Week 2 EDUC 3003 Application 2

Observation Plan

Child's age and gender: Lilly ___(female)____________________________________

Area of Development and Learning Selected __ The fine muscle development _____________________

Examples of what to look for	· Manipulation · Self-help skills · Scissors, pastes and glue · Use writing instruments
When will I observe	12/11 and 12/15
Where will I observe	Lilly’s home
Information on general development continuum	The fine muscle development of fine motor skills takes children longer to master than their gross motor skills because it requires the use of both hands and thus both sides of the brain. The process of maturing these skills is slow but is an important part of their development because these skills will be needed in their future academic learning.
Relevant notes from parent/family member interview	Lilly likes to express herself artistically through coloring and other arts and crafts. These activities are a great way to help her develop her body and finger control.

For my observation project, there were many areas of development to choose from. However, I decided to focus my attention on the child's fine motor skills. As I have learned in my previous classes the development of a child's fine motor skills, is an important skill to have before entering school, and can very well set the tone for their academic achievement. Activities that require the use our fine motor skills include; writing, cutting, using eating utensils, and tying our shoes. It takes time to mature these skills as the small muscle in a child's fingers work together in concentration. By age three ( which is the age of the child I'm observing) of their development children should be able to do things such as manipulating objects, learn self-help skills, use craft materials, and writing instruments.

When children use the ability to manipulate with their hand and fingers such as playing with clay or doing a puzzle they are exercising their fine motor skills. To observe this skill during my observation sessions next week, I will need to focus on the child's flexibility, precision, coordination, and control. Self-help skills are abilities that allow us to be independent by enabling us to eat, dress and take care of ourselves. Therefore, watching how a child grasps an eating utensil or buttoning up their shirt will be important to note in my observation. For children learning the ability to use scissors and glue require the ability to precision and grasp of their thumbs. Similarly, in what to look for Manipulation also applies and will need to be watched for. The last category in assessing and analyzing the small muscle development is the use of writing instruments. This is the ability to hold and use a writing utensil such as a pencil, pen, or paintbrush. By age, four children are likely to attempt to write using their whole hand as they make scribbles. Precision writing fluid line will not come for a couple of years.

The study of small muscle development in young children is just one aspect of their overall development. Though it is a shame that will not be able to have time to focus and study the other areas development in my Observation I am gaining a better understanding of the concept of the developmental continuum of an individual. It will be interesting to see how Lilly is obtaining the experience and competence now that will help here in acquiring new skills as she gets older and becomes a high functioning adult.

resource

McAfee, O., Leong, D. J., & Bodrova, E. (2016). Assessing and guiding young children's development and learning (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson( pp 222)