OBSERVING, DOCUMENTING, AND ASSESING TO SUPPORT YOUNG CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
When completing observations of young children, it doesn't seem like we can write fast enough. Every little movement is swift and shows the child's immense capacity for learning. As I completed reflections over the course of this semester, I improved not only my skills on observing young children, but I became more aware of each small action and the effort that the child puts into it. Through conducting these observations on the same close knit group of children over time, I was able to better observe their amazing social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. It has been a joy to see these kids accomplish their goals, from the big ones to each tiny ambition.
Stay Tuned
This observation was done on September 25th, 2023, at 11:00 pm. The child, name, was sitting outside the entire time during the observation, with nine other peers and three teachers. The mood of the child appeared to be neutral. During this observation, the child and their peers were playing outside while being observed and guided by familiar teachers.
The child stood outside on the outer edge of the sandbox. He bent down slightly and touched the wooden logos with his right hand. He then walked slightly over to where the box of sand toys was and picked up a plastic funnel. The child then crouched down and hit the sand with it. He then went back to the box of sand toys, looked at it for a moment, then dumped all the toys out by pushing over the box until it was completely upside down. He looked at the toys on the ground and selected a small rake. He held the rake in his left hand and pushed the sand forward with it. He paused for a moment to look at the rake, then looked at a small rock that was sitting nearby on the sand, and put it in his mouth. A teacher that was sitting in the sandbox nearby said, “not for tasting, (name)”, and the child made eye contact with the teacher and spit out the rock while frowning. He then touched his tongue with his finger.
The child looked at a peer that was sitting nearby who was crying, but did not make eye contact with them. He then crouched down and picked up a small handful of sand with his left hand and threw it in front of him. A nearby teacher said to “keep sand low”. The child picked up more sand from the table nearby and looked at the teacher. The teacher again repeated that sand is not for throwing, and the child relaxed their palm and the sand fell to the ground. The teacher offered the child a rake, and the child took it from her hand. He crouched down and dug in the sand with the tip of the rake. The child pulled closer an empty wooden tray, and dumped sand in it. He then stood up and walked over to the sand table, picked up another handful of sand from the counter, threw it, and smiled. The teacher then made eye contact with him, and picked up a scooper, telling him “scoop”. The child was no longer smiling, but took the scooper from her hand. He then hit his forehead with the scooper lightly for several moments. Next, the child dropped the scooper and walked away.
Next, the child walked back to the nearby logs that they were playing on earlier. He stepped onto the second lowest log with one foot, then stepped off. He stepped onto the log again with the same foot, with his arms slightly to the sides, then put the foot back down. He stepped onto the log one step higher with the same foot, and fell to the side. When falling, the child put his arms out slightly, and somewhat caught himself. He frowned, but did not cry. The child pushed themselves up with their arms, and walked out of the sandbox.
I selected this documentation format of written text because I found it easiest to write notes while observing the child in real time, then transfer the notes to a digital format. By observing this child, I have learned that they are still having some issues with remembering to keep sand low in the sandbox, but seem to be improving on this skill, especially when redirected and given the tools to do other things with the sand. I can tell by the child’s interest in climbing on the wooden logs in the sandbox that he is exploring his gross motor skills, and that this should be encouraged. I know from my personal history with this child as well as from this observation that this child is currently working on catching up on gross motor milestones, and since he appears interested in climbing the logs, I can encourage him to keep climbing them, as well as offer support while he is still working on building these muscles.
Observation and Assessments, Toddler Classroom Fall 2023
Observation #1
Stay Tuned
This observation was done on September 26th, 2023, at 12:45pm. The child, name, was sitting inside during the entire time I conducted the observation, with eight other peers and three teachers. The mood of the child appeared to be neutral to energetic. Before the observation, the child and his peers had just finished lunch, and some of the child’s peers were napping on their mats while others were awake laying on their mats. This child has a history of not napping at school during naptime, so he is accustomed to sitting on his mat while his peers sleep until his family picks him up.
