Liam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Liam - Essay Example I didn't choose the subject beforehand so I knew nothing about him until I spoke with his teacher after my final observation was completed. I chose the child that occupied the most central seat in the class, but I could have used any number of other criteria to choose a subject. I came up with these criteria before entering the class for the first time. I had no idea whether my subject would be male or female, what their age would be, or what their other physical and mental characteristics would be. Upon completion of the study, I found that my hypotheses were incorrect. Though psychosocial, cognitive and biosocial developments are interrelated, I focused on the biosocial domain while conducting and documenting this study. The average 4-5 year old, regardless of sex or race, is active and consumes and uses about 1,700 calories per day, and sleeps ten to eleven hours at night. They have gained greater control of their gross motor skills which enables them to run, skip, hop, climb, and jump with fewer accidents and more self-confidence. They are beginning to refine their fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination, enabling them to draw simple, recognizable shapes and print a few capital letters. They have almost fully established the preference for right- or left-handedness. They are also beginning to lose their baby teeth and may grow a few inches taller during these years. Liam I decide to attend a local kindergarten class to observe 5-year olds in action. I wanted to verify or debunk my previously mentioned hypotheses regarding the subjects drawn by children and if they still built and took apart items. I decided to focus my observations on the most centrally located student in the classroom: Liam (a pseudonym). I later interviewed him and his teacher to get a better picture of a typical 5-year old. Liam is taller than most of his classmates, with brown hair and hazel eyes, and a constantly disheveled appearance. I found observing him in a class of thirty other youngsters proved to be a challenge because he was always moving about. While the other students were going to their "cubbies" to get their paint shirts he was busy alternating between socializing and knocking his drawing paper onto the floor with his gestures while talking animatedly with other students. When he finally put his paint shirt on, after much struggling, it became apparent that it was the cleanest item of his attire. He'd tripped over his feet while running on the playground at recess. He immediately knocked his container of paint off the table and onto the floor, and himself, with his broad gesticulations with the paint brush. His attempts to clean his mess created further mess, and while the rest of the class was quietly painting, his teacher helped him clean up, though he was more of a mess than the floor had been. When he finally set to painting, his picture was not of a house or any of the other subjects I'd imagined. His art consisted of broad brushstrokes of deep, vibrant, rich colors: purples, cyan, and maroon. He had