written narrative
Pros: Can include many areas of development, you don't necessarily have to set anything up, you can just sit and watch
Cons: It's easy to miss things - the other children wont know you are busy observing so is unlikely you'll be left alone!
Post-it / snapshot
Pros: quick and easy!
Cons: may not give the whole picture
Activity map (noting where child plays and for how long)
Pros: May show child's main interests when it comes to types of play - assists planning
Cons: misses out any language and doesn't demonstrate abilities.
Photos
Pros: Very quick, minimal writing involved
Cons: As post-it notes, they might not show everything, they do not record language
These are only what jumped into mind first, I'm sure people will add loads more.
Might also be worth writing something about adapting observation techniques to suit your situation?
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