Who Am I? Reflective Paper

Who Am I? Reflective Paper

This paper focuses on Amy, a seven-year-old girl. She lives across the street with her family. Amy is the firstborn child and has a younger brother. Amy and I have lived in the same place for three years since they moved to our neighborhood. She is conversant with English and French. Her mother is a teacher while her father is a doctor. Amy gets raised in a conducive environment. Amy is a sharp student judging by her grade 2 school reports. Her parents shower Amy with so much care and love.

I interviewed Amy on Sunday afternoon when both her parents were at home. I requested her to draw a portrait of herself for my class assignment. She asked me to explain what I meant by a self-portrait and why her drawing was essential. I took out a mirror and asked her to draw whatever she saw in herself. Amy drew her round face with the eyes and nose in perfect places. She made sure her hair laid back to match what she had done before attending church. Amy had an easy time picking out the pink color for her dress that had a white-collar. Also, she managed to paint the blue background of the wall behind her. Amy seemed excited while making her self-portrait. She asked if she could keep the drawing beside the family photo in her room so that her friends could see it afterward.

Later, I requested Amy to come up with an ‘I am_ ‘poem to describe herself. She started by stating, and I am a girl, I am Amy, I am smiling, and I am seven years old. Since we both speak fluent English, writing the poem was an easy task for Amy.

From the portrait and poem, I observed that Amy has proper cognitive development. She drew what she saw in the mirror, including shapes and colors. Amy knows she is a girl, her age, and her facial expression. She mentioned that she helps out with her younger brother when he cannot sleep and can feed him with milk. Restrictive parenting employed by Amy’s parents helps her become responsible even in their absence. She gets to watch her favorite children show but does not concentrate on adult shows. Such affectionate parenting style has boosted Amy’s confidence, self-esteem, and verbal nature since she expresses herself correctly.

Theory of Mind explains childhood cognitive development. With time, a child gets to make use of senses to distinguish events. Amy, for instance, got to draw a picture of herself. She colored her eyes brown, hair black, and dress pink. By the age of seven, any sane child can differentiate colors appropriately. Vygotsky’s social development also contributes to child development. Amy did not realize what a self-portrait looked like at first. Holding out the mirror towards her direction helped her understand the meaning of a portrait. The moral support offered by Amy’s parents helps her a lot. The cartoon network, play items, and being enrolled in school contribute to her cognitive development. Also, having one sibling implies that Amy gets enough parental love and care, which is vital for her confidence and self-esteem. Jerome Bruner’s constructivist concept mentions that children develop imitate past or present ideas in their environment. Amy wanted to keep the portrait in her room since her parents had previously placed a family photo on the bedroom wall. She thought it wise to keep the drawing for her playmates to have a view later.

The whole experience with Amy was engaging. Children are easy to deal with. Amy was more than happy to draw herself and write the poem. Despite writing simple words without rhyme, she expressed herself accordingly. From the interview, I learned that Amy as young as she is caring for her little brother.