Case Study Introduction

Case Study Introduction

For my case study I will be observing one of the children that I baby-sit for. Kendall is the girl that I am observing. The observations will be conducted in her home. I will be able to see the interactions between Kendall and her parents and her two siblings. Kendall is five years old and in second year of preschool. Kendall lives with her parents, her older sister, and younger brother. Her mother works part time in Decatur and her father works full time in Bluffton. Kendall’s grandmother watches her and her younger brother on the days her mother works. She is the middle child. Birth order can have an affect on the child’s social development. Kendall can be very affectionate and loving, but she can also be stubborn, especially if she does not get here way. Kendall likes to play with dolls. She also enjoys playing board games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. She loves animals. Kendall also finds enjoyment in drawing and coloring. Kendall is playful and energetic.

Case Study Physical Development

Kendall was December 29, 2002. Despite the fact that she was born two and one half weeks early, her mother had a normal pregnancy. When Kendall was born she weighed seven pounds and eleven ounces and was twenty inches long.

Kendall started to crawl at eight months. At nine months she was using furniture to pull herself up. During this time she fractured her femur. Because of the fracture, Kendall nearly had to relearn how to walk. She did not start walking until fourteen months. According to an article by Carol Sjostrom Miller (2007), the age range to when children start to walk is from nine months to fifteen months. So even though Kendall broke femur, she did begin walking within the age range most children begin walking. At eleven months, Kendall started feeding herself. Kendall started potty training at two and one half years of age. Although she is out of the potty training stage, her mother informed me that she still has accidents, about three a week.

Now, at age five, Kendall has developed many gross motor skills. While I was babysitting her over the summer, she was excited to show me that she was able to ride a bike with training wheels. She is also able to hop on one foot. She demonstrated this to me when she was playing hopscotch. When I arrive at Kendall’s house, she and her siblings are eating. After she finishes her dinner, she cleans up her place setting. When we are playing, she likes to climb and run. When it is time for her to go to bed, Kendall is able to dress and undress herself on her own. After dressing for bed she brushes her teeth and hair by herself.

Kendall’s fine motor skills have also developed. Kendall likes to color and she is able to stay in the lines when she colors. She also likes to draw. Her pictures are of recognizable figures and shapes. Kendall is in her second year of preschool. She has learned to write her name, other letters and numbers.

Case Study Cognitive Development

Kendall is strong in the cognitive area of development. From talking with Kendall’s parent I found that her cognitive development in the prenatal stage was normal. At a young age her parents began reading books to Kendall before they put her to bed. They still read to her at night. I have had the privilege of reading to her before putting her to bed. When I started babysitting, Kendall’s favorite book was The Foot Book by Dr. Suess. Kendall started talking around fourteen months of age. Her first work was “dog,” which doesn’t surprise me because Kendall loves animals and her family has a dog.

At age five Kendall is currently in her second year of preschool. I had the chance to work with her preschool teacher while I was in high school, however Kendall was not in the class at that time. Kendall’s teacher works with the children on learning the letters of the alphabet and learning how the read and write numbers. Her teacher also teaches the children to read color words. One night while I was babysitting Kendall we were coloring and Kendall found a color by number page in one of the coloring books. I explained to her what to do and she was able to read the numbers and the colors, however she had a little trouble reading the color brown. Kendall can also do dot-to-dots. She is able to follow the numbers in order with little mistakes. Kendall is also able to complete a maze activity.

Kendall is in the pictorial art stage. According to Robert S. Feldman’s (2007) textbook Child Development, the pictorial stage occurs between four and five years of age. In this stage a child begins to draw pictures that represent real objects (p.227). Kendall is able to do just that. Kendall likes to draw and color. When I was babysitting one night we were drawing. I had drawn a picture of a house and a tree. After finishing the page she was coloring, Kendall picked up a piece of paper and drew a picture identical to mine but she had added a barn to her picture. I did not have to ask her what she had drawn because I was able to recognize what the picture was. She used different shapes to create her drawing.

