Observation Report Child Development

Child Observation Report Two For the Life-Span Development course at Dordt College, a child with his parents and grandparents were observed and recorded for the purpose of students to study the actions of the child. I watch this recording on March 19th, 2016. With the approval of the mother and with the consent form signed, Dr. Christians began interacting with the child, Jonas. Jonas is four years old. The first thing Dr. Christians had Jonas do was to draw himself. Jonas picked out his colors and then drew his house with many specifics including his bed, bathroom, and some of his toys. After this he drew himself along with his brothers, parents, and pets. this simple activity shows much developmental improvement. Jonas was able to pick up a crayon and draw with no difficulty. He did not show any clumsiness in this action. This shows his development in fine motor skills. “By the time they turn three, children have had the ability to pick up the tiniest objects between their thumb and forefinger for some time, but they are still clumsy at it...By age four, children’s fine motor coordination …show more content…
Christians asked Jonas to run to one side of the room and back. Jonas was happy to do this and did it with no problem at all. By the age of four children still enjoy running purely to show that they can do it (Santrock 2014, p. 135-136). This activity shows Jonas’s development in gross motor skills. He also would jump onto his chair when it was time to sit, which also shows this development. Piaget’s preoperational theory states that between the ages of two and seven children represent the world with words and drawings (Santrock 2014, p. 140). It was clear that Jonas was in this stage due to his ability to draw his house, family, and nature. He was even able to represent lightning with his drawings and sound effects. This shows that Jonas is in the symbolic stage in which two to four year olds mentally represent what is physically not present (Santrock 2014, p.