The Aspects of Middle and Late Childhood

Introduction

Middle and late childhood is considered the calm before the storm as many of the major developments have either happened or are about to happen. Early to middle childhood is defined as an age from about six years old to about eleven years old, and it is a time of stabilization. The child is beginning to understand the core principles being taught in elementary school. According to Piaget middle and late childhood is the of concrete operational stage of development.

Identifying information

Brandee is the second daughter born to parents Michael and Corina. Michael is the oldest son of his family and graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso. Michael is a seventh-grade math teacher at Indian Ridge Middle School in El Paso, Texas. Corina is the oldest child of her family and does have two younger siblings. Corina had been a stay at home mom from most of their child’s lives, but this school year began to work as a part-time attendance clerk at the elementary school that Brandee attends. Brandee was born on June 8th, 2010 and is months away from being ten years old. Brandee’s older sister, Hailey, is two years older than her and is above average height for her age. Brandee is average height for her age and is normal weight as well. She also has long straight brown hair that is very thick just like her dad’s hair. Brandee is currently enrolled in the fourth grade and is being taught in a dual language classroom. Her and her classmates are the first class in her elementary school that instruction is being taught in English and German concurrently. Brandee and her sister currently share a bedroom, each has their own twin bed to sleep. The family lives in a three-bedroom house and the girls have always shared a room, but their parents are going to give each daughter a room within the next year. They have all been born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and they do not have any immediate plans to move from the city. Both sets of grandparents are older but still a part of the girl’s lives. All together the girls have five uncles and they do not have any aunts that are related by a common ancestor.

Developmental Changes

Physical Changes

Brandee is at an average height and average weight for her age, and as Santrock (2017) states she is gaining about five to seven pounds per year. However, Brandee does not exercise at home, any exercise that she does it is either in her physical education class or at lunch with her friends. She is gaining much more control of her fine motor skills and she displays this better control with her love of art. Brandee loves to use her sketch board and draws dresses for her dolls or her pets. Her dresses are usually very detailed, and she takes the time to ensure that her design is exactly how she envisions in her head. Once she has the dress that meets her expectations, she will then take the time to plan out her color scheme and coordinate her colored pencils. Brandee will use small intricate strokes to color the dresses. Brandee and her mom will also follow recipes and bake cookies, cakes, or desserts. Brandee will use the tools that they have in their kitchen to measure exact amounts needed for the recipe, and she will also use spoons or mixtures to mix the recipes. She will also make crafts with her mom for decorations that they will use around the house for gifts.

Emotional Development

Brandee is very sentimental and feels deeply when it comes to her emotions. She has a great relationship with her parents and can express how she feels to her parents. Brandee is very close to her mother and will rarely go out if her mother is not going with her. When her mother is not around, she is very much concerned of the time that she will be away and will ask how long she will be gone. Brandee loves animals and the zoo, she will talk to animals and tell them to be safe until the next time that she visits. If she does see that an animal is hurting or suffering, she will then cry and become inconsolable. The same will also happen if she sees an animal on the television or movie that dies or is hurt. She will cry and not continue to watch until she knows the outcome of the story. Brandee does not like any book, movie, story, or show that does not have a happy ending.

Social Development

Brandee is very much like her father, a social butterfly. She has a group of five friends from school that she likes to talk to and hangs out with at lunch. She also gets included with the friends of her older sister whenever they have a sleepover. Brandee loves to speak to people about her favorite things in this world. This includes koalas, dogs, and other animals. Brandee has been taught by her parents that manners are important and to be nice to people. This is how Brandee is always, she says please and thank you and is polite to anyone. She respects the authority and directives of her teachers as she has been taught by her parents to behave in the classroom. She will also speak up if she believes that someone is being bullied and will try her best to make them feel safe.

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Cognitive Development

Brandee appears to be above average intelligence and she performs very well in school. She is doing so well that she was just recently recommended by her teacher to be tested to determine if she meets the criteria for GT testing. For as long as her parents can remember, Brandee would ask them questions that were more advanced for her age. Her parents would monitor her television usage, internet usage, and even social interactions, but they would still be surprised by the depth of questions by Brandee. Brandee loves to read and performs well on her reading tests and can comprehend what she reads. However, Brandee is much more adept at mathematics. She does well with patterns, numbers, and number sense. Her grade in mathematics is always above ninety-five. Brandee is an all A student in school and is very interested in playing an instrument when she is of age.

Language Development

Brandee has a vocabulary that is above average for her age, her reading has expanded her academic vocabulary and given her much more variety of word choice. Her pronunciation, appropriate word choice, and syntax are used correctly in both her speaking and sentences. She developed normally and did not have any delays or birth defects affecting her language.

Moral Development

Brandee is being raised to follow the catholic tradition and attends church every Sunday with her parents. Brandee has finished catechism and is currently not old enough to begin confirmation. Brandee will follow the sacraments that her parents have received. She is always concerned about doing the right thing. She takes her religious beliefs and is trying to adapt them and apply the teachings to her life. Brandee is always willing to help anyone that is needing it and will look out for others who are hurt. Brandee is at the stage that she does not want to get in trouble with her parents and this leads her to make decisions to avoid those situations.

General Assessment

According to Jean Piaget, Brandee is currently in the concrete operational stage of development (Santrock, 2017). This is the stage that a child begins to complete concrete operations that are applied to real, concrete objects (Santrock, 2017). The child is becoming capable of ordering objects according to different dimensions whether it is height, weight, or another dimension. Brandee with all her colored pencils or objects is placing them in the correct order by the dimension that she deems important. Her room is organized in this manner and even her backpack, the folders are placed in order from thickest to thinnest. During the concrete operational stage, the child also begins to develop the ability to recognize relationships according to Piaget (Santrock, 2017). Brandee can understand that object A is equal to object B, and object B is equal to Object C. Then, object A is equal to object C. This critical step in development is the foundation that will abstract mathematics will begin to form in later grade levels.

Conclusion

Brandee is the youngest child in her house and she is a smart, sweet, and fun-loving girl that has her whole life in front of her. She is following the stages that Piaget determined was the appropriate stage of development for her age. She has hit milestones either early or at the correct stage of life and is developing emotionally, academically, and socially at an appropriate rate. The current progress that she is currently making is setting up for her future to be bright.