Early Childhood Portfolio

Mary Jane Walker

EDCI 3055
 MEET ELISE!
Elise is four years old and is
in the preschool 2 classroom
at the Early Childhood
Education laboratory
preschool. She comes from a
bilingual background, and lives
in a dual parent household..

*Name was changed for confidentiality pur poses*

 Physical
Development

Physical development can be defined as development relative

to growth in body size, improvements in motor coordination, and the
refinements of perception. The physical changes in early childhood can
be clearly seen. Children’s bodies are longer and leaner and they have
developed more refined movements such as running, climbing, jumping
and more.
 Body Growth Pictured, Elise is
showing how tall she
On average, children can be. Elise is
add 2 to 3 inches in around the same
height and about 5 size as many of her
pounds each year. classmates.
Research shows she
is developing
normally for her
age.

http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-
stages/preschool/Pages/Your-Preschoolers-Physical-Apperance-and-
Growth.aspx
 Sleep Habits

Body growth depends to a Elise’s teacher says she

great degree on sleep in
early childhood. A well-rested
child is more ready to play,
learn, and contribute to the
positivity of the classroom!
benefits from having nap
time during school, she
typically wakes refreshed
for the afternoon activities.
 Nutrition
During my
Typically preschoolers observation, I
eat less because their witnessed Elise eat a
body growth has slowed nutritious lunch
provided for her by
but they still need a
the school. She
diet that is highly typically will eat
nutritious, rich in meat, everything on her
vegetables, fruits, and plate and is not
grains. afraid to try new
foods.
 Gross Motor
Development Pictured, Elise is jumping
over an obstacle she
With age, children’s and her peers have
bodies become less top- created. She is using the
heavy, resulting in large muscles in her legs
better balance which to help her push off the
paves the way for new ground with enough
motor skills involving force to not land on the
obstacle
large muscles in the
body
 Fine Motor Development
Fine Motor development
can be defined as the I observed Elise eating with
use of the smaller utensils and then she put her
plate and cup away before
muscles of the body.
retuning to push her chair in.
Most Preschoolers’ Using utensils requires small
control of hands and muscle movements within
fingers improves their fingers and Elsie used
drastically from the them with ease.
toddler years.
Enhancing Motor Elise is pictured
development riding a bike during
outside play. The
The National Association children play outside
for sport and physical for 60 minutes,
education (2009) twice a day, which
recommends that fulfills the National
preschool aged children Association for
engage in at least 120 Sport and Physical
Education’s
minutes of child- recommendation.
directed physical
activity.
 Materials used to enhance Physical
Development

Body Growth: Nutritious meals, milk or water

throughout the day instead of sugary juice, and
The following materials were adequate nap times.

seen within the classroom Gross Motor Development: Large paly

that can be used to enhance structures to encourage climbing, tricycles, and balls
of various shapes and sizes.
physical development in
preschoolers. Fine Motor Development: Writing materials
of various sizes, paintbrushes of various sizes, and
toys that can be manipulated with their hands and
fingers.
 1. Provide a play environment that encourages lots of
time and space for energetic, noisy play.

Physical 2. Encourage your child to stretch out their body parts;

wiggle their toes, feet, legs, arms, and fingers to
Development: lessen the likelihood on injury during rigorous play.
Parent 3. Set aside family time for a hike, walk, or visit a
Recommendations nearby park.

4. Encourage children to manipulate different materials

with their hands.

5. Provide a nutritious meal whenever possible, and

ensure they are receiving adequate amounts of sleep
to promote body growth.

http://www.childtime.com/parent-resource-center/parenting-
articles/promoting-healthy-physical-development-in-your-child/
 Cognitive Development
Cognitive development can
Major cognitive
be defined as the development of
shifts that occur in the
knowledge, skills, problem solving and
preschool years are seen in
dispositions, which help children to
sociodramatic play, speech,
think about and understand the
social interaction, problem
world around them. Brain
development is part of cognitive solving, early literacy, and

development. early mathematical skills.

 Socio - Dramatic Play
According to the
preoperational stage of “Raise your quite hand
Jean Piaget’s Cognitive if you haven't had a
theory Socio-dramatic play turn with the octopus.”
refers to make believe play
with peers. Elise is speaking to a
There are 3 major shifts during the preschool group of peers,
years: mimicking the teacher
1. .Play detaches from real-life conditions during morning meetings.
associated with it.
She is engaging in an
advanced form of socio-
2. Play becomes less self centered.
dramatic play at this
3. Play includes more complex combinations stage.
of schemes.
 Limitations of
preoperational
Thought
There are four known
limitations to the preoperational
thought stage of Piaget’s
cognitive theory
During one of my observations, Elise exhibited
“Animalistic Thinking.” When playing with an octopus
toy with a friend, they began to give the octopus
life-like qualities. They pretended the octopus was
a baby and agreed that they needed to change its
diaper and feed it.

3 educational principles were
derived from Piaget’s cognitive
theory:
Discovery Learning- The environment
is the third teacher.
Sensitivity to children's readiness to
learn- Teachers introduce activities
that build on children’s current
thinking.
Acceptance of individual
differences- All children go through
the same stages of development but
at varying rates.
Piaget &
Education While conducting my
observation, Elise was showing
great interest in the octopus
the class grew in water. The
teacher noticed her interest
and allowed her to remove the
octopus to study its growth.
The teacher then allowed her
to place a new animal in the
jar so she could observe it
growing. This is an example of
the teachers sensitivity to the
child’s readiness to learn.
 Vygotsky &
Scaffolding
Scaffolding refers to the process
by which support is offered to a
student during a teaching session
which can be adjusted based on
the child’s performance level.