The child sat on their mat and bounced up and down slightly. He then threw his body up, stood up, and threw himself back down onto the mat. The child smiled and laughed while making eye contact with a nearby teacher. The child then sat on the ground and looked under their mat, saying “shoes”. THe child picked up their shoes and socks with both hands, and in a few seconds used both hands to put on their socks. The child said “shoes” again, and used both hands to start to put one shoe on their foot. He paused and said, “help”. The nearby teacher said “try yourself, you got it”, and the child continued to push the shoe on their foot. He then dropped the shoe and picked up the other one, and pushed it halfway onto the same foot. The child said something intelligible, and put down the shoe. He used both hands to take off his socks one at a time, moving his foot closer to his body as he did so. The child then picked up one of the socks and put it back on his right foot. He picked up one shoe and again pushed it halfway up his right foot, saying “help”, as well as something intelligible. The child then put the shoe completely on his right foot and smiled, while saying “did it's! Did it!’ The child looked at the nearby teacher and smiled. The child reached for the shoe intended for the right foot, and successfully put it on his left foot, as the left shoe was already on his right foot. He smiled again, and took off both shoes. He then picked up one of the shoes, and held it out toward the nearby teacher, then pulled it back and said, “mine”.
Next, the child took off their right sock using both hands, then put it back on. He took it off again, held it close to his face for a moment, and put it on his mat while saying something intelligible. The child picked up some shoes with their right hand and threw it onto the floor. He took off his other sock and threw it as well. He then sat on the edge of the mat and bounced slightly. He moved off, squatted on the ground, then fell backwards onto the cot while both hands were on either side of him, holding on to the edge of the mat. The child then looked at the shoes and socks on the ground, and picked up one of the shoes with his right hand, and threw it up several inches in the air. He crouched back down on the ground, and looked up at the teacher.
I selected this format of written text to perform my observation because I found it most convenient to write notes while observing, then to transfer it to digital format. From this observation, I can tell that the child is working on their fine motor skills, and is able to work focused on a task such as practicing putting on socks and shoes for a long amount of time. He appears proud of himself when he achieves a task, such as putting on his shoes, which is relatively new to him. I will use this documentation to promote this child’s development and learning by encouraging him to further his fine motor skills, such as encouraging him to keep trying his shoes by himself, or by encouraging him to engage in activities in the classroom that involve this, such as bead stringing.
Observation #2
Stay Tuned
This observation was done on September 28th, 2023, at 11:05am. Before this observation was conducted, the child, name, and his peers transitioned outside for outside time. The mood of the child appeared to be neutral. During this time, there were ten peers and two adults in the same area.
The child stood up by a child gate outside, in the corner of the porch. There was child-friendly music playing from a CD player, and the child was standing near and facing in the direction of the music. He held onto the gate with both hands, and moved his body slightly up and down by bouncing his legs. A peer walked up to the CD player, and the child pushed the peer with one hand. The peer fell to the ground and began crying. The child looked at the peer and did not say anything, then turned back to look at the CD player. A nearby teacher walked up to the two children and checked on the peer, then told the child, “soft, that hurts (name’s) body”. The child put their index finger in their mouth while looking at the teacher. The teacher then began singing to the “Pete the Cat'' song that was playing. The child looked at the peer, then the teacher. The peer was still crying. The child looked at the peer then walked away from the gate.
The child walked down the pavement path and picked up a toy dinosaur in one hand, and a piece of chalk that was next to it in the other. The child put the chalk in their mouth with their left hand and walked further down the path. The child then dropped the chalk. He dropped the dino as well, but immediately picked it up again. Holding the dinosaur, the child walked further down and off to the side of the path, into the dirt area. He walked up to the raised strip of rock and concrete that makes up the drain path, and stepped on it. The child stepped off of the strip, and down the dirt area where the electrical box and tire was. He squatted, and stuck his right finger in the hole of the electrical box embedded into the ground. He then stuck his finger into the dirt next to it, and moved his finger around for several moments. Next, the child moved closer to the tire, and looked into it. He stood up and walked away down the hill. He squatted at the end of the hill and picked up a small amount of dirt with both hands and walked away.
