P. E . P. S . I .

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P.E.P.S.I. Project

(Physical. Emotional/Behavioral. Philosophical/Moral. Social Behavior. Intellectual/Academic.)

Kerriebah Bedonie

College of Southern Nevada

Author Note:

This research paper was prepared for Educational Psychology (EDU 220), Section, which is

instructed by Mark Kenney, Ed. S., School Psychologist.

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Introduction:

Keely is a four-year-old female. She attends a private preschool. She draws and colors during

most of her free time. She is a very upbeat little girl. Very in tune with her surrounding, she is

able to tell you what she did last night after school, what she did over the weekend, about a

movie she saw. She sings many songs and nursery rhymes.

Physical:

1. Physical development is the biological growth and acquisition of fine motor and gross motor

skills according to (Frey, R. J. 2011). The preschool years the body growth is slow and more

stable. Cartilage turns to bone with is stronger but is more likely to break. By the age of

three, the child has 20 of their primary teeth. The child will gain about four pounds per year

and grow two to three inches in their height.

In the motor development, there are four categories: gross motor, fine motor, handedness, and

gender differences according to (Trawick-Smith, J. W. 2005). The gross motor there is a big

improvement in running and hopping and develops the ability to catch and throw. Advanced

motor skills lead to unstructured play. The fine motor there is improvement in dexterity with

leads to more precise and delicate movements and children can feed and dress themselves.

In the fine motor skills, children have better grip of writing implements. There are four

stages in writing. The first stage is basic scribbles mostly in the age of two year olds. The second

stage is the shape stage, which is in the age of three year olds. The fourth stage is the design

stage where children will combine shapes and the ages range from three to four. The last stage is

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pictorial stage where children draw recognizable objects the ages range from four to five year

olds.

In the handedness category, the children at the age of two have a clear hand preference.

Then in the gender differences category children start to show differences in gender like: boys

tends to be more muscular, active, and better at running and throwing. In addition, girls tend to

be better a balancing, hopping, skipping, and fine motor activities.

According to (Growth.A.P.) health and wellness is based off nutrition and exercise. In

nutrition preschoolers tends to be come picky eaters because their sense of taste is more acute

(additional taste buds in the cheeks and throat) than adults. Teachers and parents need to

encourage a well-balanced diet. Many preschools are active but are being content but for young

children as preschool they need to active and should be encourage staying active. “Preschoolers

should spend at least a quarter of their school day in physical activity because this is an age when

much learning is transmitted through the large muscles, when learning goes from hand to the

head, not the other way around.” (Wood, C. 2007).

2. Keely is very tall for her age she is 46 ½ inches and the average height for a four year old is

40 inches. Her weight is 64 pounds and the average weight for a four year old is 40 pounds.

According to her parents, most of her primary teeth are in.

In gross motor Keely shows that she can run, hop, dance, catch, throw, skip, and climb.

From the observations, Keely shows advance motor skills by her free play. In the fine motor

Keely shows that she can cut on the line, color inside the lines, glue pieces together, brush her

teeth, and button her sweaters, feed herself, and put puzzles together on her own. Based on the

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four stages of writing Keely is in the pictorial stage where she draws recognizable objects. In the

handedness Keely seems to be right handed. Then in the gender differences according to Keely’s

parents and teacher she shows that she is better in dance (combination of balance, hopping,

skipping) and art and crafts than throwing and catching. Keely is not a picky eater according to

her parents and teachers she does not ask, “What is this?” she just eats whatever is on her plate

and always ask for seconds for veggies. Every night Keely practices dance at home and is always

active at school when they play outside.

My recommendations for sustainability is to encourage her to keep her to grow her skills

in gross motor, fine motor, nutrition, health by continuing her dancing, artwork, eating healthy

and being active.

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Emotional/Behavioral:

1. Emotional development is the ability to regulate and appropriately express feelings. Positive

emotional development in preschools years will provide an essential foundation for cognitive

and academic competence in preschool and in later years. (McClelland, Morrison, &

Holmes.2000; Blair 2002; Raver.2002; Zins.et.al.2004). Many researchers believe that

preschoolers’ positive and negative emotions serve important functions, motivating every

aspect of their development and learning. From age’s three to five, children gain much

greater understanding of these and other emotions. Their ability to talk about emotions

increases, and they become better able to regulate their expressions of emotions and develop

a clearer sense of right and wrong. During the preschool years, adult support is needed to

help children learn new coping strategies and build resilience.

