Child develpoment visit 2

GCSE Health and Social Care

Visit 2

Date: 24.11.04

Time: 4:45 – 7:00

Age: 4 years 4 months

Place: Zack’s house

People Present: Zack and I

Aims and planning

Today I am going to observe Zack’s imaginative skills and creative skills. I will observe these skills by monitoring him whilst he colours a picture and will be able to observe the accuracy he acquires in his hands. This is a recommended activity for children between 3 – 5 years according to “Child Care & Education” by Marian Beaver. I will also observe Zack’s concept of colour while he completes the picture as his understanding for colours will become apparent throughout the activity.

Expectations

After reading, “An Illustrated Guide,” I have learnt that, “At the age of 5 drawings will become more recognisable and will contain more complex detail,” Considering that Zack is at stage 7 he should be able to colour pictures without great difficulty. I think that it is fundamental that the picture is not so advanced that he will lose interest and confidence. If I can ensure that this won’t happen and if I give constant attention and help, then he will enjoy the physical and intellectual challenge of completing the activity.

Observations

This is a preview of the whole essay

Observations

I told Zack that we would be colouring today and he instantly made it absolutely clear that although he enjoys drawings, he despises colouring very much. At this point I feared that he could struggle and give up quickly. The picture required thought and as quoted from ““Child Care & Development” by Pamela Minett, a child who is over 5 years old should be able to recognise various colours and create a picture that is remotely recognisable. Zack is not 5 years old yet and didn’t surpass my expectations, he proved to be under developed. Shortly after we began, he started to loose concentration and wanted to go downstairs to watch TV, I reminded him that we still had to complete the picture – but I was forced to abide to his request of a short break after it became clear that he was deliberately rushing. Completing the activity showed poor knowledge of how to successfully illustrate a human and it was also bought to my attention that he possessed underprivileged fine motor skills, although I did feel that Zack showed wonderful imaginative skills using a wide range of different colours. Throughout the activity, Zack had been using a fine tripod grasp and demonstrated a palmer grasp while clearing up - he showed no emotions after completing the task, but was eager to go down stairs

Evaluation

Physical Development

I studied Zack’s physical development, especially his fine motor skills from this visit. Zack struggled to accurately shade in the picture, constantly going out of the lines and thus lost patience rapidly. This is below the stage he should be at, according to “A Practical Guide To Child Development,” the child should enjoy the opportunity to be creative and should show a developing use of imagination. It must be noted that Zack and I took short breaks while completing the activity and I had to persuade Zack not to give up, this demonstrated a lack of patience which is expected, according to “Your baby and child” by Jenny Mathews.

Intellectual Development

I also studied Zack’s intellectual development especially his creative skills. Zack didn’t understood the concept that his picture, although imaginative, should correspond to reality, which is the level a stage 7 child should be at, according to “Child Care and Education,” the child should begin to remember distinctive features. Zack continuously drew the flesh of the cartoon character in different colours, which consequently proved that he was unable to merge his outside knowledge with his art. “An illustrated guide for children,” explains that with age the child will become more familiar with the environment and as a result their drawings will become more recognisable and will contain more detail. I agree with this statement, but will further investigate it’s validity in future analysis’s.

Towards the end of the previous activity 2 weeks ago Zack showed lots of patience and determination while he was completing the puzzles. He persevered constantly until the task was over, which exceeded the prediction made by the “Inter-Link” book, which states that by the age of four, a child should only be able to persevere for a limited time before getting frustrated. Unfortunately he got frustrated quickly today, proving that his attitude will be enhanced if he enjoys an activity similar to the previous activity.

Conclusion

I was generally displeased that Zack did not enjoy colouring, yet I thought that my visit went well as I learnt a selection of new things about Zack, I also genuine believe that today’s visit will facilitate his learning. I was also able to study the aspects of Zack’s development which I wanted on this visit. Zack co-operated well with me as I predicted, but the picture was challenging, possibly too difficult for him. To make Zack feel better, I felt the need to praise his work in order for him to feel pride and satisfaction rather than disappointment and frustration, this was recommended by “Child Care and Education” and increased both his confidence and self esteem. I observed his fine motor skills while colouring, which he didn’t manage immensely and failed to meet “A Practical Guide To Child Development’s” hypothesis that a 4 or 5 year old child should be able to express their knowledge accurately using a picture. While monitored his imaginative skills throughout, I was intrigued that he was experimenting and exploring with colours as expected according to “Child Development.” I think that his imaginative skills are quite well developed for his age, possibly because he watches his two older brother’s draw on regular bases. I will observe Zack again to see if his imaginative and physical skills develop.