He then walked back over to the porch where the child gate was. There was a small puddle by the gate from another child who had dumped out their water cup. The child bent down and began to lick the water in the puddle. A teacher said “not for tasting”, and held out a ball to the child. The child took the ball, and rolled it back to the teacher. The teacher rolled it back, and the child caught it, then sat on the ball, quickly falling forward. He did not cry, and instead laid face down on the pavement. A peer walked up to the ball and kicked it. The child stood up and followed the same peer, who was walking over to the counter with the water cups. A teacher handed the child his water cup, which he held with two hands. He drank some water from the straw, and began to walk away while still holding the cup. While walking, he looked down and picked up a rock. Now holding the cup in his left hand, the child used his right hand to push the rock through a slot in the fence, then walked away. The teacher told the child to “give the water back if you are all done”, and he walked back toward the teacher, but before reaching her, he walked to the side of her instead of in front of her. The teacher took the cup from the child’s hand. The child did not make eye contact with the teacher, and instead looked at the nearby table where there were several toys sitting. He selected a bug catcher toy with one hand, then dropped it. The child then picked up a plastic school bus.
I selected this documentation format of written text because I found it easiest to jot down notes while I was sitting with the kids, as they barely noticed me, and when they did, it was relatively easy to move on. This observation tells me that this child is working on his social emotional development, as he appeared to have trouble understanding why the peer he pushed was upset. I can also see that this child enjoys being outside, and doing more tactical things, such as pushing around dirt with his fingers and sticks. I can use this documentation to promote his learning by introducing him to a setup such as a mud kitchen to promote this interests and sensory exploration. I can also continue to support his social-emotional development by explaining situations and feelings at an age-appropriate level, however this skill will develop more just by time.
Observation #3
Stay Tuned
This observation was done on October 2nd, 2023, at 2:20pm. The child, Harper was sitting outside the entire time during the observation, with nine other peers and three teachers. The mood of the child appeared to be neutral to happy. Before the observation, the child and her peers had just transitioned to outside time, and the group appeared energetic and happy.
The child sat on the ground and held three pieces of chalk in her left hand. She looked at a familiar peer on the other side of the fence and said their name. The peer looked back at the child and smiled. She looked back at the ground and used one of the pieces of chalk, blue, to draw several vertical lines on the ground. They said “no” while looking down. The child then dropped the blue chalk on the ground then picked up the white piece of chalk. She held it in her right hand and held it close to her face and looked at it. She put the white chalk back on the ground and turned around to look at the peer across the fence again. The child then stood up, paused for a second, and sat back down. They scooted back using both of their legs, and after a moment, she stood back up and walked over to the fence where the peer was standing. She did not make eye contact with the peer.
Next, the child walked away from the fence and walked to the nearby Manzanita tree. The child used their right foot to step on the base of the tree, and touched a low branch with both hands. She stepped slightly off the ground with her other foot, and looked down at the ground. She bounced up and down on her leg on the bottom branch. The child then looked at the tree, then her peers, then stood back on the ground. The child stepped forward, closer to the branch and held onto it with both arms momentarily before walking away.