According to many researchers the preschooler’s emotional development are categorized

into three sections: development of emotional competence, development of conscience, stress

and coping and resilience. The first category is development of emotional competence. In this

category, the emotions are present and very important. Preschoolers are able to express more

complex emotions (pride, guilt, shame) Preschoolers express emotions by using facial

expressions, gestures, words, and symbols. Most children now are able to describe or label

feelings, identify others’ emotions, consider why others my feel that way, and express their anger

or distress in more acceptable ways (Denham. 1998; Hyson. 2004; Saarni et al.2006). These

abilities all build an important foundation for children’s readiness and school success. Children

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who cannot manage negative emotions nor have a hard time understanding and responding to

others’ feelings do not do well in school.

The second category is development of conscience. This category is one of the most

important advances in children’s development that is their gradual internalization of values and

expectations for behavior. The preschool years are crucial time because it is time for the child to

develop qualities such as consideration for others, integrity, a sense of right and wrong. These

developments will make huge differences in the children’s later years. (Tompson2006).

The final category is stress, coping, and resilience. This category stress grows when a

child feel that a situation is too much than what they are able to manage. In response the child’s

feelings, body, and behavior are all affected negatively. On the other hand, some researchers

believe that not all stress is harmful because without some stress, children would not develop

coping and self-regulation skills with the help of supportive adult relationships.(National

Scientific Council on the Developing Child 2005). The preschool years children learn to regulate

their emotions and to use many constructive ways of managing stressful situations and think of

solutions to problems and communication skills.

2. Keely is very good at talking about her emotions to her peers and teachers. For example

another student took a toy out of Keely’s hand and Keely’s reaction was she told the other

child that she was playing with that and it made her sad when he took it away. In the

emotional competence. (first section of emotional development) Keely uses facial expression

like she smiles when she is happy. She uses gestures like when she is excited she jumps a

little. She uses her words very well like when she sad she will say I am sad because you hurt

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my feelings. When other children are upset Keely will go tell the other kids that he is sad

because he cannot ride on the train. In the development of conscience, (second section of

emotional development) Keely shows integrity when a group of children is playing but one is

left out Keely will go to the other child and ask you want play too. In the stress and coping

and resilience (third section of emotional development) according to her parents Keely

stresses out when they are about to leave somewhere and she cannot find her shoes. Keely

will flip out and then start to cry the parents tell her to calm down and remember where she

put it. Keely continues to cry worrying about her shoes and that her parents are going.

My recommendations for sustainability is to encourage her to uses her words and body

language to express her emotions and help her with coping by showing her to some different

coping skills and let her find the one she feels more comfortable using in stressful situations.

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talk about emo ons coping gestures

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Philosophical/Moral:

1. Moral development is basically about learning the difference between right and wrong, and

understanding how to make the right choices. In early childhood, moral development does

not form automatically. It is a mixture of experiences, environment, physical, cognitive,

social, and emotional skills a child learns as they grow (Asendorpf, J. B., & Nunner-Winkler,

G. 1992). According to Piaget, there is a relationship between the cognitive stages of

development and the ability to reason about moral issues. Piaget’s theory breaks down moral

development into two stages. The first stage is heteronomous morality (ages around four and

ten) where children see things in black and white where rules as absolute. Children also often

see their parents or teachers as super authority figures and must obey the rules their elders set

forth. Breaking the rules often lead to consequences. The second stage is autonomous

morality (from ages ten and up) here children start seeing things through other people’s view

and use a self-directed form of morality. While children still want to follow rules, they just

see if they can bend the rules a little.(Piaget,J.1964)

Kohlberg’s theory was based and modified from Jean Piaget's work. Piaget described a

two-stage process of moral development, while Kohlberg's theory of moral development outlined

six stages within three different levels. Kohlberg extended Piaget's theory, proposing that moral

development is a continual process that occurs throughout life. The three levels are

Preconventional Morality, Conventional Morality, and Post conventional Morality. In the first

level (Preconventional Morality), there are two stages: Obedience and Punishment (first stage-

children see rules as fixed and absolute), Individualism and Exchange (second stage- children

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account for individual points of view and judge actions based on how they serve individual

needs). In the second level (Conventional Morality), there are two stages: Interpersonal

