Playdough Creation: Rocket Ship

When Fergus saw that Claire made a moon using playdough, he joined in the play and grabbed a big chunk of playdough from the container. He rolled it using a rolling pin and formed a sausage roll at the start. He laughed and said, "It's a sausage! Yum!" as he pretended to bite the playdough.

Then Fergus moulded the playdough from its sausage form into this tall, slender object, and he exclaimed, "It's a rocket ship!" He then pretended to fly the rocket ship and had it land next to Claire's moon. Their imaginative play continued for a while before they both decided to play outside.

Reflection:

In this play experience, Fergus is developing his fine motor skills as he "sculpted" his playdough and used scissors to cut it. At the start, he was holding the scissors using both his hands, but even without my assistance, he eventually used just one hand to continue cutting the playdough. Fergus also communicated well with Claire, expressing his ideas that were quite understandable.

Follow-Up Experience:

I will encourage Fergus to work with his hands using playdough to improve his fine motor and cutting skills. I can also introduce clay sculpture as another sensory experience and for fine motor skills development as well as for the extension of his creativity and imagination.

The above anecdotal record is an example of an observation I made on the child to describe his play behaviour, fine motor skills development and his engagement with his peer in an imaginative play. As a Preschool Teacher/Educator, I make observations for the following specific reasons:

Planning the programs or experiences

Gauging and knowing if the child has achieved his or her goals

Describing the child's interest, skills, and abilities

Providing parents with information about their child's learning and experiences