I conducted a study on eight students between ten and eleven-thirty. Four boys and four girls were studied to evaluate their childhood development process. The age of the students to be studied was between two and five years. The activities which were I observed the students engaging in were playing with a ball, building a tower and using a hammer. I took strategic position from which I could watch the students plating without their noticing that I am present. There were three stations for each of the three activities to be conducted. The stations were organized in such a way that I could watch the students playing but they could not notice presence. The resources within the school include a ball, wooden boxes and a hammer. The objective of the three activities was to improve their communication skills, counting skills, psychomotor skills and social skills.
Children aged between two and five years are usually in the second and the third stages of development as described in Erik Erickson’s psychosocial development theory. In the two second stage, which is also described as ‘Will’, children begin to explore their surroundings and in turn develop autonomy (Berk, 2013). At this point, the support of parents is very crucial to the development of children. If parents of caregiver provide adequate support to the children, they learn how to solve problems on their own. On the other hand, if too much is demanded from the children or if children are constantly ridiculed, they would be ashamed and afraid to handle problems that occur along the way. It is, therefore, crucial for caregivers to provide adequate support for the children.
The third stage which basically involves children aged between four and five years relates to the development of initiative (Berk, 2013). This is the stage at which children are motivated to start and complete their unique actions with a particular goal in mind. It is, however, important to note that this stage is also affected by guilt, an emotion which tends to discourage them from learning from their desire to take initiative. For instance children will feel guilty which they start and complete particular action that fails to meet the objectives they had in mind. Some negative behaviour also develops during this stage. Behaviours such as yelling, throwing objects and hitting occur as a result of frustration caused by the child’s failure to achieve the intended purpose from previously undertaken actions.
I observed children as they arranged towers and realized that indeed sufficient support from the care-giver is very critical to the successful development of the child. The children who were encouraged to build towers by themselves demonstrated a high level of gratification when the towers were successfully completed. They also demonstrated a higher level of confidence and were, therefore, willing to undertake the same procedure again. The giver simply arranged the towers for the first and second time allowing children to attempt to arrange the towers on their own. Quite a good numbers of the children were able to successfully arrange the towers.
I also watched as the care-giver played the ball with the children. The children aged between two and three years found the game very interesting. They in turn learnt how to interact with people as well as how to correctly count. The effectiveness with which the children were learning was highly dependent on the manner in which the care-giver handled. The care-giver who provided adequate support and encourage was able to realize great improvements in the manner in which the students counted and played the ball. Their coordination skills improved significantly while communication received a great boost.
According to Berk (2013) the cognitive development theory developed by Piaget, children learn through manipulating the world and constructing knowledge in the process. The manifestation of this theory was evident in the activity that involved arranging blocks to form a tower. The children were allowed time to play around with the resources provided to them to explore them as much a people. The most creative students were observed trying to arrange the tower in different manner, holding the blocks in the air and allowing them to fall down. All these activities were being by students to learn about the nature and the fact that some things within nature can be changed. For instance, some children were able to discover that when an object is thrown into the fair falls downward and upward. This, therefore, means that the quality of learning processes was highly dependent on the resources provided and the ability of the care-giver to provide them with adequate support. Some students were able to recognize items and play with them more than others. Children who were aged above four years were allowed to engage in more changing activities like hitting a hummer on a spot. The activity was used to test the ability of students to effectively coordinate their hands.
Lev Vygotsky’s childhood development theory places a great emphasis on the role that parents who care-givers play in the development of children. According Berk (2013) it is very important for the knowledgeable members of the society to provide support to the children in their respective learning processes. This is important because when children maintain close relationships with knowledgeable members of the society, he or she will be able to improve on the skills taught. The care-giver or parent is, therefore, advised to maintain close relationship with the children being taught to make sure that the latter grasp adequate information to facilitate the growth and development of the children. Care-givers took a long period of time playing ball with the children (Berk, 2013). The playing of such a game leads to an improvement in the child’s motion skills as well as counting. The development of such and playing of such sporting activities has a profound impact on the performance and development of the children.
A child’s learning and development can also be attained through the use modelling and imitation. It is actually considered to be among the most powerful sources of development in children. The care-giver can perform a particular task and expect the child to follow suit. I observed during the activity of playing with the ball. The instructor threw the ball towards the child who later returned the ball (Berk, 2013). The children were observed to follow the care-givers was of playing with the ball. Imitation and modelling plays a very important in learning not only among children but also among adults. The instructor continuously encouraged the child until he was able to play the ball without any problem. The same procedure was replicated in other activities: hammering and arranging the blocks. The instructor could, therefore, demonstrate to children how the game is played. Similarly, the procedure was also followed when the hummer was being used. The development of children is very important. It is dependent on the manner in which care-giver teaches.
I also watched as the care-giver playing the ball with the children. Playing children with the kids was conducted in order to benefit children different ways. The games will enable the child to exercise, improve communication skills, and develop interpersonal skills as well as in the improvement in the manner in which they developed (Berk, 2013). The children aged between two and three years found the game very interesting. They in turn learnt how to interact with people as well as how to correctly count. The effectiveness with which the children were learning was highly dependent on the manner in which the care-giver handled. The care-giver who provided adequate support and encourage was able to realize great improvements in the manner in which the students counted and played the ball. Their coordination skills improved significantly while communication received a great boost. It is, therefore, crucial for the parents and care-giver to make sure that all the children is playing well, enjoying while learning in the process.
Work cited
Berk E. L. (2013).Child Development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: PEARSON.
