PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION EDUC 121

PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION EDUC 121

Lainey Losekamp
Ivy Tech Community College and Education 121

PRESCHOOLER OBSERVATION EDUC 121

Abstract
For this project I had to observe a child between the ages of 3 and 5 years. I had to have a parent
sign a consent form that would allow me to observe her preschooler twice a week. I had a
checklist to follow and observe whether the child was fully developed in their physical,
intellectual, emotional, and social development. In this paper you will find me writing about a
female preschooler who is three years of age. This preschooler scored a 100% on her intellectual
development and social development. She scored a 75% on her emotional and ethical
development but scored a 64% on her physical development. Overall this toddler was above
average and scored an 80% on her signs of development. In this paper you will find me
analyzing the skills this preschooler could or could not complete.
Keywords: Physical Development, Intellectual Development, Emotional Development, Social
Development, and Ethical Development

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The preschooler I observed is a female and is three years old. The dates I observed this
preschooler was on February 17 and February 19 at her mothers house. This preschooler was
very friendly and had a wide imagination. She scored an 80% overall her developmental skills.
This preschooler seemed very typical at this age. The preschooler I observed was very
active. Most of the time this preschooler did not walk but would run, jump, hop, or spin
wherever she went. She was very quick and could easily change directions when her mother
would chase her around the house. This preschooler could walk down the stairs but hopped
instead because it was more fun. She loved to dance and sing Disney songs. When she was asked
to catch the ball she used both hands and caught the ball bringing it close to her body. This is
normal for this age group (Kovar, 2012, p. 65). This preschooler had typical eating habits
compared to children that age. This young child only likes to eat hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and
chocolate candy. Trying to get preschoolers to eat healthy is a difficult task because at this time
of their preschoolers become picky-eaters (Kail, 2012, p. 112). Even though parents worry about
what their preschooler eats enough food to receive the right amount of calorie intake, essentially
all picky eaters receive the right amount of food to grow properly (Kail, 2012, p.113).
This childs behavior compared to other preschoolers is normal. She plays with other
children in groups cooperatively unless someone has a toy she wants, she would then throw a
tantrum in order to get the toy she wanted. She tells on her brother to her mother when he is
messing with fragile items. She is a very social preschooler and likes to participate in activities
as well as lead them. There are two things I found unusual about this childs developmental skills
is that she was not able to skip and she has a very broad vocabulary for a three year old child.
When the preschooler would try to skip she would hop on foot three times and switch to the
other foot while trying to run. This surprised me because I thought this child was very

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coordinated and athletic with other physical skills that this would be easily done by her but she
was unable to do it. Another thing I found unusual about this child in a positive way is her
vocabulary and intellectual development. She pronounces words like especially, disgusting,
ridiculous and knows when to use these words properly in a sentence. I noticed that when the
child was finished with eating she would say she was finished instead of done like most
children or even some adults say. She is a little chatterbox and communicates well with adults.
This observation has helped me understand preschoolers by knowing what to look for
exactly for all the typical rates for development. I have a better understanding and know what to
look for when observing all the physical, emotional, intellectual, ethical, and social development
of a preschool child. I already did have some understanding of background information on
preschoolers but the checklist provided more in-depth information for each development.
This observation has helped me have a greater understanding of preschoolers. I do realize
that preschoolers do develop at different rates. This preschooler developed early intellectually
and socially for a 3 year old preschooler and average with the other developmental areas. There
are milestones preschoolers reach but the sequence the reach them may different depending on
the preschooler and the environment

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Bibliography
Kail, V. Robert. (2012). Children and Their Development. Saddle River, New Jersey. Pearson
Education, Inc.
Kovar, K. Susan, Cindy A. Combs, Kathy Campbell, Gloria Napper Owen, and Vick J. Worrell.
(2012). Elementary Classroom Teachers as Movement Educators. New York, New York.
McGraw-Hill Company, Inc.