Preschool Health History Observing healthy children at Crossroads Preschool was a thrilling and eye opening experience. In the four-year-old classroom with Mrs. Birch, there was quite an array of physical, mental, and social developments. The healthy child that I observed did not show any behaviors that were out of the ordinary for a four-year-old girl. I thought she was quite advanced for her age. I arrived to the classroom as they were about to start reviewing their daily schedule, calendar, and morning songs. All the children were each sitting on a different colored square on the carpet; some chatting with their friends, and others ready and patiently waiting for Mrs. Birch to start class. I noticed a girl with short brown, messy hair, tan skin, green eyes, and an outfit that did not match, as if she dressed herself. She knew the correct answers to the questions asked by her teacher; including the month, year, numerical day, outside weather and who was assigned to line leader, snack assistant, and morning helper. The clarity of her speech, not talking out of turn, and giving all her attention to the teacher and activity that was assigned really impressed me. The class activity for that day was listening to a story on tape and following along using their individual paper book printouts. As the story was playing in the background, the children were to follow along by looking at corresponding pictures. She folded each page so precisely, and made facial expressions that corresponded correctly to the words being said. Most children in the class stared at the pictures with blank faces, often confused as to which page they were supposed to be on. At the end of the story, they used a black crayon to circle the correct answer to the questions. She got all four of the questions right, while her classmates often chose incorrectly. As of now she does not have any hearing, vision, or physical impairments. Both of her parents are teachers, so her speech, use of language, and fluid sentences are not too surprising. She surpasses many of her classmates. She was able to hold a conversation while I asked her questions about her health, diet, and some of her favorite things. While at school, she plays well with both the boys and girls. On the playground, her girl friends and the boys can get rough; ramming scooters into each other, and playing zombies. Inside the classroom, she loves to play with the dolls, but will also play cars with the boys if they ask her. She shares toys, and includes anyone that wishes to play along side her. She even asked if I wanted to play dolls, and I of course did. The teaching assistant asked each child three questions; their parent’s names, their birthdate, and where they lived. She knew each answer, including that she lived in Phoenix, Arizona, along with her address. Some responses that the other children had given were; mommy, the desert, United States of America and I do not know. Below is a chart explaining the developmental theories of Freud, Piaget, and Erickson, along with the behaviors my observed child displayed.
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Theory
Freud
Piaget
Erickson
Description of each theory for the age of a four year old girl
Phallic Stage-
Development of gender identity. Sexual feelings toward father. Sense of sexual curiosity.
Id- urges, pleasure, gratification- hunger, aggression.
Ego- balance what is wanted and what is possible to obtain. (Wilkinson & Treas, 2016)
Preoperational-
Uses symbols and language. Sees herself as center of the universe. Thought is based on perception not logic.
(Wilkinson & Treas, 2016)
Initiative Vs. Guilt-
Develop a sense of initiative through activity and imagination. Guilt sets in when they are not able to accomplish a common goal, or task. (Edelman, 2014) Behaviors observed -Aggressive on the playground when the boys and girls play together (crashing scooters, chasing each other around like zombies) -Can get violent and crash cars together, but it is triggered by the boy’s behavior. Nothing out of the ordinary. -Knows that even if she is hungry, she has to wait till snack or lunch time to eat. -Large vocabulary compared to her classmates.
Theory
Freud
Piaget
Erickson
Description of each theory for the age of a four year old girl
Phallic Stage-
Development of gender identity. Sexual feelings toward father. Sense of sexual curiosity.
Id- urges, pleasure, gratification- hunger, aggression.
Ego- balance what is wanted and what is possible to obtain. (Wilkinson & Treas, 2016)
Preoperational-
Uses symbols and language. Sees herself as center of the universe. Thought is based on perception not logic.
(Wilkinson & Treas, 2016)
Initiative Vs. Guilt-
Develop a sense of initiative through activity and imagination. Guilt sets in when they are not able to accomplish a common goal, or task. (Edelman, 2014) Behaviors observed -Aggressive on the playground when the boys and girls play together (crashing scooters, chasing each other around like zombies) -Can get violent and crash cars together, but it is triggered by the boy’s behavior. Nothing out of the ordinary. -Knows that even if she is hungry, she has to wait till snack or lunch time to eat. -Large vocabulary compared to her classmates.