A Nursery School Report on Harrison

A Nursery School Report on Harrison

First Name of the child: Harrison

Sex: Male

a.       Physical Characteristics

Harrison is a fairly tall boy for his age. His height soars at about 37 inches though he barely surpasses my waist. As such, his height comfortably falls within the range noted in the text. Harrison has broad ears that project outwards. His body weight is normal for a boy his age. Another unique physical feature noted about Harrison is the wide gap between his front teeth. Also, a keen observer will discover that the boy has a heavy tongue that at times make it harder for him to express words with letters like ‘s' and ‘th'. This is common, though, for a preschooler and can easily be outgrown.

Harrison’s state of health is average. He has a physical scar below his neck that probably resulted from burns or a medical condition at a tender age. Also, his left arm is thinner and bent than the right one. It is safe to conclude that Harrison once had a broken left arm that is yet to fully recover. He is blonde; light skinned and is prone to sunburns. It was easy to spot sunburn marks on his cheeks especially after he spent outdoor playtime at noon.

b. Motor Development

1. Gross Motor Skills

Running is one of the most evident gross motor skills that Harrison has. Given that Harrison is athletic, it became hard to spot him slowing down for a rest. Basically, the boy chases his peers all over the playing field most of the time. There was not a single instance that the boy lost control as he raced and he could not be slowed down by a teacher either. Some of his colleagues could periodically slow down to gasp some air and to rest, but Harrison never did.  This sets him apart with regards to his exceptional gross motor skill.

Racing a toy car was Harrison’s most dominant hobby. From the activity, gross motor skills became evident in his ability to negotiate corners with ease. Also, he could independently slow down when he was descending down the slope. He did not require a secondary assistance during braking. Racing dangerously portrays his trait as adventurous and a thrill-seeker. He was also on the lead of the toy racers pack, which implies that he was well skilled enough to consolidate his dominance.

Using a fork and spoon to eat: while this might sound a normal activity, but for a preschooler like Harrison, using spoons and forks to eat demands higher brain power. As such, an edge in gross motor skill to aid the activity will come in handy. Most of Harrison’s peers found it hard to keep up with his pace and use of forks and spoons while eating. Only a handful of his colleagues could manage such gross motor skill demands.

Harrison’s exceptional skills might not come as a surprise to an observer, especially given his heightened level of activity. He is an above average student and multi-talented. Besides the above evidence of gross motor skills, he was capable of participating in other demanding games and class work including bike riding, climbing trees and playing hide and seek. From his abilities, it is clear that Harrison is not an indoors person. He can hardly be spotted idly curled at a corner because he always looks for something to do. Besides, his flexibility can be attributed to good physicality and stamina. However, the highly active lifestyle has exposed him to dangers including the fracture of his left arm.

Because Harrison was at his best when engaged in outdoor activities, it can be concluded that he was limited by the school curricula, which demanded that the kids spend some time indoors.  Harrison was seen struggling to perform less physically demanding indoor activities like painting and clay work. Besides, the avenues and facilities to aid kids play were inadequate. At times, the children would use bikes in turns the properly functional ones were in limited supply. This only made it harder for Harrison to maximize the utilization of outdoor playtime. 

2. Fine Motor Skills

Opening the lid of his lunch box-- only a handful of kids were skilled enough to open the lids of their lunchbox. The rest would cry out of desperation or seek the teacher’s help. Remarkably, Harrison was among the few that could sort themselves out. It is hard to trace exactly how or when he gained the skill, but he does it almost effortlessly.

Wearing his skating shoes--it is true that Harrison is passionate about outdoor activities. His interest pushed him to develop a vital eye-hand skill including wearing skating shoes without the need for adult's assistance.  Other kids who are less passionate about skating find it really hard to wear the shoes unless the teacher comes to their aid. In fact, Harrison is generous enough to assist his friends, implying that he has fine motor skills enviable by others.

Sharpening a pencil—it was drawing time and his pencil tip was broken. He reached out to his pocket for a sharpening machine. Instead of calling out for help from the teacher like other preschoolers do in class, Harrison sharpened his pencil. Once in a while, he could blow off the particles as he kept on until he was satisfied the pencil tip was perfect. Thereafter, he safely tucked away the sharpener for future use. All these skills are exceptional, especially in a child his age. What is even more remarkable is that he kept himself out of harm during the entire process.

