Smiley Face on a Pegboard

Jamie used his fine motor skills playing with the pegboard. At first, he was putting the pegs on the board in random and then taking the pegs out by pushing each one through the back of the board.

He spent a few minutes doing this, then at the end, he showed me what he had made and said, "Look! I made a smiley face because I'm happy!"

Reflection:

Jamie demonstrated good hand-eye coordination and improved fine motor skills. He enjoyed the activity even when he was just putting the pegs in random, but he showed an ability to design his own picture and interpret what he had made. He also seemed to have self-awareness, highlighting his emotional development, and he demonstrated an ability to represent his own feelings through his design on the pegboard.

Future Experiences:

Jamie, as well as the other children, can use the pegboard to continue to build their fine motor skills and to enhance their creativity and problem-solving. A pair of tweezers or tongs can also be provided for them to use to pick up and place the pegs back into their container, which can help develop or improve their tripod grip necessary for handwriting.

The above anecdotal record is an example of an observation I made on the child to describe how he is engaging in an activity and to provide an experience to develop further his fine motor strength, problem-solving skills, creativity, and hand-eye coordination. 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