Kendall can also create patterns. One night she created a picture mostly out of stickers. Kendall used star stickers to create the mouth of the clown. The stars alternated green and gold. She also connected heart stickers to form circle, or something close, to make the eyes of the clown. In one of the pictures that Kendall colored, she used a pattern to color in the pony ballerina. The pattern stayed consistent throughout the picture.

Kendall’s parents have some books from the Hooked on Phonics reading program. Kendall is able to read some of the simple books. She read two of the books to me one night while I was babysitting. She stumbled over a couple of words, but for the most part, could read every word.

Kendall can spell small words and make simple two to three word sentences. When I arrived at her house one night to baby-sit, she handed me four small pieces of paper and told me that it was a story she had written for me. She also told me that “bt” was the word “but.” Kendall is also able to spell and write her name very well. When Kendall draws or colors a picture that she wants to give to me, I always have her put her name on it. She writes her name left to right, sometimes top to bottom, and sometimes a couple of letters, the two “l’s” at the end are in front of the “K” because she ran out of room. No matter how she writes it, all of the letters of her name are there.

Case Study Social/ Personality Development

Kendall was two years old when I started babysitting for her. For the first few months she did not like me very much. I would get to her house and when her parents would leave she would cry for a good ten minutes or more. After a while she would be okay and we would go play game. Kendall was at the age when she was experiencing separation anxiety.

Kendall is a shy girl. She tends to sit back and watch others. She does, however, have friends. She has friends from her preschool class and from church. Kendall is friendly and independent. She will play by herself or she will play games with her older sister and me. She knows how to take turns and share with others.

Kendall is the second of three children. Birth order has an affect on her personality and how she acts. For the first four years of her life, Kendall was the baby of the family. She got lots of attention from her parents and her older sister. However, things changed when her younger brother was born. Kendall went for being the baby of the family to being the middle child. She was no longer getting all of the attention. Since her brother was born, I have seen a change in Kendall’s personality. She has taken on some of the traits of a middle child. In Margaret Renkl’s (2002) article titled “Oldest, Youngest, or in Between,” Renkl says that a way that middle children get attention is to act out. Kendall has begun to show this characteristic. It seems now that if she does not get her way or want she wants, she will start to cry. She did not really do that before. Her feelings toward her brother go both ways. I have seen her love on her brother and play with him, offering him toys to play with. Other times I have seen her take things from him or push him down.

Case Study Reflection

Children grow and change at a rapid rate. It is amazing to see how much children of the preschool age change over a short period of time. I have been babysitting for Kendall since she was two years old. Over the past three years I have had the chance to see her grow and change. Even in a short amount of time, I have seen rapid growth in Kendall. I baby-sit for Kendall every other Saturday. Within the two weeks time that I am not around Kendall, she continues to grow and change and I see new things that she knows and is able to do.

I had never really paid close attention to these changes until I did my observations for the case study. As I was observing Kendall and watching for specific actions and traits, I was amazed at how much she knew and how much she was capable of doing. During the time I spent with Kendall, I was able to see some of the characteristics that were discussed in my Child Development course in how Kendall acted and grew.

While I was observing, I noticed that physically Kendall has mastered many of the gross and fine motor skills for her age group. Some of the gross motor skills she has mastered are riding a bike, running, and climbing. She can clean up her table setting after dinner and can dress and undress herself. She can also brush her teeth and hair on her own. The fine motor skills she has mastered are writing her name, coloring inside the lines, and drawing recognizable pictures.

Kendall is also growing cognitively. She is able to read and write letters of the alphabet and numbers zero to ten. She is able to follow numbers in order to complete a dot-to-dot activity, and she is able to complete a maze activity. Kendall can also create a simple pattern, alternating two to four colors. Kendall is also able to read small words and read simple books that have three to five words per page.