Harrison was left handed. He could prefer to throw rocks using his left more than his right hand. As a matter of fact, he drew impressive images of his mother and father using his left hand. He also wrote ‘I love you mom and daddy’ using his left hand.  His use of left hand can explain his exceptional creative skills both indoors and outdoors.

Any observer who can note such extraordinary skills all in one nursery kid will definitely be impressed. Harrison proved times and over that he had total control of his activities especially if he is compared to other kids in the class. Besides, he had a lot of potential of developing even more fine motor skills in an appropriate environment.

Harrison’s fine motor skills development is nothing short of remarkable. The skills can be credited to the inherited genes from the parents. Possibly, one or both of the parents possessed the traits that are evident in him, especially when they were at their tender years. If the skills were acquired through the learning system, all the children in his class would have possessed the exceptional skills as he does.

 c. Cognitive Development

When Harrison and his classmates were asked to draw their parents, he asked if he can include his puppy. He reasoned that the world we live in has a family setting. As such an adopted pet forms part of the family and should have been included in his drawing. His thinking led him to conclude that the teacher had a wrong view of the world regarding the families and strong bond toward pets. Thus, he saw the need to pop up the question in a bid to mend the teachers' beliefs, or so he thought. In the end, the teacher found a sense in his thinking. Therefore, she asked him and his peers to include their friends, siblings or favorite pets in their drawings.

Harrison had a strong attention span. His keen attitude to details and success in an undertaking pushed him to endure a task until he can achieve his ultimate objective. He could be seen concentrating on a task as he sought creative ways to find a solution. For instance, when he rode a bike, he could spend more time than average trying to navigate around the rocky paths of the school compound. He seemed unstoppable and would only consider abandoning the task after he has perfected hid navigation skill. With him, it seemed time stopped when he was committed to a given task. However, his attention span would diminish drastically if he was involved in indoor activities. On average, he could attend to a task for up to 20 minutes at a time. 20 minutes is a significant time, especially when 5-minute attention span of his peers is factored.

With class work, his boredom set in quickly because it was less involving and less challenging at the same time. Harrison was more drawn into mind-boggling and physically demanding tasks that involve the use of hands and legs. This realization was beyond any observer’s expectations. Being the child that he is, an observer would expect a preschooler to jump from one activity to the other, but in the case of Harrison, it did not apply.

The egocentric reasoning was evident in Harrison due from his arguments with friends.  As it turns out, Harrison was aware of his exceptional skills. Though he would help his friends with tasks like wearing of skating shoes and tying shoe laces, he would be heard bragging about his superiority amongst his peers. There was an instance when he was asked by the teacher about the reason why he helps those in need. His reply was that he does it because he likes it. A close scrutiny from his phrase reveals that the driving force of his free assistance to others is driven by the praises he receives from the teacher and friends. As such, to keep the praises coming, he has no other option than to do it.

The child had an ability to categorize objects. During a drawing session, Harrison had random packs of crayons to color his drawings. The crayons came in different colors and sizes. When Harrison was done drawing his parents and a pet, it was the time to store the crayons for later use. Interestingly, he categorized crayons according to color and size so that he can easily retrieve them next time. This is remarkable, given that it was not mandatory for all preschoolers to do so. Also, the teacher said that Harrison excels in math class because of his ability to distinguish different objects and shapes used as learning tools. Effortlessly, he classifies the learning aid objects correctly in distinctive categories and sub-categories as required by the teacher, leading to his high score in mathematics.

d. Language and Communication Behaviors

Harrison's ability to talk relied heavily on his mood swings and the time of the day. Also, it depended on who he was talking to. If he was having a conversation with a teacher, he had adopted a particular way of holding a conversation with her. However, it is easy to note the contrast when he was talking to his friends and colleagues. It seems that Harrison strived to understand an individual first before initiating a talk with them. However, he could go completely silent after a playtime that drains off most of his energy. Another time when Harrison limits his ability to talk is when he is angry, hungry or annoyed by the turn of events. When he is in good spirits, though, he gets talkative. According to the teacher, there are times when Harrison can become a nuisance in the class by being a notorious noise maker. She also says that at times, Harrison is so quiet that a first-time observer can have a wrong conclusion. 

