1002wk1

Play Leader Contact Form

Child's ID number: 1002: Week 1

Leader's First name Matthew

Last name Siri

E-mail msiri@eden.rutgers.edu

Enter the date of today's Session : 2/19/98

Time of day when session started: 4:15 pm

Time of day when session ended: 4:30pm

Information about the child you played with

Date of birth

Sex: _x_ Male __Female

Child's ID number: 1002

Describe the mood of the child when you began to work with him or her:

The child was in an excellent mood. He was very enthusiastic when I asked him if he was ready to go play. When I began the activity , he was smiling and eager to get started.

Please describe the physical conditions that apply to your child today. None. The child was attentive to the activity.

What was the name of today's activity?

"Magic Painting"

How did you begin this activity?

I began by introducing myself to the child, and asking him if he liked to paint. After he replied that he did, I described the activity to him, and explained how it worked.

Did you lay out the materials?

The paper was placed in front of the child. A small amount of each color of paint was placed on a separate piece of paper so that the child didn't have to constantly dip into the paint jars. Several spoons were placed in front of the child to be used as "paint brushes." All of the materials were directly in front of the child and were easily accessible.

What was your opening line?

"Can you tell me about what you're going to draw?" "Can you see a picture of it in your head?"

How did you ensure that the child made connections between his/her remembered experiences and the current experience?

Before the child began to paint, I asked him if he knew what he was going to draw. When he said that he did I asked him to describe his image to me. He proceesed to tell me about him image in great detail, including such features as the different colors of the animal he was imagining, and what it was doing in his mind. When his mind would begin to wander I would bring him back by asking things like,"can you tell me more about the frog" (which was what he was imagining), and "what's the frog doing now." Those comments would bring him back to the imagery task. Also, as the child was creating the picture I would ask him to tell me about what he was drawing, and if the picture he was drawing matched the one he had created in his head. After we folded the painting in half and opened it back up I asked the child what was different about the painting this time he replied that the frog had gone away because the ghost chased him away. Now the child was still using his story to describe the characters in the painting. When looking at the "new" painting I would ask the child what the different things on the paper were, and he kind of realized that there were two of everything this time because when I asked him where the "new" frog came from, he would point to the "old" one and say that it came from there.

How did you encourage the child to describe his/her behavior and internal thoughts? What did you say and do?

I would say things like "tell me about the picture you have in your head" , "tell me more about the picture in your head", "can you tell me what the frog is doing", "can you tell me what the frog looks like, and what colors it is." I would continuously ask the child to descrie the image in his head, and when he was finished, I would ask him to tell me more. When looking at the folded over painting, I would point at the "new" parts of the painting and ask the child where he think they came from, and how they got there.

In describing his/her behavior and internal thoughts, what did the child say and do?

The child constantly smiled while describing the image, and the story that accompanied it. With each description of the image, came a new part of the story. The child would not only tell me about the frog, but what it was doing . At points in the activity, the child would begin o draw new pictures, and describe them in a story along with the frog. The child created a ghost which was chasing the frog, and then picture of mickey mouse which he saw hanging on the wall next to him. After the frog and the ghost were drawn by the child, I think he sort of ran out of ideas for new pictures, so he looked on the wall and saw mickey mouse and decided to draw him. After we folded the painting and opened it back up the child continued to describe a story involving the characters of the painting. The child seemed to be more involved in the story making process that the description of what the characters looked like.

How did you describe your strategy in accomplishing the task? What did you say and do?

This child was very cooperative and enthusiastic about the activity. Therefore, it was not difficult to keep the child on the task. In order to find out what the child was thinking and what he was drawing, I would ask him to tell me about it and describe it in detail.

How did you encourage the child to describe his/her strategy inaccomplishing the task? What did the child say and do?

Again I would ask for detailed descriptions of the images, and I showed great interest in what the child had to say which I think encouraged him to talk that much more.

How did you get the child to "suspend disbelief" and buy into the situation?

I described how something "magical " would happen to the painting once we folded it over, and he just seemed to believe that what I was saying was true

In getting the child to suspend disbelief, how did you present the situation to the child?

I said to the child that the something magical would happen to the painting, and that it would look very different when we opened it back up.

In getting the child to suspend disbelief how did you behave as a model?

I acted as if I was amazed at what happened to the painting when we folded it over and opened it back up. I think that me acting amazed at the magic of the painting helped the child to believe that something magical was really happening.

In getting the child to suspend disbelief, how did you coach the child? What did you say and what did you do?

I asked the child if he could tell me what was going to happen when we opened up the painting, and said things like "let's see if the magic worked."

Evaluate how well the child was able to suspend disbelief? What data did you observe to lead you to this assessment?

The child was able to suspend disbelief very well. At no point in the activity did the child seem bored with the magic painting, and the child was very excited to open it up once it was folded over. The child could not fully describe what had happened to the painting which makes me believe that the child believed in the "magicness" of the activity.

Please describe the ways in which your child acted imaginatively today.

The child described the painting's characters in great detail, and described their interactions with a story which was equally as vivid.

Please describe the ways in which your child acted creatively today.

The child was successful in painting the images he had in his head onto the piece of paper. Although the actual painting wasn't always consistent with the image described by the child, the actual characters created on the paper were consistent with the ones he imagined.

The outcome of any play session is a result of the interaction of the child, the leader, the activity, and the materials. Please try to assess the impact of each of these variables individually and in interaction in determining the outcome of today's session.

I think that the activity, the materials, and the play leader all must be fun and captivating on order for the session to be successful. Paints are always fun for children to play with, and this child was excited about using the paints to create his picture. The painting of the picture and the folding and opening of it was also exciting for the child. At almost every point in the activity the child was smiling, and enthusiastic about the painting activity. The paining also forced the child to use his imagination which is neccessary for a successful activity. As the play leader, I needed to be equally as excited as the child, and ask the right questions at the right times. Helping the child to search his imagination for the pictures he intends to draw is important, and I feel that I was successful in doing that.. The child also needs to be cooperative and in a relatively good mood in order for the activity to be successful. This child was in an excellent mood, and was very cooperative.

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Material on this site created by Helane S. Rosenberg, Ph.D. and Yakov M. Epstein, Ph.D. in conjunction with their forthcoming book titled Play for Success. All material on this site is copyrighted and may not be reproduced or cited without written permission of Helane S. Rosenberg, Ph.D..

Last revised: February 14, 1998