Case Study Natalie Metcalf

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Jon Stephens

Troy University

Psychology 3320

Ms. Robin A. Muse Ed.S, LPC

02/25/2013

Abstract

This case study was performed on a 5 year old young girl by the name of Natalie Metcalf. I observed her in an open setting at Mountain Brook Gymnastics and Learning Center which is a gymnastics gym that also has the children take part in developmental and learning activities. Natalie is the younger of two children, and she lives with her mother and father. During the progression of the paper, Natalie’s development is compared to the physical, social, and cognitive developments that are considered normal for a youth of her age and examples are given to show that Natalie is developing at a normal rate for her age.

This case study is being performed on a young girl named Natalie, and she is being observed at Mountain Brook Gymnastics and Learning Center, an early learning and development indoor setting. Natalie lives in upper-middle class suburb in Vestavia Hills with her mother, father, and older brother. Natalie has an affinity for Sponge Bob cartoons and memorabilia, and she is an avid fan of the colors pink and yellow. She refuses to decide on a favorite between the two and is quick to rebuff any assertions that she should do otherwise. She spends her time at Mountain Brook Gymnastics frolicking around playing with the other children and spending time with coaches to learn the fundamentals of gymnastics. According to Feldman (2009), children develop a sense of gender and racial identity which is evidenced by the fact that Natalie does seem to prefer to play with girls as opposed to boys as she still finds boys "yucky". Natalie is a very intriguing and opinionated young girl.

Natalie is very active for her age and is very fit. She really seems to enjoy engaging in playful activities with other children. Natalie is of average height and weight for her age. According to a height and weight chart, the average height for a 5 year old young girl is 42.5 inches. Natalie is 41 inches tall and weighs 40 lbs. (Kanade, 10) She is a fan of play time and has been observed running around, jumping, flipping, and engaging well with the other children at the gym. She has been observed on the balance beam and her ability to balance while performing elementary gymnastics moves is very good. Her coordination is on par with the other children and she is able to do the typical tasks required for playing, running, and youth-based gymnastics. However, she does seem to have a bit of trouble with some tumbling exercises. Specifically exercises that involve sustained handstands. According to her coach, she is making great progress but just needs a little more time and practice to further hone her ability with the handstand skill.

Natalie is fairly independent for a child of her age. She has proven to be able to pick out her own outfits for the day but, according to her Mother, they don’t always match. Also, Natalie doesn’t require any assistance to eat or when visiting the little girl’s room. Her favorite activity is to jump from the trampoline into the foam pit. She always laughs and giggles while she is flying through the air toward the foam pit. She participates in this activity more than any other and she seems to look forward to it every day. According to her Mother, she gets sad when she can’t jump in the foam pit on weekends because the gym is only open Monday through Friday. Natalie is well liked by the other children and has been observed to be a good friend to them. She plays with them and has no problems sharing both tangible items used during play time and her time to help set up and clean up with her friends both before and after play time and appears to be in her Constructive stage of play. (Feldman, 2009)

According to Harwood, Cognitive development refers to developmental changes in the way children think and Piaget went on to state that cognitive intelligence is a process and it isn’t something that a child possesses, but it is something that a child does. (Harwood, Miller & Vasta, 2008) Natalie really seems to enjoy being physically active and also seems to enjoy learning new things and engaging in new experiences. The other children in the gym often ask her to play different games or practice different gymnastics moves and she is already ready and willing to try new things. Natalie has also been observed in a more academic setting at the gym where the children participate in learning activities and projects that are instructor lead. Natalie seems to thrive in the academic setting and takes the initiative to answer questions and actively participate in any discussions that are taking place. It seems that Natalie’s cognitive abilities are developing on par with those of children her age, if not at a slightly quicker pace.

Natalie seems to have a keen attention to detail as it relates to working on projects and completing academic tasks. For example, she takes any extra time needed to make sure that her handwriting is as neat as it can be when she is practicing her alphabet. She also likes to make sure that any project she works on is not only complete as it relates to the rules set forth for completing the project, but it must also be aesthetically pleasing to her and have a bit of her own personal taste and fair on it. She was observed adding glitter, color, and other make-shift items to her portion of a team project during the classroom session. Natalie really seems to enjoy learning new things and even seems to somewhat enjoy being pushed a little out of her comfort zone which is a bit rare for anyone, especially a child at her age. Natalie seems to have a love for engaging in symbolic play, which, according to Harwood (2008), is a "form of play in which the child uses one thing in deliberate presence to stand for something else." (p.242) According to her coach and instructor, Natalie is a great child to coach and she is well behaved and a fairly quick learner and seems to have a love of learning.

Natalie is able to read fairly well for a child of her age, but she does have trouble with some of the larger words and words that aren’t used in typical daily language. She does ask for assistance with the definition and pronunciation of these words, but she was able to read Little Red Riding Hood in its entirety with no assistance. While her vocabulary is fairly typical of a child her age, she is able to engage in conversation and her pronunciation of most common words is very good. She does a very good job of verbally explaining her feelings. If she is upset she may get a bit quiet, but eventually will explain that she is sad because someone hurt her feelings or she is crying because she accidently hurt her finger. Natalie’s social skills are on par with others her age and she seems to be on a solid developmental path in regards to her social skills. Natalie seems to really get along well with the adults at the gym. While observed, she was always well behaved and very polite. She was also very eager to help the adults with any task needed when it was time to clean up from play time or put supplies away. She seems to have developed a very healthy and trusting relationship with her coaches and instructors at the gym.

I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this case study with Natalie. I have gained a better understanding on the way children develop by watching her interact with her class mates and instructors. Taking part in this study has allowed me to develop the knowledge of what signs to look for to determine if a child is developing properly or if some intervention may be needed to help get them on the path that they should be on for their age. My time spent at Mountain Brook Gymnastics and Learning Center was great. The atmosphere was very child friendly and almost everything that the children are exposed to serves as a catalyst for development as the children are inspired to ask questions about the art on the walls other decorations. All of the children really seem to enjoy coming here on a daily basis and they are always having a good time while they are here. The staff members were very accommodating and were happy to do anything they could to help me with my case study.

I went to the gym 3 days per week from 3 to 6 pm and I observed Natalie doing essentially the same physical activities every day, but the learning activities did change on a daily basis. I tried my best to avoid getting involved with the children or the adults because I wanted to make sure that the activity and interaction that I was seeing was a pure and unhampered with as possible so that I could take accurate notes and ultimately have my case study as accurate as possible. It was very interesting to see how Natalie interacted with her peers and adults at the gym. It was also very nice to see that she is always so eager to learn new things and make new friends.

This was a very eye opening experience for me as I thought that I had a good grasp on child development, but after being able to see various aspects of it with my own eyes in person, I can say attest that I have a much better understanding now than I did beforehand. This has been a great experience, and I am confident that it will help me going forward as I learn more about other aspects of child psychology.