St. Mary's Lab 1

I observed that there were both distinct similarities and differences between the age levels of the children at St. Mary’s. The older kids somewhat looked down upon the younger kids and in one case I distinctly remember a female older student was on the younger side of rock paper scissors and immediately became upset that she was with the younger kids. The age difference was only two years but this little girl acted like her younger peers were almost diseased or something. The physical ability between the age groups was pretty substantial in some areas. Some of the younger kids still ran with the egg beater motion of running while other older students were doing the proper running mechanics. I feel that the age of the student does have a direct impact on the child’s motor behavior. I feel this way because there is a clear difference in physical ability between the age groups therefore there is something that goes on over the difference in age that allows the older children to move more efficiently. When we played tag there was certainly a difference in ability between the age groups and genders. The boys for the most part were much faster and exerted much more energy. The younger boys were more passive than the older boys and basically each age group of girls was relatively passive. The older males ran around all over the place as fast as they could and usually with proper running form. The younger males were still very active but almost seemed submissive to the older boys and followed their lead. The younger girls were more stuck on our female college students then on the game. At one point I looked over during temple tag and there were five female St. Mary’s students swarmed around one of our college students. So there was a definite differences in the students in age and gender.