PEPSI Screening 1

PEPSI Screening

Jaynise Porter

College of Southern Nevada

November 8th, 2020

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PEPSI Screening

The student I chose to observe is Jaymier. Jaymier is eight years old and my son. He is

currently being homeschooled and in the third grade. He was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. His

birthdate is November 18th, 2011 and within the next few weeks, he will be nine years of age. He

was born at Sunrise Children’s Hospital and during birth, his mother stated she had no

complications. He was born healthy weighing seven pounds and 4 ounces. He currently lives in

the home with his mother and father. His mother and father have been together for eleven years

and met when they were in high school. He has three siblings of which are all females. Jaydaa is

eight, Na’Yeli is two, and the youngest Saniyah is approaching eight months of age. His father’s

occupation is armed security and his mother is currently a stay-at-home mom and studying to be

an elementary school teacher.

Jaymier comes from a very family-oriented background. His parents enjoy spending time

with their four children. They make it a routine to have family nights. They enjoy going on

family outings whenever possible. They also spend a great amount of time with extended family

members. Holidays are of great importance for the family especially Thanksgiving and

Christmas.

Physical Development

Jaymier is an eight-year-old male. He currently weighs approximately 50 pounds and is

four feet tall. According to the disabled world website, the average weight for an eight-year-old

male is 56 pounds and height is 56.4 inches (Disabled World, 2017). Although, Jaymier is

slightly below average for an eight-year-old his primary doctor states he is healthy. It is my

opinion that Jaymier height and body build are due to genetics. The average onset of puberty for
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many boys is between the ages of 11 and 12 but it is to my knowledge that Jaymier has already

begun entering the puberty stage and is required to wear deodorant (Disabled World, 2017).

Jaymier is very athletic and energetic. He loves sports and his favorite sports are football

and boxing. Due to the pandemic, Jaymier has been removed from all sports for safety reasons

but he still practices boxing with his dad on a daily routine. While observing Jaymier box with

his dad he displays extreme amounts of energy and can go for a long time. Jaymier hand-eye

coordination is accurate. He demonstrates the ability to accurately hit the boxing mitts with 80

percent accuracy. According to Psychology Applied to Teaching, children tend to be extreme in

their physical activities. They have excellent control of their bodies and develop considerable

confidence in their skills (Snowman & McCown, 2015, p. 45). Jaymier also spends a great

amount of time playing video games and riding his dirt bike.

Jaymier overall is very healthy. Jaymier is able to groom and dress himself with no

assistance from his parents. His diet I would say to be satisfactory. He has a huge appetite and

loves eating. While eating I noticed Jaymier doesn’t take his time out to eat. He has a habit of

just scarfing down the food. Often, his mother has to remind him to slow down before he

acquires a tummy ache from eating too fast. I also noticed that Jaymier eats the dishes served on

his plates from his least favorite. By observing Jaymier eat I concluded that he dislikes

vegetables but will eat them because he understands they are healthy for him. Jaymier is a very

talented person. His hobbies are playing sports and video games. He aspires to be a running back

in the National Football League when he gets older.

Emotional Development
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Jaymier is a very independent boy. He is aware of who he is as a person. He can identify

likes and dislikes. Jaymier is also able to identify interests and hobbies. Jaymier doesn’t hesitate

to express personal opinions and offer suggestions when necessary.

Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Development places Jaymier into the stage of Industry

versus Inferiority, at the stage of industry versus inferiority a child is at the point of development

when behavior is dominated by intellectual curiosity and performance (Snowman & McCown, p.

29). He has developed the need to compete, win medals and trophies. Furthermore, “He now

learns to win recognition by producing things…He develops a sense of industry” (Snowman &

McCown, p. 29). Although Jaymier doesn’t hesitate to take on new tasks or competition when he

fails, he then becomes saddened and angry. According to Erikson, If the children’s efforts are

unsuccessful or if they are derided or treated as bothersome, feelings of inferiority result

(Snowman & McCown, p. 29). While observing Jaymier I recognized that Jaymier is a very

sensitive person. When angered he becomes aggressive and emotional. When Jaymier does not

get his way, he tends to get very upset and will isolate himself. His mother states that when

Jaymier began grade school she would receive several phone calls concerning Jaymier’s temper

tantrums and aggressive behaviors. Jaymier would throw chairs and sit under tables while at

school disregarding rules and instructions. After approaching first grade his mother notices a

great difference in his behavior at school. Jaymier now causes zero problems in school and a

model student for his siblings and peers.

