Observation #2

Class/Section: FHS 1500-400

Name:
Kylee Sainsbury
Assignment: Observation 2
Background Information
Childs age:
4 yrs.
Fictitious name:
Kayla
Location:
Elite Academy dance studio located on Redwood rd. and 11800 s.
Riverton, Ut. 84065
Brief Description: I went and sat in a dance class for an hour and fifteen minutes. There were
a total of 15 other kids that were between ages 3-5, and there was one
teacher, with an assistant.
Physical Development
While comparing Ashley with the other children around her, I noticed that her physical
attributes were pretty average for her age, maybe even a little more on the lower percentile.
There were many kids that were taller than her, and only about 3 that were shorter than her. Her
build seemed very healthy compared to the other kids. The class that I watched consisted of a lot
of gross motor skills. There was a stretching session at the beginning that included toe-touches,
an across the floor session that included skipping and chass, as well as a tumbling session the
last thirty minutes of class. Kayla was very advanced in all of these different sessions, and she
definitely stood out. A lot of the other children still struggled with the concept of what foot to
start with and how to do a certain move, but Kayla had it all mastered down. According to the
textbook, The center of gravity moves from the breast to the belly, enabling cartwheels,
somersaults, and many other motor skills. The joys of dancing, gymnastics, and pumping a swing
become possible. Toddlers often tumble, unbalanced- fortunately, they are close to the floor and
thus dont have too far the fall (Berger, 2010, p.168).
One major thing that I noticed while observing this class was the size of each and every
child. Kaylas build seemed very healthy for her age and height, and even though you could tell
that she still had a tiny bit of baby fat still on her, it was mostly all gone. There were a few
children that were a lot heavier than Kayla being considered overweight. In almost every nation,
4-year-olds are more often overweight than 2-year-olds. This suggests that habits, not genetics,
are the problem (Berger, 2010, p. 168).
Cognitive Development
I also noticed that Kayla seemed to be right on track with her cognitive development as
well. There was a section of the class where the teacher reviewed their dance that they had been
working on for the parent show coming up in Spring. A lot of the kids struggled with
remembering what dance move came next, but Kayla remembered every move. That could be
associated with her parents practicing it with her at home, but it also shows that her hippocampus
is very advanced as well. The hippocampus is a brain structure that is a central processor of
memory, especially memory of locations (Berger, 2010, p. 180).
One thing that I noticed happened quite often was the interaction between the teachers
and the children. Both of the teachers were constantly being involved with the children, and kept
helping them do the correct things, so that they can learn them the right way. By learning about

what Vygotsky believed, it was very clear to me to see what he was meaning. Vygotsky believed
that all individuals learn within their zone of proximal development, which is an intellectual
arena where new ideas and skills can be mastered (Berger, 2010, p. 185). The dance atmosphere
supplies plenty of areas for growth in all of the major developmental areas, and is a great way for
children to learn skills in a healthy way. By knowing the term scaffolding, a temporary sensitive
support, to help the child within their developmental zone, it is a lot more clear to me that by
observing this dance class, the children are able to learn more and more new things each week.
Social/Emotional Development
One thing that I observed while watching this class was the range of emotions from every
child. From seeing the happiest of little girls who love dance class and wanted to be there, to the
child who hadnt stopped bawling since the second she left her mothers arms before class had
started. There were also the kids that would almost have mood swings, and be happy one second,
then kicking and screaming on the floor because she wanted her toys. The teacher had to go up to
the child and bribe her with candy to make her stop crying. This for example is called emotional
regulation, the ability to control when and how emotions are expressed (Berger, 2010, p. 206).
With Kayla, she was very happy most of the time and enjoyed her time being there until she had
a little incident. When the girls were sitting on the floor watching a demonstration, Kayla started
to cry because she had just wetted herself. At first the teacher was upset that she didnt tell her
that she needed to go to the bathroom, but then the teacher soon got her to laugh because she had
told her a joke. Her emotions had changed drastically within seconds.
There was about ten minutes left at the end of class, so the teachers took the children into
the tumbling room so that they could jump off of the tramp, and play in the foam pit. Play is
important for children, and many developmentalists believe that play is the most productive as
well as the most enjoyable activity that children undertake (Berger, 2010, p. 212). I noticed
Kayla loving this part of class, and she kept socializing with all of the other kids in her class at
this time.
Reference List
Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span. New York: Worth, 2010. Print.