Megan Wakefield

Professor Denise M Sidney M. Ed.

September 20, 2019

ECE 252

Play observation

1. Description

The average ages of children observed is 24-30 months.

Setting is a home care setting.

Number of adults is 2.

Children present is 6.

2. Cognitive play

a) List play materials and the appropriateness of these materials available to children being

observed. The play materials I see are small toy trucks and cars, Legos, train set, all kinds of

dolls, books, and arts and crafts material. I find that all of the materials provided are appropriate.

The small toy trucks and cars are scaled perfectly to size a 2-year-old hand. The Legos are

perfect for creativity and stacking. Books are all within reach of children and all play materials

are super assessable, that way all the children are not limited to certain items, they can pick

whatever they want.

b) Describe at least 3 choices of play materials made by children.

1. Toy Truck

2. Legos

3. Stacking toy (where one box is smaller than the other and they fit each box inside one another)

c) Detail the amount of time each of the choices of toys was played with.

Stacking toy: This one was used first by the child and the time he took on it was about 30

seconds to 1 minute. Not very long at all.

Toy Trucks: These were used a bit longer by the child. He played with the toy trucks for a full 2

minutes.

Legos: 3rd toy he played with was Legos, he mixed the toy trucks with Legos and stayed playing

with both for about 5 minutes this time.

d) What indications did you have that the children were engaged with the toys? He was

solely focused on what he was doing and not involving anyone else. Nothing seemed to distract

him.

e) What were the children learning from these choices?

The choices made by the children helped them learn and develop in many ways. The toy trucks

moved and fit into each other, so this choice made by a child helps children figure out different

object sizes and helps them develop a better understanding of cause and effect because the toy

truck moves on its wheels when pushed.

3. Social play

a) Write an objective observation of a child engaged in solitary play. When I started to

watch a child at play on their own, he was hovering over the coffee table looking at all the
objects. He grabbed the candle holder and flipped it over, causing the candle to fall out on to the

table. He then looked inside the now empty candle holder and banged in on the table, then

grabbed the candle and did the same. He now proceeded to put the candle back into the candle

holder. Once back he took the candle and candle holder over to the couch and threw them down.

He went back to the coffee table mumbling to himself and grabbed the small cloth that was under

the candle. Once the cloth was in hand, he took it over to where the Legos were at, and put it flat

on the rug, next to the Legos. Still mumbling to himself he lays on his stomach and grabs Legos

to use on top of the tablecloth he grabbed earlier.

b) Write an objective observation a child engaged in parallel play.

He is at the Lego table about a foot away from the other child. He grabbed a Lego and hit it on

the table and then set it down. The child next to him grabbed it and did the same thing. They are

standing really close to one another but not communicating or making eye contact in anyway.

They seem to touch the same toys one after the other. The child standing next to him leaves the

Lego table and the other stays touching and moving the Lego pieces a bit longer by himself.

c) Did the play materials help determine the level of social play?

How? Yes, the play materials did help to provide social interactions. Children were interested in

a lot of the same toys. These certain play materials would have numbers of children at it at one

time.

d) How did adult interaction affect play? (Adult did not engage enough or

interrupted play?)

The adults involved themselves the perfect amount of time. They were not over barring and gave

children their freedom to explore.

4. Conclusion

a) What did you learn from this observation? Be specific! I learned a lot about how playing

is a huge part of developmental success. Children playing is not just children “playing” it is so

much more. Play is the process of exploration. Exploration leads to many learning discoveries

and milestones. The children I observed today gained so much through play. Playing with the

trucks taught them cause and effect and the Legos taught them to be creative.

b) Give at least 2 recommendations for play activities/materials

for the group you observed (including actions of caregivers).

1. I recommend that the caregivers provided more book options and involve more reading

activities.

2. I also recommend more outside time. Now that it is cooling off outside, I thought the children

would enjoy a bit more outside time.