Language_Develpoment

| | |EY404 Child Development | |Student No 0903859 | | | | | |13/01/2010 | | | Table of Contents Introduction 2 Language development 3 Physical development 5 Social Development 6 Cognitive development 7 Analysis 8 Conclusion and recommendations………………………………………………………………….... 9 References….……………………………………………………………….………………………………..11 Appendix One………………………………………………………………………………………………..12 Appendix Two………………………………………………………………………………………………..13 Appendix Three………………………………………………………………………………………………14 Appendix Four………………………………………………………………………………………………..15 Introduction The aim of this portfolio is to understand a child’s learning and development by using observations to gather information and then use this information to help interpret theories or other perceptions of child development. The child that I have chosen for my case study is a male Caucasian, aged three years and six months. The family have no religious beliefs. He lives at home with his mother, father and ten week old brother. He attends preschool for five sessions per week and a parent and toddler group for three sessions per week. He was born prematurely at thirty six weeks, weighing approximately four pound and one ounce and was in neonatal for two weeks. Consequently he is physically small for his age but has no other developmental delays. The setting is a parent and toddler group which caters for children aged between birth and four years old. It meets for three one and a half hour sessions per week in a church hall. The setting provides a stimulating environment for children to explore and develop their social, physical and creative skills. In each session it offers a craft activity and music session for children to interact with their parents, carers and peers. For the purpose of this portfolio, my case study will be referred to as Child A. Language development Child A shows a significant development in this area. He is able to use many different describing words and quite long sentences. Due to his love of animals can name over 30 different species of animal and bird when looking at books, this love of animals he has picked up from his father who has spent a considerable amount time from a very early age looking at animal books and watching nature programmes with him. He has the ability to hold in depth two way conversations with adults and seems to enjoy this more than talking to his peers as they cannot always grasp what he is talking about. Schaffer (2006 p.279) suggests that from age three there is considerable development in the grammatical accuracy, intricacy and extent of sentences. Until his brother was born Child A was an only child, although he does have three cousins on his father’s side of the family, on his Mothers side he was the first grandchild and so spent a considerable amount of time with adult company. Child A has recently started to adjust his language to fit the understanding of the listener. This is especially noticeable at the setting as many of the children are a lot younger than him. Child A has a good grasp of imaginative play and can concoct ever more intricate make believe games for himself and his peers. Very often these games involve animals and recently they have been dogs. Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage (2000 p.45) advises that children need to be given the opportunity through play to imagine and recreate experience. Observations one, two and three show Child A’s ability to use language in a variety of ways. Observation one shows that he can use speech with intention to get what he wants. Macleod-Brudenell (2008 p.116) suggest that even toddlers become skilled at using speech with intention. Learning to use their speech to correspond with their actions and being able to discuss reasons for their own behaviour. This tends to be seen during independent play. Observation two shows that he can use language to engage with his peers and discuss with them the activity they are undertaking and find information on how each are going about their task. Macleod-Brudenell (2008 p.116) quotes Vygotsky who studied young children’s language and found a correlation between their speech and thought development. He claimed that young children used their speech as a method to establish meaning in their play. He also indicated “that talk will often involve descriptions of what they are doing”. Observation three demonstrates Child A’s ability to use language in a musical way and teach others rhymes an actions. Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage (2000 p. 61) recommends that practitioners give children the opportunity to learn rhymes and action songs. Physical Development Child A is smaller than children his age due to not growing in the last few months before his birth. He was born at thirty six weeks and weighed four pound and one ounce. Consequently he has always been of smaller stature; he is of similar height to the children aged two than of children his own age. Schaffer (2006 p.62) indicates premature babies are those born before the thirty seventh week of pregnancy and that these are commonly of low birth weight. Child A enjoys climbing into and hiding in things. Although he is smaller than his peers this does not stop him from joining in games that involve climbing or running. In games such as hide and seek he has become adept at using small corners to hide in that his peers can no longer use and finds this amusing. Observation five shows how he uses the baby equipment as a hiding place. Nutbrown (1994 p.93) states that hide and seek games show an early pattern of behaviour in which the child enjoys enclosing and enveloping space. Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage (2000 p.100) states “effective physical development helps children develop a positive sense of well being”. He also enjoys climbing into the baby toys such as the rocking chairs and baby nests and acts out being a baby. He has especially done this since his little brother was born. He also uses baby speech when playing these games. Observation four illustrates Child A’s ability to display imaginative play in which his physical stature helps him in fulfilling his role. Social Development Child A enjoys socialising with his peers and adults alike. Schaffer (2006 p.64) states that even in the first few weeks premature babies are receptive to a variety of social stimulations. This includes speech from Doctors and nurses which help to keep them visually alert and which is believed to be beneficial for social interaction. With his peers he likes to lead and expects others to follow. He expects his peers to join in with his games and play how he wants to. If he wants to play with someone he expects them to accept and will pester them until they join in. He very rarely takes no for an answer and has been known to physically grab a child and pull them to where he wants to play. Schaffer (2006 p. 115) Suggests from their preschool years children can adapt to fit into a social role within its peer group. Some are leaders while others are followers and some are bullies while others are victims. He also argues that being able to fit in or belong to a peer group shows aspects of normal behaviour and appearance. If these aspects are combined with moral values they help a child to develop a sense of self and help them to understand acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour. Observation one shows that Child A sees himself as a leader, from the start he dictates the game and feels confident enough to issue directions to the other child. When the other child cries he feels confident enough to justify his actions. Schaffer (2006 p.152) suggests that preschool children become increasingly capable of using language and thought for considering emotions. Cognitive Development Child A is intrigued by creative activities and on some occasions he will sit for most of the session at the craft table, this is most noticeable if the paint or glitter is out. When painting a picture he enjoys covering the whole paper in paint then he chooses another colour and begins laying this colour over the first. He then adopts this technique on his hands and arms, sometimes painting up to his elbows. He becomes fascinated by what colour he is making whilst layering the paint. When creating a picture with glitter he adopts the same technique, firstly he covers the whole of the paper in glue and then pours on the glitter starting with one colour and then adding other colours on top. He also enjoys piling the different colours of glitter on the table and will spend several minutes engrossed in running his fingers through it to flatten it and then piling it back up again. Whilst engaged in these activities child A is usually oblivious to what else is going on around him and cannot be tempted to go and play with something else. Schaffer (2006 p.183) quotes Piaget whose theory of cognitive development shows children to be active learners. He stated that children show a deep inquisitiveness in the world around them that compels them to discover and research their environment. Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (2000 p.116) suggests that children should be given “a stimulating environment in which creativity, originality and expressiveness are valued”. Child A is showing signs of enclosure schema. Nutbrown (1994 p.93) suggests that painting over completed pictures with many layers of paint can sometimes be viewed as careless colouring but that the child is really showing an early pattern of behaviour where enclosing and enveloping space is important to their way of expression. Analysis Theories show that Child A shows tendencies towards an enclosure schema. He enjoys activities that give him the opportunity to hide or climb into enclosed spaces and enjoys covering paintings and other craft activities in layers. Child A is also very skilled in language and communication he enjoys imaginative play and is very often the leader in these types of games. Child A is very social but likes these interactions to be on his terms. He enjoys games where he is the leader but does not take instruction from his peers well. Although he is smaller than most children his age, child A does not seem to have suffered in his physical development. He can climb; run and jump like any three year child old and adapts his small stature to work to his advantage. Theories discussed show child A to be progressing well in all areas of his development and he seems to be within the known parameters for his age. Despite being prematurely born Child A does not show any signs that this has had any major affect on his development and he shows no signs of struggling to keep up with his peers, in fact it seems that he sets the boundaries in which they interact. Conclusion and Recommendations Child A is showing a predisposition towards an enclosure schema and needs to have opportunities within his play to extend these experiences. He needs to be able to explore dens and tents, giving opportunities to make windows and doors or barriers this could take place inside and outside. Activities outside could also give him the chance to explore making dens out of sticks or houses out of snow further extending his knowledge and understanding of the world. He would also benefit from opportunities to fill and empty containers in the sand and water tray experimenting with size and capacity. Other chances to fill bags or boxes would further enhance his understanding of size and capacity. Child A is a confident leader but does not always consider the needs of others. He needs to be given opportunities to explore the needs of others and show empathy. He needs opportunities to work within a group and take direction from others and manage his own behaviour to enable him to accept that other children have their own opinions and the ability to choose their own activities for themselves. He needs to be offered the opportunity to be involved in creating a community where the children themselves make the rules and set themselves boundaries. Child A needs opportunities to further enhance his understanding of language. With his love of animals there is opportunity to develop skills in listening to music and stories. He