Conducting and documenting objective, accurate observations of children in school-age programs is an important professional responsibility of school-age care professionals. Two useful tools for structuring observations are 1) developmental checklists and 2) anecdotal records. Both tools provide rich information that help staff learn about children’s development.When school-age care staff conduct regular observations of children’s development and prepare objective documentation of these observations, they are able to discover the uniqueness of each child and provide developmentally appropriate guidance and support for all children in the program.