Next, the child walked over to the sandbox, which was still covered by a mesh tarp. The child looked down at the tarp, and stood in the middle without saying anything. A nearby teacher noticed the child and asked them if they would like to play in the sandbox. The child did not respond verbally but smiled, and the teacher moved the tarp. The child picked up a toy chip from the sandbox then dropped it, then picked up a bucket, then dropped it as well. Next, the child walked over to a peer, stood by them for a second, then walked past them and picked up a bowl from the toy box. The same peer from across the fence waved and said, “Hi (name)”, and the child looked up, smiled, waved, and said “Hi”. She then dropped the toy chip in the bowl she was holding, and said, “Chip”. The child walked around the sandbox while singing and making noises to themself, still holding the toys. The child showed the chip to the familiar peer through the fence. She then pulled the chip back through the fence and put her fingers in her mouth. The peer on the other side of the fence walked away. The child dropped the chip and putt the edge of the bowl in their mouth. A gust of wind came through, and a nearby peer siad, “It’s windy”. The child said “windy” without looking up, and hugged their arms.
Next, the child walked closer to the fence, and hit it lightly. She walked along the fence while hitting it with her right hand. She pulled and pushed on the fence, pausing momentarily while a peer walked by. The peer held out a toy cookie tray, which the child took from their hand. Holding the cookie tray, the child walked over to the sandbox and said, “cake”. She walked up to a teacher that was sitting in the sandbox and handed it to them, then walked away.
The documentation format that was used was written text, as I found that writing notes while sitting nearby the child was the easiest way to observe them. This observation tells me that this child is comfortable with individual play, for they played for a ten-minute period of time with very little adult interaction or intervention. Additionally, the child’s language during this observation shows that they are working on their speech and language development, for they spoke little, and when they did, the speech was still developmental. I can also see that this child is familiar with their peers, for she interacted with them in a positive manner and reciprocated greetings. During this observation, I noticed that the child played with several “food” toys, and so I would use this information to introduce more food toys and language to the child, to encourage this interest and the child’s imagination.
Observation #4
Stay Tuned
This observation was done on October 3rd, 2023, at 11:45am. During the observation, the child, Dante, was sitting inside with eleven of his peers, and four teachers. The child and his peers had just transitioned from outside time to lunch time, and they were sitting at the tables eating. The mood of the child appeared to be happy and energetic.
The child sat at the lunch table holding a piece of bread with their left hand, and picked up a piece of chicken with their right hand. The cold looked up at a nearby teacher and made eye contact. He then turned around and looked at a teacher that was serving food. He stood up, and the nearby teacher said, “sit and finish”. The child did not move, and the teacher asked, “Do you want more chicken? It looks like you like chicken.” The child smiled and was given more chicken. He then picked up his fork and put it in his milk cup. He pulled the fork in and out of the cup repeatedly, then looked around and smiled. The child then held a piece of beard in their right hand and looked at it. He held his fork in his left hand, and put it in his milk cup again. He took bites of his bread while holding it with both hands. He looked at his plate.
Next, a teacher said to “sit up”, and he did not make eye contact but moved his body slightly. The teacher moved his body the rest of the way up. While eating, the child made intelligible sounds, such as “nom nom”. He smiled, and continued to make sounds. He slumped back down in his chair. Next, he pulled apart another piece of bread with both hands and ate it. He looked at a nearby teacher and said “ahh hi”. The teacher said, “are you having a good day at school?” The child made eye contact but did not respond. He watched as the same teacher then helped a peer.
The child then looked at their peer’s plate of food, and reached for a piece of fruit that they had. He picked it up, but a nearby teacher took it out of his hand and put it in the dirty food bucket. The teacher said, “that’s his, this is your food” while pointing to the child’s plate. The child did not say anything, and picked up a piece of bread off of his own plate. He moved the piece of bread down toward the pile of ranch on his plate, but missed, and did not get any ranch on the bread. He put the bread in his mouth and took a bite while scooting back his chair again. A teacher said to “sit and finish” and scooted his chair back in. The child sat back down and set down the rest of his bread on the plate. He then stood up again, and smiled. He stood up again, and sat down, with his chair pushed away from the table. He stood up again, and sat back down. The child picked up the piece of bread and stood up. He sat down again and smiled, repeating this for several moments.