needs to be given the opportunity to use puppets of animals to act out stories which could also be linked to developing his ability to show empathy and exploring the needs of others. Nursery rhymes and action songs that contain animals would offer the opportunity to develop rhyming speech and encourage him to listen out for new sounds in his environment e.g. differences in bird song and the way dogs bark. This could lead to discussions about other animals and the sounds that they might make. This would encourage him to explore different animals that he does not see in his everyday life and give him the opportunity to think what sounds these animals may make. Trips to the zoo or farms would help cement the information that he has found and give other opportunities to develop his understanding of animals. References Kay, J and Macleod-Brudenell, I. (2008) Advanced Early Years (2nd Edition). Essex: Heinemann. Nutbrown, C. (1994) Threads of thinking. London: Paul Chapman. Qualifications and curriculum authority (2000). Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. London: Qualifications and curriculum authority. Schaffer, H. R. (2004) Introducing child psychology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing LTD. Appendix One Observation One Friday 18th October 2009 10:30am Child A – Male 3 years 6 months old, study subject. Observation is taking place in a church hall setting. Child A is playing with a female child (child B), who is 12 months younger. They are playing with a ball track and balls; each has their own ball which they are taking in turns to race them down the track. They are happy swapping over their balls and then racing them down again. Child A is leading the game, giving instructions to child B. Child B is copying child A. Both children are enjoying the game. Child A decides that he wants both balls and tries to take the ball off child B, telling her he wants it. Child B says “No!” and tries to resume the game. Child A tries again, he says “Please” this time and tries to take the ball. Child A holds on tighter to the ball still saying “No!” Child A snatches the ball off child B, she starts to cry and adults intervene. Child A then gets upset and tries to justify his actions by saying “I wanted the ball and she wouldn’t give it to me.” Appendix Two Observation two Wednesday 21/10/09 10:30am Church Hall Setting Child A, study subject, painting with sponges and leaves. Child A was asked what he would like to paint with. He chose paintbrushes instead of the sponges as “paintbrushes are for big boys”. He chose orange and green to paint with and informed the other children he was painting a curly, wurly picture. He was interested in what the other children were painting and asked them individually. One of the girls was painting with her hands. He asked what she was doing and then decided to copy her. First of all he painted his hands and printed them onto the paper like everyone else but he then decided firstly to cover his whole paper in paint and continued to handprint continually one on top of the other until he had fully covered the paper with lots of layers of handprints then he decided that it was much more fun to paint yourself and so painted his arms as well as his hands. Once he was fully covered in the paint and had used several colours on top of each other he showed the rest of the children what he had painted. They all laughed and he thought it was funny that everyone was laughing. After the children had seen his “painting” he decided it was time to wash it all off. He informed a member of staff that it was ok if he got his jumper dirty because nanny would wash it again like she had last week. Appendix Three Observation Three Friday 23rd October 2009. Church Hall Setting Child A was asked if he would like to join in the singing circle but he declined preferring to stay in the baby area with a female child who is twelve months younger (Child B). Child A heard the music start to play and the other children playing the instruments. He started to giggle and dance about. He encouraged child B to do the same by saying “come on you can dance too”. This made child B giggle. A Member of staff asked them both if they knew the song. They replied “yes”. She then asked if they could sing it to her. Child A starts to sing and do the actions to the song, child B copies him. When the song finishes they both clap. He asks the member of staff if she like the song. She replies “Yes and thank you you’ve taught me the song”. When the next song comes on Child A starts to sing and do the actions unprompted. Appendix Four Observation Four Friday 4th December 2009 10:30am Child A – Male 3 years 6 months old, study subject. Observation is taking place in a church hall setting. Child A is playing in the baby area. He climbs into the baby nest and says in a baby voice “I’m a baby and I’m tired. I need to sleep.” He curls right up in the nest and pretends to sleep. He then sits up and says “I hungry, need dinner, feed me” He then climbs into the baby rocker and pretends to rock himself to sleep. He says “babies sleep a lot”. He then tries to buckle himself into the chair because he “might fall out”. He rocks back and forth talking to himself in baby talk. When snack time is announced he says “not a baby anymore babies can’t have snack!” Appendix Five Observation Five Monday 7th December 2009 2:00pm Child A – Male 3 years 6 months old, study subject. Observation is taking place in a church hall setting. Child A is playing hide and seek with two other children (B and C) both are twelve months younger than him. Child B starts to count and child A runs off to hide. He runs into the baby area which is set up but not being used by any children. The baby nests are out and so he empties all of the toys out of one and turns it upside down. He curls up into a very small ball and pulls the nest down on top of him. He lies very still until he is found. Child B finds him quite quickly because it is where he always hides. It is the first time child C has played with them and he finds it amusing that child A could fit under there.