1.This child spends several months in a body cast and has only recently become mobile. Note that while his large motor skills are somewhat delayed, he is engaged with the story, has good mastery of language, self-soothes and manages to get his needs met by caregivers. Note also the gentle, unhurried, respectful words and actions of the caregiver. Basically, this episode demonstrated that, while development may lag (temporarily) in one developmental domain, it can be normal or accelerated in other areas at the same time.

1. What are some ways in which this child gets his needs met?
2. During the bug story, this child was sitting in the back of the circle. How would you characterize his involvement in the story? What clues does he give you?
3. How would you characterize his overall development? His language development? His physical motor development?
4. What did you notice about ways the caregiver interacted with this child?

2.As the girl in the red dress wakes from a nap she wants a particular book, but another child already has it. She cries and decides to sit alone, by herself. She is persistent in her desire for the book, and after a long time manages to obtain it. After having had enough time with the book of her choice, she can rejoin the group activity.

1. What are some ways the girl make her needs known?
2. How does she calm herself?
3. What should a caregiver do in such a situation?
4. Would distraction, as a technique, have worked with this child? Why or why not?
5. Should one of the caregivers have comforted her? Is so, how? What might have happened?
6. What do you think the child learned from this situation? What did you learn?

3.Three boys are doing karate kicks and playing “action figures” on the playground.

1. If you goal is to reduce and prevent violence among children, should you stop action figure imitative play? If so, at what point?
2. How do children (and adults) know when children are playing and when they are getting mad at one another?
3. What might happen if you had a rule that said, “No action figure play,” and you enforced it?
4. What are some of the consequences of such play?
5. Do women usually tend to intervene in action figure type play earlier than men do? What might be the results? What have you observed?
6. How would you know when to stop this type of play?
7. How might you respond to a parent who absolutely forbids the child to do this type of play and who wants you to enforce that prohibition for the child while s/he is in your care?