3V1136.1

3V113601 Imperfectly articulated script: [Which hand ? This one ?] (3/3/81) ‘Which hand ?’ This question is one Peggy meets when she asks Robby or Miriam for something she knows they have (usually candy). Today, she came running up to my chair at the table and asked, ‘Which hand is the Rubic’s cube in ? …

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3V1124.1

3V112401 Singing: quiet activities of self-construction (2/19)81) Peggy’s repertoire of songs is sometimes surprising. On her recent trip to Boston with Robby, I found she knew a bit of ‘The cat came back’ (A song I know not but Robby does know, perhaps from a Disney program). This afternoon, Peggy sat singing quietly to herself …

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3V1105.4

3V1105.04 Generalized arguments to avoid rejection: [some little kids like candy.] (late January 1981) For some months now, Peggy has shown a semantically unusual usage. She typically uses “somebody”, “some kids”, “some people” as ways of indirectly expressing her feelings — especially in situations where she may be unsure that a request for something will …

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3V1105.3

3V1105.03 Meta-cognitive observations: [I think my jokes are funny.] (late January) We were driving east on route 1, near Moose Hill Manor. Seeing the ponies of the Diamond M Ranch, Peggy remarked, ‘I want to ride one of those every day.’ I turned to her with shocked surprise, ‘Every day?’ Peggy smiled, ‘I think my …

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3V1105.2

3V1105.02 What we observe is not what she intends [Woodstock is patting his tail with the monsters.] (1/31/81) ‘Patting’ is an activity that Peggy knows a lot about. Scurry is her close friend and she pats Scurry every day. She is, in fact, merciless in expressing her affection for the dog who gets no peace …

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3V1104.1

3V1104.01 “Gepeters” [computers]: incremental lexicon standardization (1/30/81) Peggy wants to go to Logo (whatever that means to her) and also asked if she ‘could play with the gepeters at Logo.’ Later, her use slipped into the standard form by first appearing a ‘geputers’ then as ‘computers.’

3V1103.1

3V1103.01 Peer interactions (1/29/81) When Peggy was too late to b e enrolled in the North Guilford Nursery School, Gretchen enrolled her in two pre-school library activities. I took Peggy down to the second crafts session, and Miriam asked if she could come. Peggy had a good time at the library but with respect to …

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3V1100.1

3V1100.01 What words mean: example: graphics mean the name of the thing (1/26/81) After concluding an experiment (P157 I believe), Peggy touched the camera now back in its case. Pointing to the words on the camera she said, ‘I know what this says.’ ‘What,’ I asked. ‘Camera,’ she replied. This is a second example (see …

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3V1096.1

3V1096.01 Time sensitivity: When vs. Before (1/22/81) Miriam and I got back from Boston around 9 pm. We emptied the car, got off our coats, and all that. I talked with Peggy a while and she told me of her activities earlier in the day. I can’t recall the specific activity, but at one point …

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3V1091.1

3V1091.01 Breaking up an idiomatic expression: [By Beatrix Potter] (1/17/81) Peggy brought “Peter Rabbit” and “The Flopsy bunnies” to my lap. As I have read them to her in the past, I have moved my finger along the title. Earlier (1/26/80) Peggy recognized “by” in two books as being “the same.” Here when I finished …

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3V1071.7

3V1071.07 Confronting the illogical: “I’m not here.” (12/28/80) This evening, I retreated upstairs to write while Gretchen read a large collection of library books to Peggy. Later, Peggy called to me “Dad…Are you up there ?” I replied “No. I’m not here.” I heard Peggy go into the living room to look for me there …

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3V1069.3

3V1069.03 Her first orthographic word: “by” (very impt) (12/26/80) Especially as we read the titles of Peggy’s many books, Peggy imitates my pointing to words and saying words. After I read “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” she pointed more or less randomly: “The” (for the tale of); “Tale” (for Peter); “of” (Rabbit) “Peter” (by) (Rabbit” …

