Play observation

1. Description
The age of the children: 24-30 month
Setting: Playground and classroom
Number: 8 children- 2 adults
The playground was right outside the classroom and caregivers can just open the door and take
children to the playground and take them back to the classroom. So the toddlers didn’t need to go
a long way to reach to the playground.

2. Cognitive play
a) Materials in the playground:
- Little push and ride on cars
- Tricycles
- Doll house
- balls
- Caterpillar bridge
- Tunnel
- Sand pool
- Laem mower toy
Materials in the classroom:
- Dramatic Area: small table, chairs, baby dolls, oven, sink, food, vegetables, dishes, clothes for
dolls and toddlers, phones.
- Block Area: Cars, animals, soft blocks, fire truck, hump truck, though airplane.
- Science Center: super-safe specimen viewers (mirrors), mood and emotion signs, shaking
bottles, connecting magnets.
- Toys and game: stocking cubes, beads, fishing toys, puzzles.
- Library: Books, puppets, small coach, mattress, pillows.

b) 3 choices of play materials made by children in the playground:

- Little tikes push and ride on cars: In the playground most of the toddlers, like 6 or 7 of them
frequently were engaging with ride on cars. Some of them were sharing and riding the cars
together and some kids were pushing the cars with another kid inside. There were 5 ride on cars.
- Baby dolls: In the classroom 1 toddler engaged with books and pillows in the library.
- Connecting magnets: In the classroom 2 toddlers were playing with connecting magnets in
science area.

c) The amount of time each of the choices of toys was played with:
- Ride on Cars: 30 minutes. I observed that most of the toddlers engaged with ride on cars for the
whole time in playground which it was 30 minutes.
- Playing in the library with pillows and looking to the books.15 minutes. I observed 1 toddler
engaged with books and pillows in the library and played solitary. But after 15 minutes she was
done and went to the house area to playing with dishes.
- Connecting magnets: 30 minutes. I observed 2 toddlers after being done with playdough, came
to the science area and played with connecting magnets for the rest of the choice time which it
was 30 minutes.

d) - In the playground I observed that children were riding the ride on cars. Some of them shared
the cars and some of them pushed the cars with another kid inside. They opened and closed the
car’s doors and rode the cars. Teachers were interacting with children as well, because some of
children didn’t want to share the cars and teachers encouraged the other interested kids to take a
turn.
- In the library in the classroom a girl was playing with books and pillows. She was looking at
the books, sorting the pillows and trying to lay down on the pillows. She had one book that
looking at and 3 pillows that playing with.
- In the science center in the classroom first one toddler were playing with connecting magnets.
He connected magnets together and also to the iron door. Then another toddler joined him to
play the magnets too. The second toddler initiated the first one to put the magnets to the iron
door.

e) I think children during playing with ride on cars and connecting magnets were learning about
social skills. As I observed sometimes two kids were riding the cars together and sometimes one
kid were pushing another one and in my opinion, teachers interactions was important in this part
because they showed children that how they can share cars or take a turn. The other things that
toddlers learned were physics like how to connect magnets together and the relation between
magnets and the iron door and motor skills like how they can drive the cars, how they can open
and shut the doors, and how they can get in the cars or get out of them and how they can keep
their body and the friend’s bodies safe during this activity.

3. Social Play
a) In the playground a girl were playing in the sand pool individually. She was feeling the sand
texture, and pouring the sands in the bowls and the other toys. A teacher were interacting with
her and trying to show her how to play with the sand toys.

b) In the classroom I observed a girl was playing in the house area with a baby doll, and clothing
and diapering it. Another boy joined her and tried to do the same thing with the doll. First she
was trying to take her doll but the girl cried and then the teacher interacted and tell him that he
can have another doll. The boy took another doll and tried to put diaper on it. The teacher told
him you have to take the cloth of and put on the diaper and helped him. They engaged with baby
dolls for the rest of the choice time.
c) In the house area they were enough dolls, clothes and diapers so I think the materials
determined the level of social play. Specially when the kids were trying to share the materials the
could find them and share. For example I saw that the girl tried to help the boy and found a
diaper and gave it to him.

d) I think in this case caregiver interaction was useful. She helped the boy to find another doll
and let him to join the girl to play. The caregiver asked girl to help him find diaper for the doll
and I think this interaction improved their social skills. Helping the boy by caregiver ang
showing them how to diaper the doll was also useful. Because when the boy learn how to diaper
the doll, he got engaged with dolls for the rest of the choice time which it was 40 minutes.

4. Conclusion
a) The important thing that I learned is that if we put interesting materials in each center the kids
get engaged easily. For example I saw that children were engaged with connecting magnets in
science center for a long time which is usually the least favorite center in the day cares.
The another thing that I learned is the importance of caregiver’s interaction. As I observed, In the
house area the caregiver’s interaction were helpful. It improved the toddler’s social skills and
kept them engaged for a long time.

b) First, I observed that no children were engaged with toys and games table. My
recommendation for caregivers was put more interesting toys and materials in this center to
promote the kid’s interests like their science center.
Second, I observed that caregivers put some playdough at the table during choice time but there
were no plan and no instruction for toddlers to how play with playdough and what they can do
with it. So kids engaged with playdough for like 5 minutes and left the table. I think if teacher
had an interesting plan like making something and show the kids how they can make this thing
and have more interaction with them during this activity, it would be more interesting and useful
for kids.