids bumping to other peers by moving away
from crowded areas. He rides the bike and pedals on flat ground. He asks
the teacher to give him a little push when he is going on a steeper ground.
He hops and plays inside the sandbox. He gathers sand with the shovel and
puts it on his hands. He rubs sand on his palm and shakes them off after. He
steps of water puddles carefully to avoid slipping. He climbs up the wooden
stairs and keeps his balance on top. He climbs back down cautiously and
repeats the climb for about 5 to 6 times. He climbs monkey bars without any
help and can swing on his own. He can carry his weight as he hangs from
the bars. He has a strong grip and good sense of balance. He is able to
come down from the monkey bars with ease. He uses the slide with his
classmates and waits for his turn. He can jump from the slide’s platform
down to the ground with at least a meter high and lands on both feet.
When given a ball, he is able to dribble, kick, throw and catch. He also
shoots the ball inside the basket that is about 1.5 meters. He usually plays in
one area for about 30 seconds to a minutes before moving to a different
area or activity.

B. Fine motor
Maddox writes with his right hand. In a cutting activity, he was unable
to cut through the dotted lines but still managed to cut the paper into
almost the same length of strips. He sticks the strips of paper onto a different
sheet of colored paper by squeezing the glue bottle using both of his hands
on the strip of paper he cut. He starts tearing the colored paper after the
teacher suggested him to do so. He tears paper into strips using both hands.
 During circle time, he raises his right hand if he wants to participate.
He writes on the whiteboard with his right hand while his left hand supports
the other. He puts the cap back on the marker after he uses it. He uses his
index finger to point the answers on the board. He is also able to follow the
dotted lines on the board when tracing the letter of the day.
During work play, Maddox played with beads, strings, and blocks. He
puts the string through the hole of the blocks and continues until the end of
the string. He gets a handful of blocks and continues pulling the string
through the blocks he gathered. He tries to tie a knot by observing the
teacher and imitating the actions done by the teacher’s hand. He was
unable to tie a knot so he continues playing with the strings and blocks. One
of the blocks had a tiny hole. The string was too big for it but he still tries his
best to put it in. He pushes the string with his thumb and index finger until it
goes through the hole, and pulls the short thread that came out from the
hole with the same thumb and index finger he used for pushing. After he
finishes, he says “I’m done” and “I did it” and shows his work to the teacher.
He uses the toy hammer to tap on the wooden nails and screws for a
different set of manipulative toys. He twists screws with his hands in order to
take them out of the hole of the wooden plank. He connects and
disconnects green pipes and tries to form different shapes.
During one of their Friday activity, the class learned how to make fruit
shakes. Maddox is grouped together with 2 more peers and a student
teacher. They are to make Peanut Butter Banana shake. Maddox
volunteers to peel the bananas. He gets one and peels it using both hands.
At first, he tries to peel the sides of the banana by squeezing the fruit. He
then peeled the banana starting from the tip of the fruit. His pacing was a
bit slow when he first peeled the fruit but after the repetitive movement of
his hands, he was able to be efficient.

Social/Self-help

Maddox greets his teachers and classmates whenever he comes inside the
room. With his soft voice, he smiles and shares what he did before he went to
school. He also greets the guard upon seeing them outside. Maddox shows
independence in almost all the tasks in school. He enters the classroom with a
smile on his face. He removes his outdoor shoes and socks, and wears his indoor
shoes without asking for help from his teacher. During table-top activities, he
minds his own work and only calls the teacher when he’s already finished by
repeatedly saying “I’m done” until his teacher comes to him. He moves on to the
next activity whenever he finishes something and doesn’t need to be told what
to do anymore.

During Work Play he makes sure he finishes his paper-and-pen activity

before he goes to the toy area. He doesn’t usually play with his classmates.
Parallel play was observed as well as Solitary play. He would use the same set of
toys with his classmates but doesn’t interact with them. It was also observable that
when someone gets the toys that he is playing with, he just looks for a different
toy to play with. He would usually play in a less crowded area and look over his
classmates. He has a soft voice and is quiet even when playing. At times, when
his classmates would come over him to play with the toys, he would share and
engage in minimal interaction. During an idle time of work play, his teacher came
over to him and played with him. He smiled and hid behind his teacher as he
laughed and said “I’m behind you!”. He would glance at the observer once in a
while probably because he notices that he is being observed.

