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Katie Bell
Professor Jarvis
FHS 1500
July 9, 2015
Observation #3
School Age Observation
Background Information:
Childs Age: 12 years old
Fictitious Name: Kyle
Location: Primary Class Party
Brief Description: In this class there was a couple who were the teachers, 2 girls and 4
boys. They had earned a party for good behavior and it was being held at the teachers house.
The children ranged from 8-12.
Physical Development:
I noticed Kyles physical development first when he asked to go wash his hands before
they sat down to eat. This is what set him apart from the other children and why I picked him. He
was the only one who went to wash his hands after playing out of all the children at the party.
Our textbook says, Children themselves also have better habits than they did a few generations
ago: they more often wash their hands and cover their sneezes, (Berger, 2014, pg. 245). Being
one of the oldest children there, Kyle he has started to learn the importance of hygiene more than

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the other children around him. I was surprised to see him go and wash his hands when everyone
else was ready to eat and when it would have been easy to dismiss. Hygiene becomes a big part
of the daily routine for middle age children. As he is nearing the age when puberty takes a big
toll, thats when the need for good hygienic habits come into play and he is forming those habits
now.
Brain maturation was the other key item that I notice in Kyle from the rest of his peers. In
our textbook it says, Once at school, brain maturation soon allows most of them to sit at their
desks or tables and learn without breaking their pencils, tearing their papers, or elbowing their
classmates, (Berger, 2014, pg. 244). This goes the same for any other activities children are
involved in. After lunch, the children were making paper plate race car tracks for the boys, and
paper plate flowers for the girls. I noticed that Kyle was the only one who was able to sit at the
table quietly and listen to all of the instructions. All of the other children were fiddling with their
paper plates, fidgeting in their seats or whispering to their peers. This shows that Kyles brain has
started to mature more than the other childrens have. He had a longer attention span than the
other children did which showed hes matured more than the others.
Cognitive Development:
Reaction time or, how long it takes the brain to respond to a stimulus (Berger, 2014, pg.
256) was the most obvious characteristic I saw for Kyles cognitive development. When I arrived
at the party, the children were playing some team games. Kyles reaction time compared to the
other childrens was faster and more precise. He was able to notice and dodge the ball quicker
than the other children. The other children would stumble around when they didnt noticed the
balls coming their way. Another one of the games they played was a water balloon toss. As the
other children were getting distracted and dropping their balloon Kyle kept his eye on the

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balloon the whole time, except for once. Kyles attention had been diverted to one of the adults
telling the children it was time to eat. Kyle didnt realize his partner had thrown the balloon to
him already. As he turned around, he noticed the balloon and wasted no time in sliding to the left.
If he would have had a slower reaction time than he did, he would have been hit in the face with
the water balloon. Kyles reaction time gave him a leg up in most of the games they played and
won him a medal for being the last one standing in most of the games.
Selective attention is the ability to concentrate on some stimuli while ignoring others,
(Berger, 2014, pg. 256). The teachers had made puzzles, all of them were the same, for each of
the children to solve. The only catch to this challenge was there were some pieces that didnt
belong in the completed puzzle. Kyle was the first one to complete his puzzle without any
problems. He used his selective attention to rule out which pieces didnt match the puzzle and
ignore those. The other children had a hard time with this concept and didnt fully understand the
fact that not all the pieces fit together or were needed. With the ability to rule out pieces, it gave
all of Kyles attention to the pieces that were a part of the puzzle, unlike the other children who
didnt use their selective attention. They were so focused on all of the pieces that the puzzle
didnt make sense.
Social/Emotional Development:
Kyles social comparison was the first and quietest trait I could get from him. Social
comparison is the tendency to assess ones abilities, achievements, social status, and other
attributes by measuring them against those of other people, especially ones peers, (Berger,
2014, pg. 286). I was very interested in this part of Kyles personality because it was one he
would show often but wouldnt deal with verbally. He was constantly watching the kids around
him to see how he ranked among them whereas some of the children would compare themselves

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out loud to another child. Kyle was the oldest child at the party but he still seemed slightly
unsure of his abilities around the children that were younger than him. Kyle did have more
knowledge, skills and abilities than the other children did but it was almost as if he wasnt sure if
that was a good thing. Being the first one done with the puzzle, he looked around at the other
children and looked confused as to why he was the only one done. When they were working on
their paper plate crafts, he kept looking at the other childrens to see how his compared to theirs.
Even though the other children didnt notice these small gestures, it was a clear indication of
social comparison.
Post conventional moral reasoning was the second social trait I noticed in Kyle. This is
when, people use logic, questioning what is in order to decide what should be, (Berger,
2014, pg. 309). Some of the younger children were not on their best behavior at this party. When
Kyle saw these children acting out it seemed like half of him wanted to join them. After a brief
pause, he would turn away and do something else more appropriate for the setting. Being able to
distinguish the difference between what is and what should be is a key principle for Kyle to be
learning. He is nearing the age when he will start to be more accountable for his actions in
school, at home, or anywhere else like this party. If he can continue to master this moral
reasoning, he will know what is appropriate and what isnt in certain circumstances.

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Works Cited
Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Lifespan: With Dsm5 Update. S.l.: Worth Pub, 2014.
Print.