Observation: Week #2

*The This week in observation seemed to go very smoothly. Especially since the rain took place, the children didn't seem too out of control like most would be. The rain was a big topic during this observation. The children were very excited when they entered the classroom. They made sure all the teachers and parents knew it was raining outside. Some of them even came up to me and made me look out side, "It's storming!" one of the children pointed and told me. Since it was pouring rain during their class time, they weren't able to play outside. This made it so there were more activities available and more time for the children to interact within those areas. In the playdough area, there were three children that were interested in playing there.

Child "A" is the oldest, Child "B" is the middle aged, and Child "C" is the youngest.

Child A: She attempts to make different shapes with the cookie cutters. She didn't say anything, instead she was very independent on rolling her dough and cutting out her shapes with the cutters and playdough knives.

Child B: She was pounding her dough with her fist, and patted each side with her fingers. She called over the teacher and said, "Look Mrs. Black, it's a cake for you." The teacher praised her, and then Child B got distracted and walked away.

Child C: Has his clump of dough in front of him and looks at it for a minute. I'm thinking he's unsure what to do with it. He reaches over the other two and grabs the playdough hammer out of the basket, and starts beating on it. He then stops and looks at it again. He begins to beat harder and tries to flatten it. He then looks at the other two's playdough and begins to hammer away again.

*The way I interpret this play and development as i watched them interact and play at the table with the playdough is that they were using their small/fine motor skills to the best of their ability. Child B and C are younger which means they've had less time to experience and develop these skills and much as Child A. Age matters when it comes to developmental skills. As they get older their development will increase. Also, by the end of the school year/session anyone would be able to see how they have improved those skills over time.

*For tomorrows activity, I would have another activity involving them using their small/fine motor skills. An activity that would involve this developmental skill could be "cutting lines." Each student that chose to participate in this activity would have a piece of paper with different shaped lines pre-drawn on them For example, straight, zigzag, and wavy lines. This will give them the opportunity to manuver the scissors in their hand different ways. Overall, this activity will provide them with the sense of holding the scissors and following the lines with their eyes so that they get the idea of staying on the lines.

*This weeks observation was a lot better than last week. This children seemed more comfortable with someone new in the class. Also, the aids were there this week unlike last week where the classroom was low on staff. This made the activities and transitions go much more smoothly, and the children were more calm.