Socially, Kendall is sort of shy. She has a few friends, but tends to sit back and watch others until she is comfortable. She is friendly and independent. She likes to play by herself and with her older sister.

Kendall is the middle child in her family. Since her brother was born she has begun to show signs of a normal middle child. Sometimes she will cry if she does not get her way or what she wants. She also seems to have mixed feelings about her brother. Sometimes she loves on her brother and other times she will take things from him or push him down.

Kendall has grown and developed a lot over the three years time that I have been babysitting her. She is getting stronger and smarter everyday. It amazes me how much she has grown and changed over the few years that I have been with her, and I can not wait to watch as she continues to grow.

Bibliography

Feldman, R. S. (2007). Child Development. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Miller, C. S., (2007). When will he walk? Parenting. Vol. 16 issue 5, p. 82. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from MasterFILE Premier database (24858022).

Renkl, M. (2002). Oldest, youngest, or in between. Parenting, 16(5).

Case Study:

o During your field experience, you will develop a case study on one child. Select one child in your placement and write an in-depth observation case study paper. Guidelines will be given for this assignment. Work with a staff member to select your child of study. The different sections of this case study are due throughout the semester. This is a long-term project in which you will integrate knowledge of developmental theory from the text, research and class with your observations of the child.

Case study:Total:150 pointsDue:MAY 5

YOU WILL TURN IN EACH SECTION BY THE DUE DATE. I WILL RETURN IT TO YOU WITH POINTS EARNED AND ANY CORRECTIONS YOU SHOULD MAKE. THIS ASSESSMENT SHEET MUST BE TURNED IN EACH TIME. THE ENTIRE CASE STUDY (CLEAN COPY) IS DUE AS ONE DOCUMENT MAY 5TH. YOU WILL GET YOUR FINAL GRADE THEN.

PART 1 INTRODUCTION

In the introduction, include the following information (USE ONLY FIRST NAMES): setting, child’s background, home life (parents, siblings, pets), age, and likes/dislikes. In addition to these items, include any other items that could set the stage for understanding the development of the child. This section should be approximately one paragraph in length.

o15 points__14__Due: FEBRUARY 13

PART 2 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTS

This section should examine the physical developments from conception to the current age. Each age stage needs to be addressed and identified with the largest emphasis on the current age stage. Include examples and details from the child’s developmental history and what you observe. You will need to consult with parents/caregivers for some of this information. In addition to observation, consult outside resources for information on physical development. This section should be approximately one page.

o30 points___29____Due: MARCH 5

PART 3 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTS

This section should examine the cognitive developments from conception to the current age. Each age stage needs to be addressed and identified with the largest emphasis on the current age stage. Include examples and details from the child’s developmental history and what you observe. You will need to consult with parents/caregivers for some of this information. In addition to observation, consult outside resources for information on cognitive development. This section should be approximately one page.

o30 points___26.5______Due: MARCH 31

PART 4 EMOTIONAL (SOCIAL/PERSONALITLY) DEVELOPMENTS

This section should examine the emotional developments from conception to the current age. Each age stage needs to be addressed and identified with the largest emphasis on the current age stage. Include examples and details from the child’s developmental history and what you observe. You will need to consult with parents/caregivers for some of this information. In addition to observation, consult outside resources for information on emotional development. This section should be approximately one page.

o30 points___27____Due: APRIL 21

PART 5 REFLECTIONS

In this last section, you will reflect on your field experience. Discuss the age you worked with and the setting. Make connections with the experience and this course. Use a reflective tone.

o30 points____30_____Due: MAY 5

PART 6 SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

This is the fun section! This is where authentic artifacts can be added. Include photographs, original artwork, interviews, etc. from your time spent with this child. Be creative with what you include here. You need to include 3 artifacts that are authentic and relevant to your case study. Each artifact will be worth 5 points

o15 points____15_____Due: MAY 5

TOTAL POINTS___141.5____

LETTER GRADE____94%____

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