Relationships (third stage- "good boy-good girl" orientation, focused on living up to social

expectations and roles), Maintaining Social Order (forth stage- people begin to consider society

as a whole when making judgments). In the final level (Post conventional Morality) there are two

stages: Social Contract and Individual Rights (fifth stage- people begin to account for the

differing values, opinions and beliefs of other people ), Universal Principles (sixth stage- people

follow these internalized principles of justice, even if they conflict with laws and rules)

Children go through stages of moral development, yet unlike physical growth, moral

growth does not happen without some input from parents. To develop into a morally solid

person, a child must be given a solid foundation at each stage(Sears, W., Sears, M., Sears, R., &

Sears, J. 2013).Stage one is infancy, an infant does not have the capacity to moralize, other than

having a sense of rightness or wrongness as those feelings apply to themselves. Stage two is

toddlerhood here is where toddlers learn that others share their world and others have needs and

rights, too. Stage three is preschoolers (three to seven years) in this stage the child begins to

internalize family values understand the concept of the “Golden Rule” and start to consider how

and what they do affects other people, that others have rights and viewpoints, too, and how to be

considerate. Stage four is childhood (seven to ten years) in this stage children begin to question

whether parents and teachers are trustworthy. Children have the most respect for those adults

who are fair and know how to be in charge. They believe that if they break a rule they should be

corrected. In this stage there is a strong sense of “should do” and “should not do” and this

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thinking sets up some children up to tattle. Stage five is the preteens and teens here the children

strive to be popular. In this stage, they are vulnerable to peer pressure and peer values.

From infancy to adulthood the developing of a moral person progresses into three areas

from: thinking to themselves “It’s right because it feels right to me” to what others think “It’s

right because it’s what we do in our family” then to abstract moral reasoning “It’s right because it

is right” (Eisenberg-Berg, N., & Hand, M. 1979).

2. According to Keely’s teachers Keely knows pretty much what is good and bad and that she

needs to be a good friend and listener. The teacher says that at the school they teach the

children that being a good friend is being nice and helpful to everyone. In addition, being a

good listener is being helpful, doing what you are told, and listening to adults, you know.

Keely is helpful when a child is having a hard time with something without being told she

will go and help the child. Keely says,” When you are bad at school and not listen you have

to sit at table with head down.” According to Keely’s parents she is very good at following

house rules but at times she does break rules but its ok because she knows not to do it next

time. Keely says,” when you do something bad at home its ok no one mad.” On interesting

Keely told me was,” when you do bad something someone sad or mad and when you do good

something everyone happy and good.” This statement Keely said shows that she based her

morals on what people around her feel.

My recommendations for sustainability is to continue to encourage Keely to be helpful

and kind and have her label others feelings and the possible reasons why the other person is

feeling a certain way. This will help the child to develop skills that will help her see in others

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point of view to enhance her understanding of others around her. This will increase her social,

emotional, and moral skills for the better.

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Social Behavior:

1. During the preschool years, children truly come into their own social beings. Preschoolers

also become better able to sustain close relationships with adults other than their parents

(Howes &Ritchie 2002). There are four sections in social development for preschoolers: first

section is Children’s social interactions and relationships with teachers and peers and

friendships, second section is Development of prosocial behavior, third section is aggression,

and other challenging behavior, fourth section is sense of self in relation to others.

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In the first section (social interactions, relationships with teachers and peers and

friendships), preschoolers are very aware and connected to other children and adults beyond their

immediate family. Preschoolers often have close relationships with teachers, developing

attachments that are similar but the same to the relationship they have with their parents (Howes

&Ritchie 2002). Researchers believe that preschoolers who have a positive relationships with

their teachers are likely to be more interested and engaged in school and more likely to be

socially competent( Howes. 2000; Morrison .2007). Preschoolers become increasingly able to

enter and remain involved in mature sociodramatic play (children are able to agree about the

topic of play and take on roles that are more complex and sustain the play with other for a long

time). Friendships skills are very important because children who have an easier time making

friends are likely to be more self-regulated and to have a better understanding of other’s thoughts

and feelings. However, friendships in preschool are not so smooth because children have more

conflicts.

In the second section (development of prosocial behavior), children act prosocially where

they voluntarily assist others out of concern for others wellbeing like caring, sharing, and helping

(Mussen &Eisenberg-Berg.1977). Children who are more self-regulated seem better able to focus

on others distress and making plans and taking action to help when needed. Researchers believed

that children who have warm secure relationships with their parents, and when parents help the

children notice others distress and support their children’s helping behavior, are likely to

continue to be helpful (Eisenberg,Fabes,&Spinrad.2006).

