P050

Pointing and Talking, Object Knowledge, Book related behavior

P049

Communication & Pointing, Object Exploration, Family Interactions

3V1247.2

3V1247.02 Past tense and conditionals (6/22/81) For the past month or so, Peggy has been forming past tenses in the typical non-standard way — ie. RUN, RUNNED. (I will have to see if I can get her to discuss this in the next session, P181 now) — to get at the question raised by Seigler …

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3V1233.1

3V1233.01 Peggy’s first Word World: a summary description (6/8/81) Objects: SUN (base color) (via UPx N) (help with WALK/SLOWERx2) GIRL (base color) (Via DOWN x N=4 (started at road) CAR (help with GREEN) (help with MOVE) (via DOWN x 5) (help with WALK/ FAST) DOG (base color) (help with MOVE) (via DOWN x 1) HOUSE …

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3V1188.2

3V1188.02 You can spell everything, not merely “French” (4/24/81) Peggy is apparently coming to realize that all words can be spelled (not merely “French”). The cause of this conjecture I can’t document, but she sat in my lap this afternoon and asked me to spell word after word…. words with no apparent connection, ending up …

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3V1186.1

3V1186.01 Learning by observation during Story hour (4/22/81) Today was the last in a series of story hours for Three Year Olds given weekly at the local library. The Childrens’ Librarian would take a group of children (maybe 10 to 12) into a meeting room where they might sing a little song or play a …

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3V1185.1

3V1185.01 Computer at home: TI-99 (4/21/81) I finally brought home a TI-99 from the Logo lab. The machine’s storage extension is very flakey and the tape recorder would not work well for the first week or so. Consequently it was hard to program little systems for Peggy. We began using the computer in experiments with …

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3V1171.3

3V1171.03 Counting in French: “Quatorze” (+ dog) (4/7/81) Peggy counts in French, which to her is “spelling”, i.e. reciting a list of non-sense sounds as an amplification or explication of something about a meaningful (?) work[d?]. Beginning with “/cat//twank/”, Peggy has picked up “/cat//torze/” (single word, no caesura) from Miriam’s recitations — partly offered as …

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3V1171.1

3V1171.01 Letter names versus Meanings: now even “the mommy letter” is blind coded.(4/7/81) In the last experiment, P167, Peggy made a distinction I have observed otherwheres since. When asked the name of any letter, she would reply “D”, no matter what the letter was, no matter what meaning it had for her. For example, she …

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3V1170.1

3V1170.01 Reflexive pronoun means symmetrical directed action: “The guys are killing themselves” (we would say “each other”.) (4/5/81) Peggy noted as she banged the Fischer-Price dolls against each other. That is, she uses the reflexive pronoun to describe symmetrical directed action.

3V1169.1

3V1169.01 Recognizing “By” in another context: Asterix book (4/5/81) Peggy asked me to read “Asterix in Britain.” On page 6 (bottom) there appears a balloon with “Attack by Juno” in large capitals. As I was reading near the top of the page, Peggy pointed to “BY” and said, “That says ‘BY’.” Now it appears that …

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3V1162.1

3V1162.02 Not quite right, even yet: “By” in Hop on Pop (3/29/81) Peggy offered to read ‘Hop on Pop’ to me and began with the title. Pointing to the word “HOP” (alone on the top line) she said, “Hop on Pop.” Pointing next to “ON” (alone on middle line) she continued her reading as “by” …

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3V1160.2

3V1160.02 Subject and aspect: repetition expresses continued activity (3/27/81) Peggy is very vocal and most frequently describes verbally her action. The subject of her verbal predicates is usually herself and most often is “understood.” Today she ran through the kitchen, with her BearHug, putting him through actions. She said (manipulating him the while) “Run after. …

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3V1160.1

3V1160.01 Imperfectly articulated Guessing Games (3/27/81) While we were at dinner, Peggy came running around the table, behind Robby’s chair, waving her BearHug. She said, “You’ll never guess what’s behind my back.” Non-committally, I responded, “I won’t.” Peggy said, “It will be a bear,” then hid the bear.

3V1156.1

3V1156.01 Spelling a word: “B-E-R” for bear, from “BearHug” Peggy sat on the floor by her typewriter. She looked up at me and said, ‘I spelled ‘Bear’.’ when I asked her how, Peggy pressed in sequence the letters, ‘B’, ‘E’, & ‘R’. I asked how she knew to spell Bear that way, but she did …

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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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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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3V1085.2

3V1085.02 Context and two more sentences: [(Negotiating for a cookie. Hiccup). Can I have some ? Hiccups make me hungry.] (1/11/81) Peggy, wanting chocolate chips, asked Robby for some. He refused. She hiccuped then and asked again, “Can I have some ? Hiccups make me hungry.” What does one make of this ? Cause ? …

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3V1077.1

3V1077.01 Two Related Sentences (1/3/81) Peggy has proved her good control of her toilet use. She has been happy to empty her potty into the toilet. When she defecates, she is able and happy to wipe herself but she does NOT like to empty the shit into the toilet. Today she said, “I don’t want …

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3V1071.6

3V1071.06 Reading words (a few days ago): instruction in 1-1 correspondence (12/28/80) A few days ago, Peggy wanted me to read “Babar Saves the Day.” We sat down and looked at the cover. Peggy sort of waved her hand around and said, “Babar Saves the Day.” I repeated the title to each word as I …

