Observation Of Toddlers

I observed toddlers at the Little Sprouts Early Education and Child Care Center. Upon entering I did had certain expectations and a sense of what I was prepared to observe. However, I was very surprised in my observations. All the children were well behaved and they got along. It was interesting to see how different each toddler was and their physical and intellectual abilities. The toddlers engaged in all types of play including imaginative, active, dramatic, pretend, and cooperative play. Play is significantly important in child development, especially in early childhood because it allows children to explore and learn new things. Children develop a number of skills during play. They develop in social, emotional, language, thinking, and nurturing skills. Language developmentalists believe that play is the most productive and the most enjoyable activity that children engage in (Berger, 2015). As I was observing the toddlers, I was very surprised with one toddler named Tomas. Tomas is a smart 18 month old toddler who has exceptional vocabulary for his age. Although he was not able to pronounce the words accurately as older children, it was clear that he knew the words. As Berger mentions in the text, children's vocabulary builds quickly,

They engaged in drama and pretend play where one of the dolls had gotten hurt and another girl played the role of a nurse to help the hurt girl. They're acting was good and it seemed like they must have seen a real nurse in action and they reenacted what they have seen before. Sociodramatic play allows children to learn how to explain their ideas and persuade their playmates and explore and rehearse social roles (Berger, 2015). The girls had great imagination, which at times was amusing. The even had imaginary characters in their play. Including imaginary characters allowed them to practice emotional regulation by pretending to be hurt and