Josh Hooton

2nd Observation

Biological Development
The first thing I noticed when shadowing the class of four to five-year old’s, was how
much bigger these kids are. Our physical development from infancy to this age is rapid, and
important to our development in other areas. “Weight and height increase (by about 16 pounds
and a foot, almost 8 kilograms and 30 centimeters), and the relation between those two
measurements changes” (Berger, 2016, pp. 7026). The relation during this time means that we
have lower body mass indexes, which moves the center of gravity and allows us to develop
coordination (Berger, 2016). The child I was observing, we will call him Donny, appeared to be
about average height and weight for his class. I would say that being average at this age is not a
bad thing, you are able to develop normally, you don’t have anything setting you apart from
others. Other kids might be overweight, which may limit them when they begin playing sports.
Other kids who have not gotten used to their newfound height may have trouble with athletics as
well, but for different reasons. It seemed to me that the norm means you are better suited for
developing normal in many different areas. The variation in weight in the class seemed large.
This is likely due to nutrition and how each kid eats at home. As I said, the child I observed did
not seem to be too far on either side of the statistical norm. He probably gets a normal healthy
balanced diet and gets enough active time. It is also likely that his parents are not overweight,
because genetics can play a role in our weight as we develop.

Cognitive Development
Biological development is not the only thing that happens quickly as we grow up. Our
cognitive ability as we continue to grow up is incredible. “Knowing words enables symbolic
thought, when an object or word can stand for something else, including something out of sight
or imagined” (Berger, 2016, pp. 7318). The concept of ‘symbolic thought’ seems so simple to us
as adults, but when we were young it was probably befuddling. When we were babies, the only
things we know for sure exist are what is right in front of us. However, our brains quickly
develop and by the time we are around five years old, we are able to use words to refer to things
that we saw earlier, or things that we know are constants in our life. For example, Donny
frequently talked to the other kids about his dog, and his older sister who he seemed to admire.
This is all made possible by symbolic thought. This is also what allows us to have imagination
and create all those amazing stories in grade school that we can read when we are older and be
slightly embarrassed about. A second concept that becomes clearly engrained in our minds
during this age is that of animism (Berger, 2016). Animism has been employed by the creative
minds at Disney for a long, long time. They have been making movies that portray animals as
humans, and this clearly reaches the imaginative portions of children’s brains. Donny was
wearing a shirt with Lightning McQueen on it, who is not an animal, but another inanimate
object that talks and behaves like a human. This concept clearly sparks relation and makes young
kids watch these movies. I admit, I still love these cartoons and shows. Imagining cars and
animals that talk and think like us is a fun idea.

Psychosocial Development
Donny clearly looked up to his teacher in the class. This is because she is one of his
mentors. A mentor is “Someone who teaches or guides someone else, helping a learner master a
skill or body of knowledge” (Berger, 2016, pp. 7455). At this age, kids can have many mentors.
Their parents, older siblings, cousins, and their teachers. The teacher in this class was a nice lady
who I thought was very good at her job. She was great at letting the kids have fun, but also
talking with them and getting them to learn new things. As the children struggled to begin the
ABC song, she started the first few for them, using a type of scaffolding (Berger, 2016, pp.
7475). This jump started the kids and allowed them to continue in the song, with only a few
hiccups along the way. All the kids in the class got along much better than the younger children
that I observed. This may have been partially due to the structure of the class that they have been
following to this point. There teacher has insisted that they get along and learn to coexist. As a
parent, I would be satisfied with this outcome. The stage in Erikson’s theory for this age involves
initiative vs guilt (Berger, 2016). Unfortunately, during my time observing Billy I was unable to
make any concrete observations involving this theory. However, it is such an important part of
our development I thought it imperative to discuss. I believe most kids end up feeling guilt at this
stage due to a lot of scolding. I think it would be wise for parents to try to foster their children’s
initiative. This may help them as they grow older to make more important decisions and develop
into an assertive adult.
 References
Berger, K. S. (2016). Invitation To The Life Span.