Labrotory #1

During my lab, my group worked with 1st, 5th, and 6th graders at the St. Mary’s school. While working with the kids I noticed many different motor and social behaviors within the group. During our play time out in the playground, the younger kids who played on the swing set needed more help with the monkey bars and such, the older kids did not need any help. Age in motor behavior plays a huge role in what the kids can and cannot do. When we moved to the gym, the social behavior also has its differences between the age group in that the older kids were more up to playing different games and are willing to do more things. Also their understandance of the games that we were trying to get them to play was at a higher level. The younger kids were not really interested in playing any games or interacting with other kids that they really did not know. Also, their understandance of the games was very low in that they needed to be catered to the entire time of the games. Age definitely plays a role in motor and social behavior. I do not agree with gender playing a role in the behavior that they displayed during the time that I worked with them. While working with the group there was obvious differences in their fine motor activities. I noticed them when we were in the cafeteria downstairs when it was snack time. The younger kids played with their food such as dunking their cookies and cheese puffs into their milk and making a mess that they were not going to clean up if not told. The older kids just ate their snacks quietly and were not as messy. When they were finished the older kids got up and threw out their garbage and went to the area after they finished moving on to something else. The younger kids needed to be told what to do and to sit down and more of a authoritative role needed to be taken with the younger kids than the older kids. Also, when they were standing on line waiting to go outside the older kids stood quietly and were waiting to leave, the younger kids were yelling and playing online, being told numerous times to be quiet and get back in line. Again, I do not believe that gender has anything to do with their fine motor activities that I observed, both boys and girls of the same age group acted in the same manner.