Jordyn Aldrich

FHS-1500
OBSERVATION 2
Joe is a 4 year old boy that I observed at the Sugar House Farmers market. He is the
child of a vender so while he was there I was able to observe his interaction with children, adults,
his family, and how he acts on his own.
Physical DevelopmentJoes motor skills and physical differences of his younger brother, 2 years younger, are
the first two things I noticed. Joe is significantly taller, leaner muscle mass, more length in the
limbs, and was able to participate in many more physical and intellectual activities. As Kathleen
Stassen explains, these are the growth patterns (167) that normally develop as the child gets
older. At one point he attempted to consume a sugary snack but decided it was too much; he
immediately asked another vender if he could sample a carrot. Whether he fully understands or
not, Joe is developing understanding of his nutritional needs which play a major role in his
physical development (169). Hes also demonstrating his ability to plan ahead as well as to
think about past experiences (178) in the sense that he made his decision to eat a carrot instead
of a sugar snack, most likely, based up a past experience. I was glad to have his younger brother
around to reference the change in his skills. As Stassen explains, as the body gains strength,
children develop motor skills, both gross motor skills and fine motor skills (170). The shift of
his center of gravity and the development of his balance allowed Joe to successfully execute
many physical activities (168). Joe was very active verbally as well as in various physical ways
(gross motor skills) and demonstrated the ability to pick up very small objects with his fingers,
(fine motor skills); things his brother wasnt able to do, showing the contrast between the
prefrontal cortex from 2 years of age to 4 (178). He was able to make his own decisions,
demonstrated the ability to recognize objects (178-179), and regulate his emotions in social
environments (180).
Cognitive DevelopmentAs stated above, Joes brain development allows him to expand his understanding
through his cognitive development. The first thing I recognized was his demonstration of the
theory-theory (186). He picked up a small piece of glass and brought it to the farmers market
manager asking her how it got there, what it belonged to, why someone would leave it, if he
could keep it, etc. This leads into Joe demonstrating his theory of mind (187) development. He
shared about an older lady carrying her groceries home from the story, they were too heavy for
her and she dropped the bag which had glass in it; so thats how the glass ended up on the
ground. Stassen explains that, realizing that thoughts do not mirror reality is beyond very young
children, but that realization dawns on them sometime after age 3 (187). This statement proves
true given Joes age and his explanation as to how the glass appeared; he came up with a very
realistic situation that could have caused the broken glass which, most likely, isnt something a 2
or 3 year old could come up with. Another example of this 4 year olds cognitive development is
his ability to hold conversations and ask more in-depth questions than simply asking why?
(189). Although Joe displayed strength in his communication skills he still demonstrated
overregularization (191) while speaking of certain objects. I observed him interacting with a
vendor talking about the tooths he had recently lost. When the vendor jokingly asked, How
many tooths did you lose? he seems confused and slightly frustrated, as if the woman should
have known that tooths meant one. She politely corrected him, after he repeated the word tooth
in that sentence a few times she let him run off; helping him apply rules of grammar.

Jordyn Aldrich
FHS-1500
OBSERVATION 2
Social/Emotional DevelopmentMy favorite part of this observation was watching Joes interaction with others. Joe and
his brother started playing off in a corner with some rocks when a little girl noticed and wanted
in on the fun. Joe was demonstrating active play (214) by picking up larger rocks and throwing
them as far as he could. When he would throw the rocks hed always check to make sure the
little girl saw him; while I cannot be sure, I believe this was Joe demonstrating gender
differences (221). I say this because the little girl was throwing the same rocks however, she
never looked his way to make sure he watched because she wasnt trying to show off while Joe
was peacocking in a sense. While the children were playing with the rocks, the little girl dropped
one on her head. Joe immediately removed the rock from the little girls vicinity, rubbed her
head, and then ran to get an adult. By Joes actions I strongly feel as if his moral values had
advanced more than when he was younger because he could tell the girl was hurt and used his
judgment to take action (225). This situation also reveals his ability to understand the emotions
and concerns of another person (226) when he rubs the injured childs head before getting help.
By moving the object that hurt her from the area she was in, Joe demonstrates actions that are
helpful and kind but that are of no obvious benefit (226) to himself. His awareness of himself
and those around him was very apparent in his interactions.

Jordyn Aldrich
FHS-1500
OBSERVATION 2
References:
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to The Life Span: 2nd ed. New York, NY: Worth.