Harrison’s articulation is a 4. He should have garnered 5 were it not for his heavy tongue and the gap between his upper incisors. The heaviness of his tongue makes it hard for him to pronounce some words with particular letters like‘s’ and ‘th’. Otherwise, he has a rich vocabulary and can hold a mature talk. He is quick at responding to questions asked even if the answer is not right. It is remarkable that the few setbacks he has, like the heavy tongue, do not lower his self-confidence with regards to effective articulation. This makes him even better than the kids who do not have the problem but stay quiet most of the time.

The child’s sentences were mainly short and precise. On average, Harrison's sentence could contain up to seven words but still managed to deliver the intended message. Only a handful of children in his class could surpass his ability to communicate. Besides, he can inject humor to a conversation, enabling him to get interesting to listen to. Furthermore, Harrison has devised an ingenious way of passing out an intended message to a listener. His instinctive ability to understand what the person needs to hear has worked to his advantage on most occasions. His teacher confessed to having fallen to Harrison’s trap on how he talked his way out of a trouble. He can also be an effective negotiator for better terms to his advantage.

It is hard to detect an overregulated word from Harrison’s mouth. The kid is well mannered and knows how to talk to adults without getting into trouble. He is keen on what he says but is not afraid to deliver the message. Probably, good manners have been instilled in him by his parents and the teacher. If this is the case, then it is true that he is a quick learner.

When Harrison was having a conversation with other children, he used an authoritative tone to stamp his position as a leader. Mostly, the conversation would revolve around answering questions asked by others. He did this egoistically. Other times, the conversations with other children would be about his successful encounters. On the other hand, he would lower his tone whenever he was speaking with adults. A conversation between him would be based on curiosity. He was keen to learn things that he was yet to understand. As such, he would typically ask his teachers and other adults questions themed on a mystery. He understood that adults should be respected and thus he observed manners when he was involved in talks with them.

Harrison definitely initiated conversations. This applied both to his peers and adults. He loved dominating talks because he was egocentric. Whenever a conversation was about to be cut short, he always figured out a way to keep the talks going. He would introduce a new topic to his colleagues or narrate a short story about his early encounters. He did this just to keep the talks going. As it may seem, Harrison was against suppression by silence. His strength was in talking. There are a few instances, though, that talks did spiral out of his control, but he was quick to regain control by either apologizing (if it is an adult) or denying (if it is a kid).  

e. Emotional and Social Life

Harrison's dominant emotion was dissatisfaction. His curiosity and determination to be all-around only unlocked more opportunities that incubated dissatisfaction in him. A sign of aggression surfaced when Harrison was in need of a bike for a ride. Since the institution had inadequate play resources for the population of preschoolers, Harrison’s long wait for a chance to ride a bike soon grew out of control. He could no longer tolerate other kids getting their chances while he is kept in waiting. The teacher knew of his obsession on bikes and other play materials. She knew that once he gets hold of one, he will never let it go. This would have denied others a chance.

In a sign of protest, Harrison decided to reveal a part of him that is uncommon. He turned hostile against one of the peers that had just boarded a bike. As it turned out, he knocked off the other kid and boarded the bike without the permission of the teacher. To resolve this situation, the teacher decided to make things even. She let Harrison have it his way while she sought an alternative bike for the ousted kid.

While in the playfield, there are some instances that Harrison showed care to others. One instance is that he assisted others to learn how to ride a bike, though this applied mostly to his friends than foes. Another instance is when he helped a friend who was struggling to tie shoe laces—he tied it for him. In addition, he displayed intense affection to both his parents and his puppy by drawing images of them during drawing session. His inscription of the words “I love you mom and dad’ is a classical example of his show of absolute affections. He has developed a strong bond between him and his puppy and is the reason for his obsession regarding drawing its picture.  For an observer who knows what to look for inside Harrison’s heart, it is realizable that the child is a deeply affectionate and empathetic person to his peers and parents.

A learning environment provides an avenue for kids to be instilled life values. At a preschool, a child gets an opportunity to express their feelings and show love and care towards others. Harrison’s hostility can be a result of the sluggish disciplinary measures at home or at school. Because he is still a kid, an opportunity still exists for his parents and the teachers to work out ways to assist the child to shake off the negative behavior. The chances are that Harrison copied the emotional feelings (both the positive and the negative emotions) from the parents, the teacher or friends.