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3V1069.2

3V1069.02 Counting and one-to-one correspondence (12/26/80) Having bought her two of Beatrix Potter’s books for Christmas, I have read them over and over to Peggy. At one point in the story of Peter Rabbit, old Mrs. Rabbit goes to the bakers and buys ‘five current buns.” I decided to see how Peggy would follow or …

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3V1067.1

3V1067.01 I wonder I’m hungry”: idioms and structure (12/24/80) In chanting recitations very like “I thought I saw a pussy cat,” Peggy has repeated the phrase above, most as noted but with a few variations, e.g., “I wonder I’m sleepy.” This utterance is noteworthy because it is one with the surface structure of a grammatical …

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3V1063.1

3V1063.01 Hop on Pop: the right phrase; the wrong orthographic order (12/20/80) Peggy brought me this book to read and spontaneously read the title, pointing to each of three words, “Hop on Pop”… Subsequently, (again spontaneously) she read on the title page, “Hop on Pop.” This was most interesting in that she pointed to “Pop”, …

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3V1026.1

3V1026.01 “walrus”: Peggy’s assertion that graphic symbols name things (11/13/80) On one of the walls at the Logo lab is painted a large rhinoceros — in that blue paint which may be used as a chalk board. That drawing has many things chalked on it: one of Miriam’s “queens”, binary arithmetic, a set of matrices. …

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3V1015.1

3V1015.01 Like a birdie: concrete inspiration of observation (11/2/80) Peggy came around the dining room table with a turtle bean-bag in her hand, moving it up and down, “Turtle flies like a birdy.” she said, and the turtle’s feet did flap like wings…. but when she turned it over, I saw a patch of the …

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3V1011.1

3V1011.01 Jumping Jacks and Counting (10/27/80) Peggy sometimes goes to gymnastics make up classes with Miriam. She has seen the girls do jumping jacks and counting them. Whenever she feels full of energy, Peggy is as likely to break into jumping jacks as any other activity. Usually Peggy counts, but with the numbers 16 and …

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3V1006.2

3V1006.02 One to one correspondence: words and things (very impt)(10/22/80) Gretchen was reading to Peggy from “The Big Book of Real Trains.” At the bottom of each page is a little picture reviewing each of the cars introduced in the previous pages, each having an engine at the head. As Gretchen read and turned the …

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3V1006.1

3V1006.01 “When Mimi was my age, Christina was my age too” (10/22/80) I judge this an amazing statement for a child of Peggy’s age. Christina is a coeval of Miriam’s who rides to and from gymnastics in a car pool. Christina is of significantly slighter frame than Miriam. It is possible that Peggy imagined Christina …

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3V1004.1

3V1004.01 Role Reversal: reading to others (10/20/80) Bringing some wood inside, I nearly tripped over Scurry at the porch door. Continuing on, I came close to Peggy also, who censured me “Don’t step on me, Daddy. Don’t step on Scurry. She’s a good kid, too.” Scurry is Peggy’s most accessible playmate (and the only controllable …

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3V0981.2

3V0981.02 Talking about places: complexity of Peggy’s interpretive situation (9/29/80) Miriam recorded this dialogue about Peggy’s new toy Bunny: Peggy: I got my Bunny at the book store. Miriam: No. You got it at the Hole in the Wall. Peggy: Where the book shop ? Miriam: Near the Hole in the Wall. Peggy: I thought …

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3V0978.1

3V0978.01 BANG vs. RING: limits of word recognition (9/26/80) Peggy has been able to identify as “BANG” the word in “The Calculus Affair” when it appears in a yellow cloud of color. She did not (in P140 in 9/29/80) distinguish it from the word “CRACK” so displayed (although she may have done so earlier, (cf. …

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3V0977.1

3V0977.01 Reading words to Peggy: unintended instruction Peggy has been lately enjoying Richard Scary’s “Best Word Book Ever.” She brought it to me today and asked me to read her the words (in a general sense) “Read these words?” I read the title, etc. then began to read the labels accompanying objects on the cover. …

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3V0975.1

3V0975.01 Reading to herself (9/23/80) Peggy has been doing this for quite some time — usually when others are occupied otherwise. Today, in P139, I got her to read to me (which she would never do before). Her “reading” has seemed a reconstruction of recalled dialogue and text mixed with observations of the pictures (or …

