1st observation

[Karenkiki]

hi, have just written up my first obs, i have a photo to put at the top of the page. can u let me know if im doing it right, i have no idea! my network co ordinator said i dont need to go into tons of deatail, so i havent,but i may need to?
thanks in advance guys x

Date: 20th October 2009
Jacob aged 8 months

Jacob was sat in the high chair, I poured the cornflour onto the tray. Jacob reached forward and using his right hand he put his fingers into the cornflour and started scrunching his fingers up, he made some babbling noises and looked at me and smiled. After a few minutes he got upset as his hands were very messy and he didn’t seem to like it.

Links to EYFS:
PSED-looked at me and smiled in reaction to cornflour
CLL-babbling while exploring the cornflour
KUW+CD-exploring the cornflour, feeling the texture on his fingers

Next steps: Add food colouring to the cornflour to make it more appealing,encourage Jacob with more messy play so he is not as scared of the mess

[haribo]

sounds good to me - except maybe the last sentence i would just say after a few minutes he had had enough of exploring the cornflour . then in next steps that you will provide different media to explore to extend his interest in messy play - that way keeping it positive but still sayinghe didnt concentrate for long .. -which at 8 months i would say is normal . someone cleverer than me will maybe explain better lol

[grindal]

I remember going on a course on observations and being told you should only write down what you see - not what you infer from what you see. So, saying after a few mins his hands got messy and he got upset is fine as this is an explanation of what happened. But, saying he did not seem to like it is what you have inferred from his reaction - whereas actually he may have had wind, suddenly realised he was hungry or thirsty, just filled his nappy etc. When I link to the EYFS I look through the info and pick out the relevant statements, I also make sure the Early Learning Goal is identified. When i had my inspection this was one of the few things my inspector seemed pleased about.

[Karenkiki]

thanks for your comments, i changed the bottom line. i just hope its right! im still finding it hard to do them, worried im doing it wrong!! x

[carlen222]

this is a great idea for me to try with my 12 month old, i just dont know where to begin with obs so i am going to start with this one