Guest Posted May 19, 2011 Posted May 19, 2011 We have two children in our setting who have a tendency to wander around, not really engaging in any of the activities for any length of time. Child A is a 4 year old female, due to start school in September, Child B is a 3 year old male who relies heavily on his two friends from outside the setting. He does a full day when his friends aren't in and it is on this day we notice it more. As Child B's key person, I did a narrative obs on him and his wandering tendencies were extremely obvious. In my discussion of this obs with his parents, Mum said he was a bit like this at home, tearing from one toy to another, very rarely spending any real time playing with it. I have suggested further obs on him but am not sure which one to do now. In my defence, it has been a long few weeks and I'm beginning to feel a bit burnt out with it all. I know I should know the answer... Any advice gratefully received!
Susan Posted May 20, 2011 Posted May 20, 2011 Clare, what are his interactions and engagement when his friends are there? Dont beat yourself up about this.
Inge Posted May 20, 2011 Posted May 20, 2011 not really knowing the setting or children can be hard to comment but 2 things spring to mind Child A - how long has she been with you, has she seen it all before, has boredom set in and so she cannot actually settle, she may not be challenged enough by what is available.. Child B - at 3 there is still time for him to settle, it could be the lack of a 'friend' to play with that makes him move so much, or he is testing it all as there is so much he cannot make a choice. When he has someone there he may join in with their choice but when left alone he wants to check all and finds it a bit exciting.. does he settle to play when others are there.. because if he does he can do so, just experimenting and checking everything . as to obs a tracking one with time spent at each area or one every 5 mins for location who he is with, what he is doing etc. do these when friends are there as well to see if there really is a differnce... and then a few weeks later.. we often had the 'flitter' but overtime found they did calm down, if not that is when we took it further... perhaps more activities on their interests and more challenging, this time of year we often found we had a 4yr old who was ready to move on and needed more of a challenge .
Beauvink Posted May 20, 2011 Posted May 20, 2011 The distractible child notices every thing that is going on around them. Not only are they distracted by external stimuli, but also will be distracted from a task by own thoughts, daydreams, and internal stimuli. Again, this trait may fall in the category of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder if it clusters with overactivity, impulsiveness, and other evidence of serious attention difficulties. Learning to focus is the most important task for this child It sounds that the children do not have perseverence at this age they should be able to concentrate on activities for a short period of time. What are the childrens personal/social and emotional characteristics like? What are the child's short term memory like? For example: Can they start to re-tell or predict the sequence of a story? What about motor skills? Are they able to balance, what are their threading skills like? What are their phonological skills like e.g Can they distinguish between words that are heard in sentences. ~What about their vocabulary/oral skills is it in line with age and stage of development. Do the children have any of the following indicators: Wander from one activity to another without any sustained engagement. Become overly frustrated/anxious when they cannot derive immediate success. Shun literacy-based activities in favour or construction toys or free-play situations. Find it difficult to complete tasks because of limitations due to short-term, working memory and possible language processing problems. Find it difficult to sit still and listen to stories. To play collaboratively. Reading and writing activities. Have you looked at any of these yet? I am not saying the child has special needs, but sometimes not remaining on task could be due to other underlying factors in relation to special needs. Or it could simply be that interests are not being met. Have you done a time sample to see how the children are using their social skills with both staff and peers? Tracking observations help identify favourite activities developing concentration span? A good book and description below really does help with child development etc., By C. Seefeldt|B.A. Wasik Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall As teachers of three-, four-, and five-year-olds, it is important to understand how development translates into behavioral expectation in the classrooms. What behaviors should be expected of three-, four-, and-five-year-olds in school? Can they be expected to sit and listen for a sustained amount of time? Should they work only in small groups? Teachers’ expectations of three-, four-, and five-year-olds influence the way classroom activities are planned and organized. Have a look at some of these areas below expected development for 4 year old - although remember each child may develop some of these at a slighter late rate. You could do some obs based on thesed. 1.Sense of Self ◦Demonstrates ability to adjust to new situations and follow routines ◦Shows trust in adults; listens to parents and teachers and trusts them to keep child safe ◦Functions with relative independence at home/in pre-school ◦Recognizes the difference between adults who can help (family, friends, teachers) and those who may not (strangers) ◦Identifies and labels feelings in self and others ◦Is able to offer help to friends in need ◦Demonstrates ability to use conflict resolution with peers ◦Stands up for one’s own rights and asserts them verbally ◦Begins to take actions to avoid possible disputes and can make suggestions of how to change a situation to avoid a dispute 2.Gross Motor ■Demonstrates basic locomotor skills (running, jumping, hopping, galloping) ■Climbs up and down comfortably ■Demonstrates balancing skills ■Throws and catches a ball ■Runs with ease ■Begins to express self through body ■Can work cooperatively on a physical task ◦Cognitive Skills ■Observes and examines objects ■Demonstrates problem solving skills: uses a variety of methods to answer a question, observation, asking someone, research, looks for alternative solutions to a problem ■Observes attentively and seeks new information ■Demonstrates ability to compare and measure using multi-faceted levels of comparison ■Can identify item in a series, can arrange objects in a continuum according to two or more features ■Continues to work on a task even when experiencing difficulties ■Works on a task or project over time. Has multi staged plans and implements them over a series of days or weeks. ■Creates and decodes extensive patterns ■Can translate representations to a drawing or building. ■Uses drawings or buildings to represent something specific ■Demonstrates understanding of time in space. May discuss concepts of today, yesterday, tomorrow. ■Uses one-to-one correspondence as a way to compare sets of items ■Uses numbers and counting. Can count to 20 and can identify numbers written. ■Recognizes that numbers have different meanings and add up to a new number ■Engages in elaborate and sustained role play ◦Language Skills ■Hears and repeats individual sounds in words ■Uses understanding of different parts and sounds of words to create new words ■Can express self using words in more complex sentences ■Can communicate with full sentences (several words and more then one thought in one sentence) ■Understands and follows verbal directions with two or more steps ■Answers questions with a complete thought (more then yes or no) ■Asks questions with purpose of furthering own understanding ■Understands rules and structure of conversation, and participates in conversation ■Initiates or elaborates on conversation ■Develops a joy for reading ■Demonstrates an understanding of print concepts (recognizes that print carries meaning, that each word can be written down or read) ■Demonstrates knowledge of the alphabet: recognizes most letters by name and sound ◦Fine Motor ■Demonstrates self help skills such as feeding self, removing socks, shoes, washes hands ■Manipulates objects with hands with increasing control ■Performs simple manipulations (holding scissors in one hand, grasping small items, dropping small items into a container) ■Begins to make recognizable shapes, including letters, faces or other representational drawings ■Coordinates eye-hand movement ■Manipulates materials in a intentional way, planning and following through with a plan ◦Self Care/Responsibility for self ■Chooses and becomes involved in one activity out of several options ■Keeps track of personal belongings while at school ■Demonstrates respect and care for classroom and materials ■Participates in clean up, making own plan and following through ■Participates in group activities ■Follows classroom routines without adult assistance ■Creates and completes tasks with little adult assistance ■Demonstrates understanding of classroom rules and follows them without guidance ◦ Social Behavior ■Works and plays cooperatively with one other child as well as in a small group ■Maintains an on-going friendship with at least one child ■Recognizes what others might be feeling or might need ■Defends another child’s rights ■Engages in the negotiation process to reach a resolution ■Seeks adult assistance when needed ■Suggests a solution to a problem ■Accepts compromise when negotiated with a friend Have you also thought about calling in your Early Years Advisor? Hope some of this helps. Wish you he best of luck.
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