Introduction

A child developing and learning are intertwined concepts that are comprehensive and are put into one for understanding children (Garvis et al., 2018). As children learn, they develop, and as they grow, they learn. In Australia, the National Standard Quality and the Early Learning Years Framework are the guides in ensuring that children at the first level of education are set to belong, be and become. There are established practices, principles and outcomes set to support the early childhood development and transition to school (Early Years Learning Framework, 2010). The base set at this level plays a role in later years of adolescents as it helps understand the learning techniques that fit each individual. The information on children development helps the educators to determine specific activities that can help and support the learning (Garvis et al., 2018). In children development, particularly for those under five years, they learn more through observation and engagement in activities. For adolescents, they also have a variety of techniques that require the use of information with meaning, and that creates an emotional response (Armstrong, 2016). The information based on purpose and emotional response help in the delivery of learning in a better way. The report focuses on a five-year-old child who is playful and in the early years of learning.

Observations

The observation was done on a girl named Harley in a Home setting. Before the incident, Harley was playing with her brother and neighbour, where the brother was giving them instructions. They discuss which parental role each person should discuss as they understand. Lauren, a neighbour, focuses on a piece the iron board as Harley focus to look for a bit of clothing and asks the camera person for assistance. Then she uses her whole hand to hold a spoon and pretend she is eating. The child demonstrates social knowledge, cognitive understanding of the activities, ability to express her needs and gross motor skills.

Report

The report focuses on the analysis of the observation of a five-year-old Harley with other children at home. The focus on cognitive and Speech and Language Development that were observed from the children.

Cognitive Development

Lauren, a neighbour focus to play with an ironing board in Harley’s bedroom as Harley searches for a piece of clothing to iron. In line with Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the ability of Harley to start looking for cloth is that she sees things in symbols (Glowiak & Mayfield, 2016). In the second stage of the theory, which takes place between ages 2 to 7 years. After the incident, Harley started running where he was leading as a way to demonstrate some leadership (Ahmad et al., 2016). Also, the cognitive development at this stage is improved and based on play. The people in this stage enjoy dramatic play and may suggest playing in-room free from adults. That is seen as Harley plays in her room together with the brother and neighbour. In the education setting, play-based learning is highly advocated by educators as a practice in the early years of knowledge. That is because children learn more from experiences and engagement of activities.

Further, Harley places the toy cutleries in groups based on their types. That is in line with the cognitive development of people in the stage. Children can differentiate items and group them based on their standards (Glowiak & Mayfield, 2016). She then proceeds to count the number of dinner set and link with how many dolls to pair the set. Children learn and improve their cognitive development by imitating the behaviours of adults. Learning through observation of what the mother does during dinner is what Harley is applying when playing with others which also suggest the strategy for teaching among people of the same age.

Physical Development

Harley is seen hopping, jumping and running with ease as she runs together with her playmates. That is expected in this stage as most can skip, hop and do more. In age five, the children have practised the fine and gross motor skills and require less assistance (Ketcheson et al., 2018). At this stage, they have left their teetering toddler years behind, and they have better coordinated and precise in their movements as they enter the school-age years. The only assistance ask is when she wants a cloth for ironing, but all other activities are done independently, and mostly she takes the lead.

Further, she uses her whole to hold a spoon and pretend to eat. That demonstrates gross motor skills development where can use the large muscles to perform functions (Ketcheson et al., 2018). Unlike in the previous development age, their motor skills are refined, coordinated and well balanced. Also, in the Hallway, she brings down four dolls down the starts, which illustrates her ability to hold multiple items at once. Though not entirely as expected, she is in the process of learning and through practice, she will fine-tune the act (Saul McLeod, 2018). As they master new skills, educators need to introduce new skills so that they keep challenged and improve their physical development as they grow.

Also, the excellent motor skills are fine-tuned since she can be able to hold a spoon by herself and pretend to feed herself. It is expected in this stage as most of the skills are well performed with high mastery as compared to the previous step. The major highlight in this stage is becoming more adept at fine and gross motor skills which they require less guidance by the adults. More importantly, they love doing things on their own until they are faced with a challenge that leads to asking for assistance.

Suggested Activity

Through the observation, it clear that observation and engagement plays a significant role in imparting knowledge and providing an environment for learning. Therefore, educator dealing with Harley can engage in play-based activities that are best for learning in this stage. Specifically, an activity to make dolls would best fit Harley in developing. During the doll making activity, it involves planning, engages the parents where they will need to provide materials like a piece of clothing, cotton wool, ribbons and glue. The activity will include making a doll among the one Harley owns at home. That will require designing it to look similar to the one she has. Also, the activity is essential since it challenges her into acquiring new skills of creating. Through analysis and observing her doll and the direction given by the educator, she will be expected to remember all that information to getting her work done. The importance of activity is to help her enjoy and have experience in creative arts, which will expand her physical and cognitive development and fine-tune what she already knows. Then she will be expected to apply the knowledge in making her the doll. However, the educator needs to be watching and carefully directing so that she can improve trust and security with the child, which yield positive results in learning.

Conclusion

Child development is a crucial area of focus in education in Australia as the government and scholars strive to improve education outcome at an early level. Therefore, the field is exciting and need that school is in line with the given framework to help achieve the best. The concentration of child and adolescents education help educators in devising learning strategies that can help and yield better results. The observation was done to a five-year-old child while playing with others at home. From the observation, she exhibits physical and cognitive development characteristics that are commonly observed in others of their age. The physical development shows refined skills both for fine and gross motor skills. Also, cognitive development is exhibited by the ability to categorise items, search for clothes to iron and counting dinner sets.

References

Ahmad, S., Ch, A. H., Batool, A., Sittar, K., & Malik, M. (2016). Play and Cognitive Development: Formal Operational Perspective of Piaget’s Theory. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(28), 72-79.

Saul McLeod (2018).Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development. Developmental Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html Retrieved on 30 May 2020.

Glowiak, M., & Mayfield, M. A. (2016). Middle childhood: Physical and cognitive development. Human Growth and Development Across the Lifespan: Applications for Counselors, 251.

Ketcheson, L., Hauck, J. L., & Ulrich, D. (2018). The levels of physical activity and motor skills in young children with and without autism spectrum disorder, aged 2–5 years. Autism, 22(4), 414-423.

Armstrong, T. (2016). The power of the adolescent brain: Strategies for teaching middle and high school students. ASCD.

Garvis, S., Phillipson, S., Clarke, S., Harrison, L., McCormack, J., & Pendergast, D. (2018). Child Development and Learning. Oxford University Press. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016.

Early Years Learning Framework (2010). https://www.education.gov.au/early-years-learning-framework-0 Retrieved 30 May 2020.