Ethnography

Preoperational: here's a group of children playing in the bocce court (aka: sandbox). These kids in the first image are late preoperational for the most part with maybe one or two beginning to enter the concrete operational stage. In the second image, this group is younger and are what I'd describe as early preoperational. The early preoperational children were much less coordinated in their movements. Several times I noticed one falling over or colliding with another child. As for the older kids on the far end of the bocce court, the older ones would do something -- like pretend to be a pirate -- and then the younger ones would follow along. At one point I noticed the oldest boy taking some toys from the younger ones and showing them how they should be placed along the ledge of the court -- from largest toy to smallest. This is a sign of concrete operational skills.