Maddox eats independently at his own pace. He uses a spoon to scoop

out the food from the bowl and carefully puts it in his mouth without spilling the
food. He finishes his food and even asks for a second serving. One time, he was
seen dipping the spoon he used to scoop the rice and sinigang into his cup of
water. He then drinks the water from the spoon like a soup. He wipes his mouth
using the collar of his shirt or with his hands. He would ask water by saying “Water
please” to the helper. He says “Thank you” when he gets what he asked for. He
says “all done” after eating and packs his dish away.

He is able to recognize his own belongings as observed when getting his

toothbrush, cup, and toothpaste. He independently puts toothpaste on his brush
by squeezing the tube with one hand and holding the brush with the other. He
opens and closes the faucet with one hand. He wipes his wet hands on his shirt
and uses his collar to wipe his mouth after brushing his teeth.

During outdoor play, Maddox seems quite uncomfortable at times. He

keeps scratching his arms, legs, and head probably because of the itchiness he
is feeling. The redness of his skin is noticeable especially when it is hot or when he
is sweating a lot. Nevertheless, he doesn’t stop playing and continues to enjoy
outdoor play. He usually plays alone except when the teacher calls them to play
hide-n-seek. He joins in the game and runs, hides, and laughs with his classmates.
On one occasion, a teacher from a different class asked for a group photo and
he immediately smiled after hearing the teacher say “1, 2, 3 smile!”. He poses
happily in front of the camera. During this one time, he was riding the toy truck
but his classmate wanted to ride too. Since he wasn’t done playing yet, he let his
classmate ride with him. Eventually he stepped out of the toy truck and played
on the wooden stairs and monkey bars.

Maddox can change clothes all by himself. He gets his own bag from the
cubby and goes to the mat area to change. He looks at his classmates and helps
them when they need help. He reminds his classmates to change their clothes as
well. One particular instance was when he noticed that one of his classmates was
just standing beside him – he tapped his classmate’s shoulders and said “change
clothes” so his classmate did. He also helps his classmates take off their shirts when
it gets stuck through their head.

Emotional

Maddox is a quiet boy. At first glance he might seem like he is not a sociable
student but when he is being talked to, he can keep the conversation going. He
is very observant especially towards his classmates. Since he can already do
things by himself, he needs the least help from the teachers. When he sees his
other classmates having a hard time doing activities, he offers help and
assistance.

Maddox shows a pleasing personality in class and doesn’t get in any

arguments. He would always compromise his own wants for his classmates
especially when playing with toys. If someone wants to play with the toy he is
playing with, he just lets them use it and he finds a different toy to play with. When
he really wants to play with something, he tells his classmates “No” and his peers
would understand. When he sees someone crying or arguing, he looks at his
teacher and waits patiently for the argument to be fixed.

When his teachers ask him for a high-five, he does while continuing the
current activity he is doing. He accepts his classmates requests when they want
to play as a group. Although at times, in the middle of the game, he would move
away and play on his own. When someone unintentionally hits him, he doesn’t
get angry and says “it’s okay” then goes back to playing.

Cognitive
 Maddox uses English and Filipino as his language but speaks in English more
than Filipino. He expresses his wants, needs, and ideas in English. Maddox has a
soft small voice so when he talks to his classmates, most of the time they don’t
understand him or hear him clearly. He says “may I borrow?” before playing with
a toy. He also says “excuse me” when he wants to pass through. There are times
where he wants to get something but because of his soft voice, he is
overpowered by his classmates’ voice. When he finishes an activity he says “I’m
done”, “Finish”, or “It’s done”. He waits for the teacher to come to him before he
proceeds to another activity. He always waits for his turn in everything they do in
the classroom. He also waits for approval from his teacher before he does
something.