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3V1071.5

3V1071.05 Holophrastic verbs; also pretending to sleep (12/28/80) (See also under 12/1, 11/20; 11/22; and 12/9; 12/6) Down watching TV on 12/23, Peggy on Bob’s lap. “Snuggle.” Other times, lying down and closing her eyes, “Sleep.” Gretchen

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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3V1065.1

3V1065.01 Past two months: PUPPY DOG: an invented game/role (12/22) A quick scan of these notes shows no notice taken of something very important to Peggy: she has created a game-role for herself, the character “Puppy Dog.” This began months ago when, playing with Scurry, Peggy fastened the leash to her collar and ran about …

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3V1043.1

3V1043.01 Singing “offstage”: The Fox (11/30/80) I tried to get Peggy singing “The Fox went out on a chilly night” during P149 today. She refused. But this evening, alone in a chair in the living room while the rest of us were there but otherwise occupied, Peggy began reading/singing the story. She did fine at …

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3V1035.1

3V1035.01 Constructive reading: Reading pictures and her own memories (11/22/80) Peggy’s crib is an unbelievable mess. There is hardly room for her with all the animals, covers, books in it. When put to bed before she’s sleepy, she will often read silently to herself. I have heard her, in the mornings, reading aloud. It is …

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3V1033.1

3V1033.01 Holophrastic verbs: imitation of Peggy by Miriam as confirmation (11/20/80) Peggy imitates Miriam — sure enough — but the opposite is also true. Miriam has begun imitating Peggy’s single word descriptions…. single VERB descriptions. Peggy may pick up a cookie, say emphatically “eat” and pop it in her mouth. When reclaiming toys from the …

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3V1013.1

3V1013.01 One to one correspondence (10/29/80) I found Peggy with the Train book, looking at a diagram of a locomotive. She was pointing to the numbers (denoting parts that were described below) and reciting random letters of the alphabet, one to each number: “B…E…K…D…” when I approached to see what she was doing, she pointed …

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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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3V1010.2

3V1010.02 Singing (10/26/80) Peggy’s favorite song is “The fox went out on a chilly night.” This is her first song, (in the sense of having parts well enough known for her to begin singing). Her original version interleaved two lines, “The fox went out on a chilly night” and “town-o, town-o…(repeated a variable number of …

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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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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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3V0995.1

3V0995.01 Excuses and implausible threats (10/11/80) Peggy begins now to more frequently offer excuses (as her siblings do all too often) and even makes threats. She sometimes neglects to empty her potty into the toilet after shitting. I urged her to do so today. as she sat on the floor, playing with a bare foot. …

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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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3V0974.1

3V0974.01 The Pig in the book: what does Peggy mean by what she says? (9/22/80) Peggy was playing with her “happy family” (her Fischer price dolls). I mentioned she had other animals besides the dogs. There was a chicken and, somewhere, a black pig. Peggy pointed to a Richard Scary book and asked, “Can I …

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3V0971.1

3V0971.01 In my lap: repertoire of three character scripts (9/19/80) I have tried to dissuade Peggy from reading all the time. So more lately, she has climbed into my lap with friends, the small bear, the pink panther, “Aroot” her elephant, and the horse Miriam received when she was in the hospital. The animals have …

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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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3V0942.1

3V0942.01 If “P” means Peggy, what is “eggy” ? (8/21/80) Peggy has been writing a lot lately. She frequently asks me to write “Peggy Lawler” on the pages before she does anything else. It has been my custom to write “PEGGY” at the top and “LAWLER” in the middle. She has come to accept that …

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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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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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3V0916.1

3V0916.01 Commitment to an interpretation: [go pick the lady grass.](7/26/80) Miriam has been given the job of picking grass out of the driveway and she resists it mightily. I recently scolded her and told her to go pick out every blade of grass at the turn (the grass had slowed drainage and caused some flooding). …

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3V0819.1

3V0819.01 Progressive Verbs (4/20/80) Peggy has used present participles as progressive verb forms in a descriptive mode (as on last page). In two incidents, the context makes clear her richer semantic framework served by those forms. Yesterday I sat on the front stoop. Peggy came up the path and before reaching the stairs said to …

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3V0811.4

3V0811.04 Surprising syngnosticity (4/12/80) Peggy’s toy elephant she names “Arroot.” Miriam received as a birthday present a pig hand-puppet which Peggy very much admires. She asked the name and Miriam called it “Alfred,” since which Peggy has been chasing and pestering her for “My arroot.” The resolution a half hour later: Peggy came in the …

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3V0781.1

3V0781.01 “Peggy Lawler” – what symbols mean to her (3/13/80) Ever since Miriam’s gift of the Grover Book (wherein she wrote PEGGY LAWLER on the inside cover to show ownership), Peggy has interpreted any group of letters as meaning “Peggy Lawler.” She distinguishes (more or less) between four things: letters, seen as individuals; pictures in …

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3V0780.3

3V0780.03 Shoe Daddy off: clear example of non-standard syntax (3/12/80) Peggy said this as I removed my shoes. It is perfectly clear she was describing what I did and it is also clear what she meant, “Daddy is taking off his shoe.” the syntax appears quite non-standard.

3V0776.2

3V0776.02 An inference (3/8/80) Peggy ran from the dining room to me in the living room. Holding out her hand to me (I responded to take whatever it might be), Peggy dropped coins in my hand. She said, ‘Money on table. Somebody left it.’ Not only is this a two-sentence speech act, it also exhibits …

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