Harrison was comfortable with the popularity of being admired by the members of opposite sex in his class. As a matter of fact, it can be argued that his efforts to be an all rounded student emanated from his struggle to impress the female peers. Eventually, he managed to attract the attention of one of his female friends. From the observation, a person can pinpoint a girl whom Harrison has developed strong feelings. The teacher and his peers are well aware of this development, so does his parents as he said he told his mother.

Harrison regarded me as another teacher. It took several hours before he could finally have a conversation with me. I never wanted to interfere with his behavior, so I made no mistake to scare him off. It would have ruined my chances of gathering substantial data, thereby distorting the final outcome. As such, I introduced myself to him, and we seemed to get along immediately. There are times when I assisted him to fix gearbox in his bike. It was then that he told me about his parents, the teacher and his friends. He also told me about his passion including riding a bike and drawing and that was the extent of our conversation. I did manage to learn a lot about him, though during a brief period of our small talk.

Harrison spent a substantial amount of time being engaged in constructive play with his friends. On the other hand, he spent the least time in imagery play. The reason for this lies on Harrison’s activity both mentally and physically. His love for challenging outdoor games also contributed to his choice of constructive play. Besides, he had a loyal group of friends who could participate in plays, making it a more interesting experience. For Harrison, he felt that a play of a constructive game with peers brought out the best in him, and it did.

f. Nursery School Organization Curriculum

Before I went to WVU Nursery school, I expected that the teacher would play a bigger role in imparting knowledge to the children. Also, I expected that the number of students is proportional to the available facilities and institutional resources. It was my expectation that the school had an adequate field for the kids to play freely and not in turns. However, I was disappointed to learn that none of my expectations would be fulfilled. I found out that the children hardly got the necessary attention they deserved because teachers were limited. On the other hand, the school lacked enough facilities for children play: most kids waited in turn to ride bikes and others never got the chance.

Harrison asked his teacher if he could assist his friend to learn how to ride a bike. The teacher praised his generosity and encouraged other kids in the class to be like Harrison. Eventually, he was motivated more than ever to help his friend acquire the bike riding skills he already had. Therefore, the conversations that the teacher had with Harrison will affect his future behavior as it instills a sense of helping others who are in need. The praise he received will also influence others to work harder to earn the same it, setting up a culture of competition and motivation to do the right thing. 

g. the Physical Design and Layout of the Nursery School and the Play Area

From my observation, the nursery school was designed at a time when the town population was minimal. The designers did not factor in the future surge in the number of children to be admitted.  As such, I noted with great concern the deplorable conditions that are unsuitable in a learning environment. The design flaw of the structure means that preschool classes are packed and very hot during mid-day. There is hardly any space for the children to freely move around. In fact, many students are not maximizing their learning potential because of the discomfort in class.

To improve the learning conditions, the management should think of a plan to modernize the buildings. It will be better to demolish the buildings in a bid to expand the classrooms to accommodate the bursting numbers of children. A radical move should involve the fresh redesign of the structure and acquisition of the neighboring land area. Besides, the new buildings should be fitted with the latest facilities that aid the learning process. Notably, children’s creativity can be boosted through according them the freedom to play and the room to do so. 

h. Reflection

It was a pleasure conducting the assignment in a child-centered learning environment.  During the course, I learned a lot regarding how to handle children .Prior to the assignment, I did not know how smart the kids can be. However, the time I spent observing Harrison’s behavior made me realize how much we underestimate the intelligence that the kids have. It dawned to me that every adult has a duty to preserve the creativity that the children have at their tender age. There is no better way to do this than to offer support to them in their strong areas. Mostly, the parents and the teacher need to be keen on discovering and nurturing talents that a kid might show at an early age.

The assignment made me realize that a preschool environment is not all about yelling and children running all over and destroying everything on their path. It is definitely much more than that. The kids can get more organized and respectful than most of the adult. However, this only happens if we seek to understand the children needs and provide them when required. In the future, this study will form the basis of a further research on how to provide an optimal care for young children. I intend to pursue a study that will provide a solution to the challenges faced by young learners in preschool.