I selected this documentation format of written text because I found it easiest to jot down notes as I was observing the child. This observation tells me that this child is still getting used to eating at a table and sitting down the whole time. This is understandable, as I am aware that this child is very new to child care, and is still getting used to the routines and procedures. To support this child's learning, I could use cue cards that represent sitting, lunch, hand washing, and nap to help the child get used to the routines at the center. I feel that this may be helpful as the cue cards would use less words, especially since this child talks very little.
Observation #5
By conducting these observations, I was able to better reflect on the students' development and learning processes. After carefully observing the children in the class, I also analyzed and reflected on my own position in the classroom. Some of the most valuable lessons I have taken from these observations are how valuable it is to learn from my peers, the joy in connecting with a child, and learning how to process my emotions when a child moves on. Here are some of my favorite snippets from my journals over these past few months:
Learning From Peers
"The second scenario that happened today was in the potty, when I witnessed another student teacher with a student. This student teacher is extraordinarily skilled, and someone I quite look up to. She was helping a student who had already been having an emotional day, who did not want to get their diaper changed and was becoming visibly upset. The teacher had offered options, given the student some time, and the student was still not ready. I was nearby helping another student, and heard the student become more upset, when the teacher stopped for a second, and got on the level as the student to talk about how she was feeling, and how he might be feeling. They had a moment, and instead of getting frustrated, the teacher took some extra time and patience to help the student through their feelings, and they allowed the teacher to change their diaper. While this may not seem like a significant moment, it meant something to me, as I admire how the student teacher took a moment to pause and be really compassionate before interacting with the child who was frustrated, where she could have chosen to be more stern and just picked up the child and changed their diaper, which would have made the child upset. I do understand that sometimes it is in the child’s best interest to be more stern, but I appreciated and was inspired by how this teacher handled the situation."
Connecting Over the Little Things
"Another thing that I learned this week is that it is possible to connect with kids over the smallest of things. The past few weeks, I started wearing a new necklace that was gifted to me to work, and a few of the kids noticed it. One girl in particular also wears her own jewelry and accessories and often notices when I do. When she notices, she wants to touch it, and smiles and says “ekes”. She often wants to show me her accessories, and/or what she is wearing. Over time, I have gotten great joy out of this, including seeing how her language has evolved from “e’es” to “ekes” (which sounds more like a necklace). I know that she is working hard on her pronunciation, especially for someone with few words. This show of accessories and outfit has become our game, and another way to connect."
Moving On
"This week, I worked in the toddler center at Columbia’s Child Development Center. One major thing that happened this week that I found to be challenging is the transition of three different students out of the program. Each of these three students are students that I have known for the entire time that I have been working at the program, and while I have not been working there for a very long time, I have seen them grow up a lot. Therefore, it is hard to see them leave, even though I am excited for them, and I know they will do amazing in preschool. There have been a few kids that I have worked with at the center that have moved on to different childcare centers, as is the case with one of the kids this week, and I have noticed that I tend to take this really hard. On the inside, I know that they won’t remember me or most anything from this time period, and I will move on to focus on helping different kids, but I have a hard time not being really sad thinking about the fact that I won’t ever see them again. Therefore, this week, I am working on learning that it is okay to be sad about kids moving on, while also being happy for them and their bright futures."
ITERS Assesment
This semester, I also became familiar with the ITERs rating score, by learning about the process, practicing evaluating classrooms, and scoring a real classroom. Here is a summary of my findings from the scoring of one classroom:
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Overall, this classroom received an average score of 6.15. While the classroom that I observed appears to be high-quality, a few elements were missing, such as activities and displays, that had to be marked down. After concluding my assessment, my notes were passed on to the lead teacher of the classroom, and changes were made to remedy this. For example, after noting that there was a lack of recent photos in the classroom, the lead teacher added photographs to the inserts of soft blocks for the children to view.
6.25
7
7
4.5
7
7
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Space and Furnishings
Personal Care Routines
Language and Books
Activities
Interaction
Program Structure