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3V0965.1

3V0965.01 BANG and RING: extending word knowledge (9/13/80) Peggy can recognize these two words as distinct. She clambered onto my bed this evening, asking me to read her a Tintin story. We came, inter alia, across several “bangs” to which Peggy remarked, “That say, ‘BANG’.” As we read on, we came to a picture of …

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3V0956.1

3V0956.01 Meaning more than she can say (9/4/80) This note documents an incident more remarkable for what Peggy failed to say that for what she did say: While I was off in Boston, Miriam had been sitting in my arm chair (one from which I shoo the children whenever I want to sit there.) It …

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3V0949.1

3V0949.01 Roles involving three people: (correcting me about Gretchen) (8/28/80) I no longer recall the detail of this incident. What is important is development of the role-expansion theme from two to three characters. Note that Peggy only has trouble with the third person possessive pronouns (and adjective also). She has trouble — as will be …

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3V0944.1

3V0944.01 Blue Moon: Color names: for Peggy “blue” means white, color of eye- ball (8/23/80) A month ago I put the MG on insurance and began driving down town in it. Feeling I spend too little time with Peggy, I’ve been going out of my way to do so. A favorite after supper activity has …

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3V0940.1

3V0940.01 GSB : letters as symbols for people: “This say Mommy, Scurry, Daddy” ( 8/19/80) We have a key ring about the house from the Guilford Savings Bank. Peggy brought it to me today and explained to me, “This says Mommy, Scurry, Daddy.” She has been told that this first letter begins the name Gretchen, …

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3V0938.1

3V0938.01 My-best-friend: early phrases as unstructured idioms; early variations: (8/17/80) How many words is this utterance ? How fluid or viscous are the relations of parts and the whole ? Playing down at Jacob’s Beach, Peggy used this phrase to refer to ANY child she met there of her size. (She has originally used it …

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3V0935.5

3V0935.05 Knock-knock: “timber” precedes “timber who?” When she finished supper early, Peggy gets down from her high chair but often hangs around the table. This evening she crawled under and played by herself. Miriam asked, “Knock knock.: and Gretchen and Robby together answered “Who’s there?” Miriam answered “Tim.” A small but positive voice from under …

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3V0935.1

3V0935.01 Reading About Letters (8/14/80) In Richard Scary’s “Great Big School House,” an extended section is developed around the alphabet. Peggy was reading this section quietly to herself today when Robby’s friend Billy came for a visit. He joined Peggy on the floor for a while, asked if she knew her letters or numbers. Peggy …

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3V0933.3

3V0933.03 Nouns and adjectives: non-standard usage (8/12/80) Peggy has long resisted our attributing any character to her where of this form, “You’re a X.” (Or “Are you an X ?”) Bob: Are you a sweet Peggy ? Peggy: Yes. Bob: Are you a sweety ? Peggy: No ! I’m a Peggy ! It appears to …

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3V0933.2

3V0933.02 Fixity of Part Relations: idioms are central (8/12/80) As we set out the supper on the table, Peggy in her high chair already was delighted to see the food. “It’s macaroni and cheese,” she exclaimed, “Peg,” I said, “It’s cheese and macaroni.” “Not cheese and macaroni,” she argued adamantly, “It’s macaroni and cheese.” What …

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3V0933.1

3V0933.01 Describing actions: fluid script application (8/12/80) Over this past week, Peggy has often played with her Fischer-Price dolls. This has joined with her new interest in Legos so she has made (with Miriam’s help and mine) in making couches and houses for her dolls. Most striking about Peggy’s play with dolls is her language …

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3V0932.1

3V0932.01 Reading aloud to herself: characterization; French also (8/11/80) Peggy has often read aloud to herself, does not feel self-conscious about doing so (But is reluctant to read to ME as witness on P134). Her reading procedure seems to call upon two sources of information. The main (at least dominant) one is the picture accompanying …

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3V0931.1

3V0931.01 Generalization; logical thinking accidentally wrong: pennies and quarters. (8/10/80) Peggy came running around the table. “Somebody left these pennies and quarters on the table,” she exclaimed as she handed them to me. There were two pennies and, folded up, two dollar bills. So Peggy knows two coin names and knows that both coins and …

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3V0929.1

3V0929.01 Language Rules used to construct new forms (8/8+/80) Peggy is clearly constructing verbal forms by rules. Two sorts are now witnessed: verb tense (past – even if her use be aspectual) and pluralization rules. Spontaneously, she produced BREAKED (8/8). BOOKSES (8/9), GORILLASES (8/13), and DUCKSES (8/13).

