When I think of my favorite toy from my childhood, one name comes to mind: Katie. Katie was my baby doll, and she was named Katie because I named all of my dolls with names beginning with the letter “K”, just like my own. I treated Katie like she was one of the family. She sat in her high chair with us at the dinner table, and I loved changing her outfit multiple times a day. When I went to the mall with my mom, Katie always came along and I loved pushing her in her stroller as we walked around. Because of my love for my friend Katie for many years, I decided to use her for my "toy book" assignment. I was asked to think of my favorite childhood toy and bring it to class. I immediately thought of Katie and thought that she would be perfect for the assignment.
Once I decided on my favorite toy, it was time to assess the toy for an appropriate age. After studying the Child Development Chart, I decided to assess the toy for a five-year-old. This chart contains different areas of development: physical, intellectual, language, emotional, and social. It goes from age 3 months to 5 years. For each age and area of development, there are statements about what a child should be doing at that given stage. This is just a guide, as children develop at different rates.
For the physical component, I chose the statement that says, “has a strong grip with both hands.” I decided that a baby doll is a great way for a five-year-old to develop the ability to grip with both hands. The child would not want to hurt the doll, so he or she would be very careful when holding the doll so that the doll will not drop. This stage of development can be worked on as the child works to have the ability to grip with both hands. For the intellectual component, I chose the statement, “can relate to the time of day corresponding to everyday activities.” For this component, I decided that the child could understand what he or she does at different times of the day, such as naptime, meals, and playtime. This understanding can be shown in the child, as he or she knows when to feed the doll and put her down for her nap. The child can allow the baby doll to follow the same schedule that he or she follows on a day-to-day basis. For the language component, I chose, “still loves to listen to stories, and will use them in play later.” I thought that for this development level, the child could repeat stories that he or she hears to the baby doll. The emotional component was the most obvious, as one of the statements was, “will defend and care for babies and toddlers.” The child will love the baby doll and will care for the baby. He or she will play with and protect the baby. The final component I assessed was the social component. For this one, I thought that the best statement to use would be “can now get dressed undressed by self.” Because the child can now dress and undress his or her self, he or she will enjoy practicing this skill on the baby doll. The baby doll’s outfits can be changed as much as the child desires.
It was interesting for me to study the Child Development Chart. It is neat to see what a child should be doing at a given age. I also enjoyed assessing my favorite childhood toy in terms of these development components. I liked seeing how this toy could be used in activities to help children in terms of their development. Once I had all of this information, I typed it up and made a little book containing all of the information. I also included the past and current price of the toy. I enjoyed this project because it gave me a chance to better understand children’s development levels. It also gave me a chance to reflect about my favorite childhood toy, Katie.
The other thing I have learned about recently is a standardized assessment called Lap-D. This is a scoring booklet that is used to assess children's development. This assessment covers a wide age span: children can be anywhere from one year old to six years old. The first step of this assessment is to determine the child's age, based on months instead of years. There are several subtests in this assessment. The eight subtests allow administrators to really identify where the child is in terms of development. The test can be administered by anyone, but most of the time, it is administered by the classroom teacher. Lap-D is a one-on-one test in which the child performs certain tasks while the teacher observes and takes notes in the booklet. The eight subtests are: fine motor: manipulation, fine motor: writing, cognitive: matching, cognitive: counting, language/cognitive: naming, language/cognitive: comprehension, gross motor: body movement, and gross motor: object movement. There is a book that the administer uses to assess the child. The book tells the teacher what to say and do, depending on the age of the child. There are also various materials that are used to administer the subtests. Because I have not had much experience in this arena, it was interesting for me to learn about this assessment test. I think that it is a good one because it covers a variety of developmental skills. It is also very easy to use.
The picture below shows my finished toy booklet!
Once I decided on my favorite toy, it was time to assess the toy for an appropriate age. After studying the Child Development Chart, I decided to assess the toy for a five-year-old. This chart contains different areas of development: physical, intellectual, language, emotional, and social. It goes from age 3 months to 5 years. For each age and area of development, there are statements about what a child should be doing at that given stage. This is just a guide, as children develop at different rates.
For the physical component, I chose the statement that says, “has a strong grip with both hands.” I decided that a baby doll is a great way for a five-year-old to develop the ability to grip with both hands. The child would not want to hurt the doll, so he or she would be very careful when holding the doll so that the doll will not drop. This stage of development can be worked on as the child works to have the ability to grip with both hands. For the intellectual component, I chose the statement, “can relate to the time of day corresponding to everyday activities.” For this component, I decided that the child could understand what he or she does at different times of the day, such as naptime, meals, and playtime. This understanding can be shown in the child, as he or she knows when to feed the doll and put her down for her nap. The child can allow the baby doll to follow the same schedule that he or she follows on a day-to-day basis. For the language component, I chose, “still loves to listen to stories, and will use them in play later.” I thought that for this development level, the child could repeat stories that he or she hears to the baby doll. The emotional component was the most obvious, as one of the statements was, “will defend and care for babies and toddlers.” The child will love the baby doll and will care for the baby. He or she will play with and protect the baby. The final component I assessed was the social component. For this one, I thought that the best statement to use would be “can now get dressed undressed by self.” Because the child can now dress and undress his or her self, he or she will enjoy practicing this skill on the baby doll. The baby doll’s outfits can be changed as much as the child desires.
It was interesting for me to study the Child Development Chart. It is neat to see what a child should be doing at a given age. I also enjoyed assessing my favorite childhood toy in terms of these development components. I liked seeing how this toy could be used in activities to help children in terms of their development. Once I had all of this information, I typed it up and made a little book containing all of the information. I also included the past and current price of the toy. I enjoyed this project because it gave me a chance to better understand children’s development levels. It also gave me a chance to reflect about my favorite childhood toy, Katie.
The other thing I have learned about recently is a standardized assessment called Lap-D. This is a scoring booklet that is used to assess children's development. This assessment covers a wide age span: children can be anywhere from one year old to six years old. The first step of this assessment is to determine the child's age, based on months instead of years. There are several subtests in this assessment. The eight subtests allow administrators to really identify where the child is in terms of development. The test can be administered by anyone, but most of the time, it is administered by the classroom teacher. Lap-D is a one-on-one test in which the child performs certain tasks while the teacher observes and takes notes in the booklet. The eight subtests are: fine motor: manipulation, fine motor: writing, cognitive: matching, cognitive: counting, language/cognitive: naming, language/cognitive: comprehension, gross motor: body movement, and gross motor: object movement. There is a book that the administer uses to assess the child. The book tells the teacher what to say and do, depending on the age of the child. There are also various materials that are used to administer the subtests. Because I have not had much experience in this arena, it was interesting for me to learn about this assessment test. I think that it is a good one because it covers a variety of developmental skills. It is also very easy to use.
The picture below shows my finished toy booklet!
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