Throughout Jaymier’s lifetime, he has experienced one death. At Jaymier age it’ stated

that children have a more realistic understanding of death (Stanford Children’s Health, 2020).

He was six years old when his grandfather passed away. He understands that his Papa is not

coming back and has the idea that he is in heaven. He becomes saddened when he speaks about
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his papa. He has sentimental items that belonged to Papa that he cherishes very much. Due this

fact-finding, it is to my belief Jaymier’s emotional development is slightly advanced for his age.

Philosophical Development

Jaymier’s philosophical development is average for his age group. According to

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning, Jaymier places into level 2, Conventional Morality. At

this stage, conformity to social rules remain important to the individual (Sanders, 2006). Jaymier

is aware of right and wrong. Furthermore, according to Kohlberg at this stage, the individual

strives to support rules that are set forth by others such as parents (Sanders, 2006). Jaymier

adheres to house rules and is very cautious about doing the wrong things to disappoint his

parents he is not perfect. Although, Jaymier is aware of right and wrong he minimally makes

decisions to act wrongly. When the wrongdoing is brought to his attention and questioned

Jaymier hesitates to answer but eventually will tell the truth.

Interestingly, while observing a conversation between Jaymier and his father Jaymier

demonstrated knowledge of reasoning. He stated to his dad if he would get all A’s on his report

card if his dad could in return get him a game called Madden 2020. According to Kohlberg,

children at this age children will often make deals with peers and adults (Children’s Health).

Furthermore, they will agree to behave in a certain way for a payoff (Children’s Health).

Social Development

At Jaymier’s age children have a growing sense of independence and with it, growing

confidence to solve problems and take risks (Kid Central). Jaymier understands he’s the oldest of
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siblings and is accepting of his responsibilities. He enjoys playing his games alone but wishes he

had a brother he can play with. According to Psychology Applied to Teaching, children in the age

group of nine and ten children tend to become more selective and gender-based (Snowman &

McCown, 2015, p. 90). Jaymier expresses his feelings of wanting to spend time with his male

cousins and friends. He feels there are too many females within our family.

Due to the pandemic and circumstances that led to the decision to homeschool, Jaymier’s

socialization is very limited. He socializes only with his siblings and closest family members. He

shared with me that once the coronavirus goes away, he will very excited to return to school and

football with his friends. His mother states, when he was involved with sports, he is very

communicative and gets along with the other children very well. According to the Little Foxes

Club, competitive sports can be effective for building social skills (Long, 2018). Jaymier is very

interactive with his sister Jaydaa. While observing Jaymier I notice that a lot of bickering goes on

between him and his sister Jaydaa. According to J’Anne, at this age, the ability to see another

viewpoint usually doesn’t extend to siblings and the fighting, tattling, and jealousy continue

(Ellesworth, 1999). Also, when observing Jaymier bicker with his sister I notice that he

demonstrates that he is the older one and is quick to compromise with his sister to satisfy her

feelings. According to Kid Central TN, children of Jaymier’s age group use problem-solving,

negotiating, and compromising skills with peers. Although this does not happen all the time, he

doesn’t like to see his sister unhappy.

Intellectual Development

According to Psychology Applied to Teaching, primary school children around Jaymier’s

age are at the stage where children understand that there are different ways to know things and
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that some ways are better than others (Snowman & McCown, p. 87). While observing Jaymier, it

was to my understanding that he knew of two different techniques to solve a math problem.

Jaymier chose the technique that provided a better understanding for him. Jaymier demonstrates

that he can think for himself. He can analyze problems and uses experiences to assist with

analyzing things. According to Piaget, Jaymier is placed in the concrete operational stage

(Snowman & McCown, p. 40) At the concrete conventional stage children seven to eleven years

of age are capable of operations but solves problems by generalizing from concrete experiences

Snowman & McCown, p. 40)

Jaymier displays many cognitive development skills within his age group. According to

Very Well Family, most children in Jaymier age group can tell time and exhibit a better

understanding of how long time increments are (Amy Morin). Jaymier demonstrates he can tell

time using both an analogical and digital clock. He’s also able to identify how many minutes are

remaining to reach a specified time or how many days are remaining until his birth date.

According to Very Well Family, most eight-year-olds begin to have an understanding of money

both literally and conceptually (Amy Morin). Although, Jaymier is displaying difficulties with

counting money he demonstrates an understanding that money is required to purchase things.