3V0924.2

3V0924.02 Watching Videotapes: single letters as name symbols (8/3/80) Last night Gretchen and I reviewed four videotapes (weeks 26, 52, 78, and 104). Peggy was in and out during this two hours of viewing (she was alternately watching an hour long Disney show on the basement TV). One question of interest to me was what …

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3V0924.1

3V0924.01 Meta-linguistic reflection: “I sorry.” (8/3/80) We have an old clock whose face plate falls off with a distressing regularity. Peggy just bumped the clock, the face plate fell off, and she walked away. Sitting down in the middle of the floor, she called it to my attention. Peggy: I sorry break the clock. Bob: …

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3V0918.2

3V0918.02 Self-classification: “I daughter.” (7/28/80) Peggy confided to me thus that she was a daughter, sitting in my lap. Over the next few days, she refined that self classification. Mimi is the big daughter. Peggy is my little daughter.

3V0917.1

3V0917.01 Egocentricity and agent expression: very non-standard usage (7/27/80) At the beach: On their return, Peggy informed me of an event that was important to her(She has referred to it several times since, in nearly the same verbal formulation): “Go to the beach the beach and fall in the water, then somebody pick me up, …

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3V0910.2

3V0910.02 Possessive pronouns: non-standard forms [he lives in he’s house.] (7/20-24/80) Peggy was reading that Britanica book which begins with a picture of several animals and asks where they live. There are pictured on one page a horse, dog, spider, turtle, and others (?) and on the facing page a barn, pond, dog house, and …

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3V0910.1

3V0910.01 Color names again — properly typed but idiosyncratically applied (7/20/80) It’s absolutely clear that Peggy knows a number of color names and knows that they apply to some quality of an object. To me, it appears as though she uses color names correctly, in re. parts of speech, etc. but that she has not …

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3V0880.3

3V0880.03 “Crack” and “bang”: correction by Miriam; that say “Peggy Lawler” Peggy clambered in Gretchen’s lap with “The Calculus Affair.” She read some words to Gretchen, That say ‘crack’; that say ‘crack’; that say ‘BANG’!” How did she ever learn that (“Bang”) ? Miriam explained that while Gretchen and I were off at Guilford Lake’s …

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3V0880.2

3V0880.02 Reading a word/image: lighting & thunder from Tintin Last night, after dinner, Peggy asked to sit in my lap, “Daddy, I sit you.” First we read a Tintin cartoon book that was close at hand (The Calculus Affair). We went over the first few pages identifying the characters (Snowy, Tintin, Captain Hack-uck). I identified …

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3V0880.1

3V0880.01 Using “shame on you” (cf. notes of 6/16) (6/20/80) Last night at supper, Peggy clambered into Robby’s chair while he was in the kitchen. He returned, touched her on the head from behind the chair and asked what she was doing in his chair. Peggy pushed away his hand saying, “Shame on you.” Miriam …

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3V0876.2

3V0876.02 Roots of reading: recapitulation of Benj. Bunny Peggy just said, “Bunny slid [/sit?] down in the road and went to Mister Gregor’s house.” Peggy was, of course, looking at Benjamin Bunny, pp. 10-11. The text is as follows: “as soon as they had passed (The McGregors), little Benjamin Bunny slid down into the road, …

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3V0876.1

3V0876.01 More role articulation: (toilet training) (6/26/80) Peggy has been much engaged with toilet training (mainly from social pressure plus a little direct instruction). For example, when I called home from Boston last week, she was so proud of herself she explained having taken off her coat and dress and that she had pissed in …

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