Elise is pictured trying to roll a hula hoop around her arm. Initially the
students asked the teacher how to use the hula hoop, so she showed
them a way to make it rotate around their arms. The students had
difficulty preforming this task so the teacher adjusted her support to fit
the needs of the children. Elise tried very hard to get it to spin.
Pragmatics Pragmatics is defined as when
children engage in effective and
appropriate communication- by
taking turns, staying on the same
topic, stating their messages to one
another clearly, and conforming to
cultural rules for social interaction.

Elise is pictured exhibiting pragmatics in

the form of ensuring that everyone got
a turn to observe the toys octopus. She
walked around to every classmate in the
room to make sure they all were able to
see and touch the toy after it was
removed from its water jar.
 Materials to
enhance Early Literacy: Writing center with various materials to write with
such as pencils, crayons, etc., a Reading corner in a quiet space
cognitive within the classroom complete with at least 25 books, and Alphabet
development puzzles or word puzzles

Early Mathematics: Various counters with numbers 1-20, Pattern

To the right is a list of materials games or activities, and Number or pattern puzzles
that were seen within the
classroom that can be used to
Sociodramatic Play: Dramatic Play center or area and Role-
help enhance cognitive
Playing materials such as costumes and accessories
development.
 1. Ask questions and encourage your child to think for
themselves. Respect their questions and encourage them to
come up with original ideas.

Cognitive 2. Encourage your child to explore various methods of problem-

solving. Some examples include: Drawing, talking, acting out a
Development: skit, or painting. Encourage your child to keep trying until
Parent they find a solution that works for them.
Recommendations3. Take trips to places such as museums, libraries, or local
businesses to stimulate your child’s curiosity and sense of
wonder.
4. Choose toys for your child that can be played with in a
variety of ways such as blocks or connecting toys. Toys that
can only be played with one way limit children’s creativity
and opportunities for problem-solving.

https://www.childtime.com/blog/2017/09/promoting-
healthy-cognitive-development-in-your-child/
 Social Emotional
Development

“Early childhood is a time when children develop a

confident self-image, more effective control over their
emotions, new social skills, the foundation of morality, and a
clear sense of themselves as a boy or a girl”

(Berk & Meyers, 2016 , P. 356)

 Self-
Understanding

Self-concept is defined as “the

When asked, Elise
set of attributes, attitudes,
abilities, and values that an defines herself as
individual believes defines who “4 years old and a
they are.”(Berk & Meyers, 2016, good listener.”
p. 358)
 Emotional
Development

“Gains in representation, language and self-concept

support emotional development in early childhood”
(Berk & Meyers, 2016, p. 361)
First, preschoolers gain in emotional understanding.
Then, they become better at emotional self-
regulation. Lastly preschoolers begin to experience
empathy and sympathy which contributes to their
growing sense of morality.
 Peer Relations
Mildred Parten (1932) concluded that social
development proceeds in a three-step
Picture is Elise
sequence:
engaging in
1. Nonsocial Activity – Unoccupied, onlooker, associative play.
solitary play She is sharing the
2. Parallel Play – When a child plays near digging tools with
their peers with similar materials but does her peers and
not engage with them talking with them
3. Associative Play– Children engage in
about what they
separate activities but share toys and are doing but
comment on each other’s play each child is
creating something
4. Cooperative Play– advanced Interaction
different.
where children share a common goal
Materials used to
enhance Social
Emotional Emotional Development- Quiet spaces, Calm down strategy cards,
Development and Books about emotions.

To the right is a list of materials
that were seen within the
classroom that can be used to
help enhance Social Emotional
development.
Peer Relations- Toys that can be played with by more than one child,
Games that can be played with by more than one child and Open spaces
where children can play in a group.
Self-Understanding- Family or self portraits.
 1. Love your child and show affection towards them. Hug, cuddle,
read, and talk to them throughout the day.
2. Encourage your child to try new things. Help them see what they
Social Emotional are capable of and praise them for their accomplishments.
Development: 3. Give your child opportunities to play with other children their age
Parent and model kind and generous behaviors when interacting with
Recommendations other adults and children.
4. Show your feelings. Let your child know when you are happy, sad,
etc. It helps them develop empathy for others.
5. Establish daily routines. This will help your child feel secure and
comfortable.
6. Acknowledge your child’s feelings. Encourage them to talk with
you about what they are feeling and why. Comfort your child
when upset and speak calmly and softly.
https://www.lapetite.com/blog/2015/02/promoting-social-
emotional-development-in-your-child/
 References
Berk, L. E. (2016). Infants and Children: Prenatal Through Middle Childhood.
Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Promoting Healthy Cognitive Development in Your Child. (2018). Retrieved November

19, 2018, from https://www.childtime.com/parent-resource-center/parenting-articles/promoting-healthy-cognitive-development-in-your-child/

Promoting Healthy Physical Development in Your Child. (2018). Retrieved November

19,2018, from https://www.childtime.com/parent-resource-center/parenting-articles/promoting-healthy-physical-development-in-your-child/

Promoting Healthy Social-Emotional Development in Your Child. (2018). Retrieved

November 19, 2018, from https://www.lapetite.com/parent-resource-center/parenting-articles/promoting-healthy-social-emotional-
development-in-your-child/

Your Preschooler's Physical Appearance and Growth. (2018). Retrieved November

19,2018, from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/preschool/Pages/Your-Preschoolers-Physical-Appearance-and-
growth.aspx