+ Child Development TTE 303 Kelsey Osterman

+ Child background and Family Interaction Aiden was born in Tucson, Arizona on November 13, He was a healthy baby at 7 lbs. 8 oz. when he was born. Aiden was brought up using sign language to communicate before he could speak; using words such as “please”, “thank you” and “more”. He began talking at the age of seven months. Aiden’s father is an entomologist so they spend a lot of times outside with nature. As a family they take many camping trips and hikes.

+ Language Development Aiden’s language development in the area of language context and inference has grown over the school year Example: Child 1: “This one is more little” Aiden: “No, it’s actually more littler..” “Actually, just littler” Aiden is trying to sort through the rules of how language works such as when it is appropriate to use words such as “more” and when to add “-er” to the end of words. He did realize that you couldn’t use both of these together.

+ Language Development Strengths Language in context and vocabulary (observation log 4/7/14) A place for future growth Phonetic language School-based Activities sandpaper letters that he can trace over with his fingers to help him recognize the shape of the letters in the alphabet, and therefor becoming more aware of them. Home-based Activities that can be done at home is Aiden’s parents reading to him. They can also use this while traveling since they do a lot of trips by using the print around them to ask Aiden questions such as “what letter does Target start with?” etc.

+ Physical Development I can begin to see Aiden’s fine motor skills progress more. On March 12, 2014, I observed Aiden writing the letters of his name on a piece of paper. The orientation of his letters was not correct, and the pressing of the pencil was very light. Over the next few weeks, Aiden starts to form the letters of his name more and is pressing harder onto the paper (recorded in activity log on April 21, 2014).

+ Physical Development Strengths Aiden has started to form the letters of his name more and is pressing harder onto the paper and the letters of his name are starting to be written in order and along the same line.(Observation log 4/21/14) Area for future growth the use of scissors and cutting. School-based Activities Giving children a boundary to cut around, they will be able to develop the accuracy of their cutting and get more practice holding scissors. Home-based Activities learning how to play the piano or another instrument that encourages fine motor skills.

+ Cognitive Development Aiden’s ability to problem-solve has really improved over the school year. At the beginning of the year, it was hard for Aiden to see that there could be compromises in situations. He would have to come to the teacher and we would give him a scenario on how to deal with the problem. Now he is taking leadership and solving the problem for himself. (language recording on 4/10/14)

+ Cognitive Development Strengths Aiden’s cognitive development is really strong, especially in the area of reasoning and problem solving.(observation log 4/10/14) Area for future growth Memory and attention span School-based Activities compromise dolls in a corner where Aiden can sort out a problem that he is having with a friend. Memory game Offer more open-ended materials throughout the classroom- empty cardboard boxes, or sheets and fabric pieces that can be used for anything. Home-based Activities Puzzles as a family Activity that requires longer attention- cooking.

+ Emotional Development Aiden is struggling to grow in his emotional development because he is having trouble with aggression towards a particular student Aiden saying things such as “Don’t trust Stan” and “Hey, how about you go and fight Stan?” to his other classmates. (recorded on 4/23 and 4/24/2014)

+ Emotional Development Strengths Curiosity (Observation log 4/10/14) Areas for future growth sudden development of Aiden’s anger and aggression towards other students. School-based Activities reading more stories about children and their emotions such as “Sometimes I’m Bombaloo” by Rachel Vail. Home-based Activities Aiden and his family could be doing is talking about his feelings and why he is feeling the way he is. It can be a learning experience for both Aiden and his parents that with help Aiden understand more about how to deal with these emotions.

+ Social Development Even though there has been some digression in Aiden’s social development with teasing, I began to see him open up to more students in his classroom and creating new friendships with new people. On April 30, 2014, I observed Aiden interacting with a new child who was just on a visit to tour the new school. Aiden pulled out an extra tricycle and asked the child if he wanted to ride with him. He taught him how to pedal with his feet and told him how steering was kind of hard (recorded in activity log on 4/30)

+ Social Development Strengths Making new friends and building close relationships between many different children. (Observation log 4/30/14) Areas for future growth Aiden’s conflict management has room for improvement. School-based activities building a block structure together or painting a giant mural with other students from the class of a scene from a story they recently read. Home-based Activities can include play dates outside of school with other students from Aiden’s classroom that he may not interact with as much so that he is exposed to different friendships and can learn to make new friends with other people.