Additional observations I learned about Jaymier is he believes school and homework is

boring, however, he is a very smart eight-year-old. According to My Health Alberta, children

have a black and white perspective much of the time (Healthwise Staff, 2019). For example,

Jaymier views playing the game as fun and completing homework assignments as boring. Social

Science states, that students are communicating to us when they state school is boring, and what

they mean is that they cannot connect what is being put in front of them with what is going on

(Learning Is Social & Emotional Contributor, 2018). Although, Jaymier has is personal opinion
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about school he can retain knowledge easily, he loves reading autobiographies about NFL

players, researching about animals, and multiplication. He can do mental math with single-digit

numbers, read simple sentences, and count by two’s and fives.

PEPSI Chart

Average

P E P S I

Jaymier Average

Recommendations
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Overall, Jaymier’s development is average, he is where he should be in all developmental

categories. After observing Jaymier’s physical development I placed him at the average level of

development. He is healthy and extremely active. My recommendations are that he continues

with physical activities and once the economy returns to normal, he returns to practicing sports. I

also suggest his parents continue to implement vegetables and fruits into his diet as he

approaching the developmental stage where obesity can become a problem for children nine and

ten years of age (Snowman & McCown, 2015, p.88). Last, it is highly recommended that

Jaymier parents continue to monitor the amount of time Jaymier spends in front of the television

and video games as it is not healthy for his overall health.

After observing Jaymier’s emotional development I placed him slightly above average. I

recommend Jaymier’s parents and teachers to continue offering support and encouragement

within school work, extracurricular activities, and tasks around the house it will help maintain or

boost his self-confidence.

Jaymier’s philosophical development observation placed him within the average range. I

believe he has a strong sense of morality. I understand that no person is perfect and we will make

mistakes and that is how we learn. Jaymier can to use his experiences to make personal decisions

in circumstances. I suggest or recommend that his teachers and parents continue to allow him to

think critically and analyze from his personal perspective. I also, recommend that his parents

continue with their parenting style as I believe is very effective for his philosophical

development. When Jaymier does something wrong he asked to identify what he did he did

wrong and to specify why it was wrong.

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After observing Jaymier’s behavior relating to his social development I placed him within

the average range. I recommend that once the economy returns to normal to have him return to

extracurricular activities and sports as it will enhance his emotional and social development.

Jaymier displays majority of the similar characteristics of children within his age group

relating to intellectual development. I recommend that his parents and identify why he believes

school is boring. Together they can come up with solutions to help him connect better with the

curriculum or it may be the teachers’ style of presenting the lesson. Many of the times teachers

are not aware the lesson plans lack creativity and every student has a different style of learning.

Students need to feel the power of interest and deep understanding, to infuse their cognition with

emotion, and to expand their range of issues they care about (Learning Is Social & Emotional

Contributor, 2018). Many students in Jaymier’s age group are developing an increase in

attention span they can easily become bored. I also recommend that his parents identify a few

interests like reading books and maybe take a visit to the library as that may be effective for

stimulating his learning.

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References

Amy Morin, L. (n.d.). How Children Grow and Develop at Age 8. Retrieved November 07,

2020, from https://www.verywellfamily.com/8-year-old-developmental-milestones-620729

Children's Health. (n.d.). Moral development. Retrieved November 07, 2020, from

http://www.healthofchildren.com/M/Moral-Development.html

Disabled World. (2020, October 07). Average Height to Weight Chart: Babies to Teenagers.

Retrieved November 02, 2020, from https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-

charts/height-weight-teens.php

Ellsworth, J. (1999). Eighth Year. Retrieved November 07, 2020, from

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/PEPSIObserv/year8.html

Healthwise. (2019). Milestones for 8-Year-Olds. Retrieved November 09, 2020, from

https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ue5720

Learning Is Social & Emotional Contributor. (2018, July 10). Why Science Says School Is

Boring. Retrieved November 09, 2020, from

https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning_social_emotional/2018/07/why_science_says_sc

hool_is_boring.html

Long James Long - Director of Foxes FC, J. (2018, October 16). Benefits of Competitive Sports

for Children. Retrieved November 07, 2020, from

http://blog.thelittlefoxesclub.com/benefits-of-competitive-sports-for-children/

Sanders, C. (2006). Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development. Retrieved November 07,

2020, from https://www.britannica.com/science/Lawrence-Kohlbergs-stages-of-moral-

development
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Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching. Stamford, CT: Cengage

Learning.

Social and Emotional Development: Ages 8-10. (n.d.). Retrieved November 07, 2020, from

https://www.kidcentraltn.com/development/8-10-years/social-and-emotional-development-

ages-8-10.html

Stanford Children's Health. (n.d.). Retrieved November 07, 2020, from

https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=the-growing-child-school-age-6-to-

12-years-90-P02278