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In the third section (aggression and other challenging behaviors), children over three are

less likely to have tantrums or other outbursts when they are frustrated and are less likely to hit

or fight with other children. Conflicts over possessions and differences of opinion between

children continue to start/trigger aggressive behavior. In preschool years relational aggressive

becomes a way of expressing aggressive feelings (Crick, Cascs, &Mosher.1997). Children use

their improved cognitive and language skills to hurt others feelings on purpose. Some children

will attribute hostile intentions to other children’s action instead of thinking nothing of it.

In the fourth section, (sense of self in relation to others) children recognized themselves

and have become self-aware. Children around three and five gain a more full developed sense of

who they are even thou this sense is concrete(Harter.1999). Preschoolers view themselves

usually all or nothing around four years old; here they find it hard to think that they could have

opposing characteristics or feelings. The self-descriptions develop into a senses of self-esteem,

where the child’s own internal evaluation or judgment about their worth and completeness.

Preschoolers usually get their beliefs about themselves from how others see them.

2. According to her teacher Keely is very attached to her teachers. She shows this by giving

hugs to her teachers every morning when she comes in and evening when she leaves. On

every holiday Keely will bring little gifts to her teachers. And every now and then Keely will

draw a picture for her teachers. On the playground Keely will play house with some other

students and participate in sociodramatic play. Keely says she likes to play with all her

friends but likes to play with one friend more because we play sisters and dogs. According to

Keely’s teachers, parents she is very helpful and kind, and you don’t even need to tell her to.

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“Keely is naturally helpful because when someone needs help she helps in an instant like it is

second nature”, says her main teacher. When Keely is in a situation where it does not turn out

the way she wants, it to she tends to cry until someone fixes it for her. Keely says,” I am nice

and I’m a good listener and have pretty hair, because that’s everyone say to me” based on

what Keely said it sounds like she describes her self-based on what others say to her.

My recommendations for sustainability is to continue to encourage Keely to respect and

have a relationship/attachment to her teacher to ensure that she stays in school and does well.

Encourage Keely to continue to be helpful because in my point of view it makes the world a little

better place. In the situations where it may not work out the way Keely wants it to and she cries

until someone fixes it I think that the teachers and parents should help her develop coping skills

by talking to her through the situation and have her use her problem solving skills to have her fix

it on her own.

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Intellectual/Academic:

1. The important cognitive changes occur is during preschool especially the mental

representation starts and children in preschool possess more of the amazing ability to form

representations of their world and hold them in memory. Preschoolers are able to think about

what happened weeks ago or anticipate what has not happened yet. Preschoolers are able to

create fanciful scenes creating roles and story lines knowing that they are acting out an

imaginary idea (Sobel.2006). They have become more efficient thinkers as they start to

organize their thoughts and use their pretend objects in play and drawings for learning and

communication. Despite the preschoolers advances they are still illogical, egocentric, and

one-dimensional thinkers. Researchers say that preschoolers have greater cognitive abilities,

at least when children are familiar situations and tasks that are clearly explained to them.

Preschoolers can appear to know or understand more or less, than they really do. Sometimes

children seem mature and advanced but then later they are limited and stubborn. When

preschoolers grow from simple to more complex thinking, it is very helpful to remember that

they are not functioning less but there are just narrow focus (Bjorkland.2007). Given that,

preschoolers have cusp of grasping a variety of concepts, words, and skills at a new level,

just keep in mind that they learn best when they can attend to one thing at a time rather than

attending to multiple things.

2. Keely is able to tell you what she does last night or what she did over the weekend in pretty

good detail. She will share with you funny, scary, fun, sad events she witnessed or

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experienced, according to her teachers. When you read to Keely and ask her what you think

will happen next she will be able predict what might happen next. According to her parents

Keely will act out scenes from princess movies with her princess dolls and it well actually be

scenes in the movie. Keely says she likes to play house and cook food just like her mommy

and sister does. Keely’s teacher and parents say that Keely seems mature that they forget that

she is still a child.

My recommendations for sustainability is to encourage her to continue to describe and

pretend and share by continue to have conversations with her and setting up her environment to

where she can continue to explore and create new experiences. Doing this will keep her

language, speaking, social, emotional skills up and will help her memory as well. Just remember

that she is a child not an adult and don’t over whelm her and push things that she may not be

ready to because it may cause her to dislike or even cause emotional/psychology pain and it will

ruin the whole experience for her and she will no longer want to do learn.

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