Maddox volunteers in different classroom jobs. He raises his hands to any

job that is being asked. When he is assigned a job for the day, he makes sure to
accomplish it. During the observation period, he was assigned to be a weather
monitor, line leader, and attendance checker. Being the weather monitor, he
leads the class in singing the weather song. He also checks the weather outside
and tells the class if it is a sunny, cloudy, rainy, or windy day. He chooses the
correct picture for the weather and sticks it on the weather board independently.
As the line leader, he makes sure that his classmates are following him and are
standing on the correct line. He leads them when lining up for washing hands,
outdoor play, changing clothes, and going home. Being the attendance checker,
Maddox makes sure to count how many students, and teacher there are in the
classroom. With the help of the teacher, he uses a pointer to count how many
girls and boys there are in the room. He counts himself when he counts the boys.

During circle time, he sings along to the routine songs and follows his
teacher’s actions. He nods his head when he agrees and shakes his head or says
“no” when he disagrees. He can recall events that happened in the story read by
the teacher. He answers the questions, who, what, and where based on what he
has heard from the story. He can identify characters in the book as well. He can
sequence events from the story using pictures. He also makes his own predictions
when asked “What do you think happened?”
Analysis

Analyzing the development of Maddox through theories, there would be

some difference on the expected and the actual development. Looking into the
developmental milestones of a 3 years old, Maddox excels in the following skills:

Physical

(1) Climbs well

(2) Runs, stops, and can keep his balance
(3) Kicks, throws, and catches a ball
(4) Pedals a tricycle
(5) Walks up and down stairs one foot on each step
(6) Keeps his balance well
(7) Can work with toys with buttons, levers, and moving parts
(8) Writes capital letters from the alphabet

Cognitive

(9) Says his name and age

(10) Copies simple shapes using a pencil or marker
(11) Recalls events from the story
(12) Counts objects
(13) Builds towers using more than 6 blocks
(14) Turns door knobs to open
(15) Follows 2 – 3 step instructions
(16) Name familiar things around him

Social/ Self-help

(17) Shows concern for classmates in need

(18) Take turns in games, toys, or activities
(19) Separates easily from caregiver
(20) Dresses and undresses himself
(21) Understands concepts of mine and yours

Basing the child’s development to the theory of Piaget, it can be observed

that the skills Maddox has are quite ahead of his peers. He seems more
independent than what Piaget has suggested in his theory.
 Looking at a different theory, we might be able to see the strengths
and weakness of the child observed. Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple
Intelligence suggests that people has certain skills that are superior to others at
the same time have skills that may be improved through practice and growth.
Basing from the observation and Gardner’s theory, Maddox may have the
strengths or intelligence in the following – visual-spatial and bodily kinesthetic.
We can see from the way he uses his body to do activities that he has both
upper body and lower body strength that are greater than his classmates.
Some of his classmates needed some help when climbing up and sliding down
the slide, others were still wobbly when they run, and some still cannot jump
from a platform as high as he can. He also keeps his balance at all times and
maintains a safe environment by being careful and wary of his surroundings.
He may need improvement on his interpersonal and verbal-linguistic skills as he
seems lacking of socialization with his peers. All of his classmates are playful
and verbally expressive. Maddox only talks when he is being asked by his
teachers. He can maintain communication as long questions are given to him
and prompts are being made.

Using Kohlberg’s maturational theory, I would say that Maddox is in

the pre-conventional stage along with his peers. He knows what is right and
wrong and chooses doing the good things in order to avoid consequences
and to make sure that he is being a good boy. I noticed that whenever he
receives verbal praises from his teacher – which happens less than what his
other peers receive, he would always smile and say “thank you”. Maddox is
well-behaved and well-mannered. In the observation period, there was no
observed behavior of him having troubles with turn-taking or engaging in small
arguments with his peers, and being noticed by the teacher for any
misbehavior. He always chooses to do things that will not cause any trouble.

The domains are observed as being interconnected in such a way

that they all work together for the holistic development of the child. For
instance, the way Maddox moves his body cautiously interrelates to his timidity
and shyness when interacting with peers. He is careful and observant of his
environment and doesn’t hastily do things on his own especially when he
doesn’t know what to do. He sits or stands quietly as he waits for his turn or for
the instructions of his teachers. Here we can see that the way he projects
himself (physical) is affected by his personality and interests (social, emotional).
Another observable interrelation of domains is the variety of responses he
makes towards his peers and teachers. This shows his linguistic ability (cognitive)
 and how he can relate it to feelings and emotions brought by the situation
(social, emotional).

Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations

Maddox shows excellence in the areas of physical, emotional, and

self-help. He is able to do activities efficiently without receiving any help from his
teachers. He explores on his own and learns from his discoveries. He is able to
focus on one thing and tries his best to do tasks properly. He is observant and this
allows him to see different situation in his environment. He is understanding and
can be patient especially when the activity requires turn-taking. He is not easily
irritated and can adjust to the situation at hand. He is quite timid which sometimes
affects his wants and needs. Since he also has a soft voice, teachers and
classmates may have a hard time understanding what he needs.

The different domains of development can present something about

the child’s growth and development. They are interrelated and each one may
affect the other depending on the situation at hand. Environment also plays a big
role in the child’s development. External stimuli may affect the way his physique
develops, his interaction, the way he reacts to experiences, and the way he learns
and explore his surroundings.

I would suggest role-plays, dialogues, and spontaneous

conversations with Maddox so he can improve his social skills as well as his
linguistic ability. This would help him construct sentences in order to fully express
what he feels, what he wants, and what he needs. I would also suggest for his
teachers to offer him help even if he doesn’t ask for it. Maddox might be too shy
to ask but when he would be ask he might really need the help. It’s also good to
check on him and recognize or praise what he is doing so he would feel that
someone is looking after him. Exposing him to new experiences will also open
more opportunities of discovery.

His skin rash is something that could cause him to not do some
activities that would trigger itching. For this, I recommend to find something more
suitable and accommodating to his situation. Let’s say for outdoor play, since the
heat and the sweat causes him to itch, maybe he can change to something more
comfortable rather than playing with his polo shirt, and jeans on. It would also be
helpful if ice or any cold agents would be available so that it can refresh his skin
and avoid him from scratching and building up wounds.
Appendices

Maddox playing with manipulatives Maddox quietly sitting on the mat Maddox getting his brush kit

On the truck w/ his classmate Going up the wooden stairs Climbing the monkey bars
Peeling the banana Putting slices in the blender Pressing the button
Reflection

Observing Maddox was a very interesting and meaningful experience.

Being a complete observer allowed me to really look into a child’s development.
Although I have to admit that it was kind of hard because I had to fight the urge
not to fall asleep – I believe being idle makes me sleepier. I also have to be honest
that the time I had for observation was not enough to write about Maddox. I felt
like I lacked time to really observe him. From the three days I observed, there was
too little activities and most of the time, he was just really quiet. At some point, I
was also observing his classmates and trying to compare the way they behave.
Maddox had this “kuya” vibe among his classmates. I saw that he looks at his
classmates and observes them from afar. He would play on his own but he would
also watch over the peers close to his area, he would try to offer his toys to others,
he would share his toys to others even if he really wants to play with it. I think he
would have this personality of thinking about others first before himself and seeing
that at a young age is really surprising.

It’s amazing to see that children really develop at their own pace. Yes,
there are developmental milestones that guide parents and teachers and make
us cautious of the future, but it’s also good to know that not everything can be
proven and supported by theories. I always get fascinated by the spontaneity of
events and it’s the same with development. I think seeing Maddox and how
unique he is, as well as his peers, made me feel happy because learning, growth,
and development is not forced to them. It comes naturally. It’s good that there
are theories to really explain to me what may be happening in a child’s life but I
hope I always remember that personal experience and discovery is also one of
the greatest guide I have in my life.

I hope to have more opportunities in observing young children. I do believe

that I am still lacking in this field. I want to really understand and apply everything
I’ve been learning and help give back to the community in any possible way I
can. This experience is really an eye-opener for me to understand and guide
young children in their journey through life.
List of References

(Berk, 2002) Infants and Children: Prenatal Through Middle Childhood

(Isenberg, 2001) Creative Expression and Play in Early Childhood 3rd Ed., Merrill
Prentice Hall, Ohio

(Nixon, 2003) Exploring: Child Development from Three to Six Years 2nd Ed,
Katoomba

(Cherry, 2017) Child Development Theories and Examples