Danielle Pertile

EDU220 / Fall 2015

10/04/2015
PRISM Case Study Part 1

Lila, age 5
Physical/General

Expected Characteristics
Preschool children are extremely
active (Snowman, 49) At 5 years,
a child should be able to swing and
climb, use toilet on their own, use a
fork and spoon and sometimes a
table knife (CDC, 2014) From
Ellsworth: Child usually has good
control over toileting and
elimination but has accidents and
can get confused about the origin or
body needs associated with gas,
stomach aches, constipation
(Ellsworth, 1999)

(R) Emotional
Kindergarten children are aware of
and can, to some extent, regulate
their emotions (Snowman, 51) at
five years children can Show
concern and sympathy for others
(CDC, 2014)

Actual Child's Characteristics

Lila is an extremely active and
playful child. She enjoys
running, jumping and swinging
on swings (without being
pushed). She is fully toilet
trained and does not have
accidents or wet the bed at
night. Lila uses her own utensils
at the table, and can hold a
pencil correctly, though she
does have trouble with
buttoning small buttons and
cannot yet tie her shoes.
Lila is an emotionally stable
child, and is considered very
easy-going by her parents and
teachers. For the most part, Lila
is excellent at regulating her
emotions and staying calm.
When playing with her sister
Ella (age 8), however, her
temper seems to rise faster than
at any other time. Ella seems to
be the person Lila looks up to
the most, so Ellas negative
actions (taking toys, being
bossy, getting special privileges
over Lila, etc.) affect Lila more
than they would if coming from

Intellectual/Cognitiv
e

By age 4, children develop a theory

of mind: They are aware of their
own mental processes and the
possibility that others may think
differently (Snowman, 51)
Intuitive stage - child begins to
acquire a mode to deal with
integration of different viewpoints
from own (Ellsworth, 1999)
According to Piagets stages of
cognitive development, a five-yearold is in the Preoperational stage,
which means: Gradually acquires
the ability to conserve and decenter,
but it not capable of operations or
mentally reversing actions.
(Snowman, 25)

Social/Psychosocial

Most preschool and kindergarten

children have one or more stable
friendships. (Snowman, 49) Play
activities are an important part of
young childrens development and
should be encouraged. (Snowman,
50) Four to five year olds Enjoy

someone else. Lila is sometimes

able to show concern for other
people, but does not connect
personally with another
persons tragedy or pain, and
her concern does not go very
deep or last very long.
Lila is very interested in what
other people think and believe.
Lila is Jewish, so naturally she
is inundated with and very
interested in Christian (or nonJewish) themes, especially
around the holidays. Lila likes
to ask how non-Jewish people
do things or what they believe
in order to compare her own life
and beliefs. In this, Lila
represents that she is capable of
understanding that other people
have different viewpoints, and
live their lives differently from
her.
As for being Preoperational,
Lila tends to solve problems
based more on her feelings or
her prior experience rather than
logic. For example, while
reading simple books, Lila will
add words that her memory
says should be there, rather than
logically looking at the letters
and reading what is actually on
the page.
Lila has a few close friends
from school, Tabitha and
Benjamin. Lila is also very
close with her older sister Ella
(age 8) and Ellas friend Jacob
(age 8) who is basically part of
the family. Lilas favorite game

imaginative play with other children,

like dress up or house (PBS, 2015)
They can be Sometimes
demanding, sometimes eagerly
cooperative (Boyse, 2013)
Preschool and kindergarten
children show definite preferences
for gender of play peers Same sex
play occurred more often than mixed
sex play. (Snowman, 50)

Moral

Show some understanding of moral

reasoning (exploring ideas about
fairness and good or bad behavior)
(PBS 2015) Morality of Constraint.
Rules are viewed as unchangeable
edicts handed down by those in
authority (Snowman, 50)

to play with Ella and Jacob is

family which consists of them
pretending to be teenagers and
moms and dads. This game
usually involves pretend cell
phones, going to work and
watching the baby (doll). Lila is
sometimes cooperative when
her sister makes the rules, but
other times demands to be the
one directing the game. Lila is
very easy-going socially, and
does not have an obvious
preference for girls over boys.
If she plays with girls more than
boys it seems to be more about
the fact that she is less
interested in rough play than
pretend play.
Lila displays a black and white
knowledge of right and wrong
and tends to view rules as hard
lines that cannot be changed.
Lila does display some
flexibility when rules do
change, though she doesnt try
to change them herself.