3V1425.3

3V1425.03 Puzzle: Donald Duck (12/17/81) Putting together a 48 piece Donald Duck puzzle has been one of Peggy’s main entertainments lately. At first she would simply grab a piece, wave it around, and ask, “Where does this go?” Someone would help her, and we would try to give her good tips — do the outside …

Continue reading ‘3V1425.3’ »

3V1425.2

3V1425.02 Writing: sending a letter through the mail I have been doing my Christmas Cards. After a while, Peggy brought the piano bench over to the typewriter because she wanted to write a letter. She typed several lines on a piece of paper (I don;t remember what she said they meant — it was nothing …

Continue reading ‘3V1425.2’ »

3V1415.1

3V1415.01 Reading Vocabulary (12/7/81) In P202, I gave Peggy her first “reading test.” She showed clearly that she recognized -in their very specific contexts- these words(19) : RECALL (by keying it) RECALLING (by contrast of the display screen) READING (on display screen, shares “ing” with recalling) BLOCKS (on tape cassette, keying, and on prompt card) …

Continue reading ‘3V1415.1’ »

3V1409.2

3V1409.02 Doing School Work (12/1/81) As Robby and Miriam worked at completing their second Calvert Text, Peggy decided she too should do school work when they did. Consequently, she found (or was given) a work book and was given a set of crayons which she applied there to. She even remarked to Gretchen at one …

Continue reading ‘3V1409.2’ »

3V1368.1

3V136801 Tri-color Ribbon (10/21/81) Lately I purchased a recording “The Uprising of 1916,” and we have played it occasionally. One pretty song has the refrain “all around my heart I wear a tri-colored ribbon-oh.” Peg has begun singing the song also. We drove down town this day and somehow or other Peggy brought up this …

Continue reading ‘3V1368.1’ »

3V1340.1

3V134001 Concrete situation and recalling lyrics from “The Jug of Punch” (9/23/81) Peggy having applesauce. She remarked “Let’s see…I have my spoon and bowl… As I was sitting with my spoon and bowl, I heard a small bird singing in a naval berth [?] and he sang the Jug of Punch.” Gretchen. The original lyric: …

Continue reading ‘3V1340.1’ »

3V1332.1

3V1332.01 More Singing: “ahem, ahem” (9/15/81) Peggy singing: “Ahem, ahem” something like “My mother’s gone to church…. She told me not to play with you or let you eat my margarine.” the verse goes something like this: ahem, ahem, me mother has gone to church. She told me not to play with you because you’re …

Continue reading ‘3V1332.1’ »

3V1328.1

3V1328.01 Peggy’s First Day at School (9/11/81) Robby and Miriam both enjoyed the North Guilford Nursery School, so it seemed natural that we should enroll Peggy there too. This first day was a pleasant one — a short family visit. Gretchen, Rob, Miriam, Kate and me all came along. Peg had a good time playing …

Continue reading ‘3V1328.1’ »

3V1288.1

3V1288.01 Pathetique Sonata: Peggy’s valuation (8/2/81) I began to play the adagio cantabile from Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata. I was amazed and delighted at Peggy’s spontaneous comment that the song was very beautiful.

3V1286.1

3V1286.01 Singing: a mnemonic method for Peggy; her catalog (1/31/81) This is a very important method of recalling, perhaps even thinking, for Peggy. Let’s try to list her songs: The FOX – her oldest favorite; well known lines and jungles The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly (Burl Ives movie sound track) New York, New …

Continue reading ‘3V1286.1’ »

3V1277.1

3V1277.01 First nearly complete Alphabet song (7/22/81) Peggy is much interested in the alphabet. Recently she sat on the couch reading Richard Scary’s book, saying what the letter picture correspondences implied, “A is for Apple,” etc. Getting stuck once or twice she asked me to tell her what was intended by the picture (eg. Q …

Continue reading ‘3V1277.1’ »

3V1275.1

3V1275.01 Computer “rods” (7/20/81) Seeing the trouble she had with the rods always falling over, I asked is a Rods microworld would be easier to manipulate and thus intellectually more accessible to her. So I proceeded to make one, substituting (a later idea) the blinking of numbers in place of partial blanks — that is …

Continue reading ‘3V1275.1’ »

3V1271.1

3V1271.01 Singing: [Come down the stairs…I never did intend to marry a soldier] Peggy started down the stairs and sang, “Come down the stairs, Pretty Peggy-O….I never did intend to marry a soldier…”

3V1270.1

3V1270.01 Alphabets: the litany and “A is for Apple…” (7/15/81) Today Peggy was singing, chanting material about the alphabet. She has “ABCD” pretty well, but later on always goes “L-O-M-O-P” The similarity of M and N appears to confuse her. She also repeated several times, “A is for Apple, B is for Ball…”

3V1265.1

3V1265.01 Fireman’s Bazaar: a broken heart for Daddy (7/10/81) This evening the three children and I went to the fair. Robby and Miriam disappeared instantly and left me with Peggy. We watched some square dancers then sauntered over in the direction of the merry go round. Peggy’s eyes lit up and she asked if we …

Continue reading ‘3V1265.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1233.1’ »

3V1223.2

3V1223.02 Duets (5/29/81) Peggy has begun to ask me to help her sing, even ‘The Fox went out on a chilly night.” What typically happens is that I sing a little, she sings a lot and when she is stymied, I sing a little more. This scenario seems to derive from two sources; one may …

Continue reading ‘3V1223.2’ »

3V1218.1

3V1218.01 Spelling a second word: “loadshapes” after “load” (5/24/81) My cassette files are set up with procedures stored before shapes. The first are accessed by ‘LOAD’ and the second by ‘LOADSHAPES.’ Since Peggy had insisted on typing LOAD wherever possible, I have HAD to instruct her to discriminate between the two words so that her …

Continue reading ‘3V1218.1’ »

3V1217.2

3V1217.02 Spelling “load” and being grown-up; contrast toilet training (5/23/81) Peggy sat alone at the computer. The rest of us were out in the dining room, eating lunch. She called with notable excitement, “Daddy, come see. I’ve spelled ‘LOAD.’ Come see it, Daddy.” Because of her excitement, I left the table, witnessed her achievement (it …

Continue reading ‘3V1217.2’ »

3V1217.1

3V1217.01 The Alphabet Song: letters change but the melody lingers on (5/23/81) Coming home from Cambridge, Miriam was singing the litany ‘ABCD-EFG…” and getting Peggy to join her. At home, singing by herself, Peggy gave evidence of knowing the tune well but her text was somewhat corrupt: “ABCD-FIG…” was how she began then petered off. …

Continue reading ‘3V1217.1’ »

3V1215.1

3V1215.01 Peggy in Cambridge for Greg’s Farewell party (5/21/81) Peggy came with us. The whole family on a trek to Cambridge for a farewell party at Greg’s leaving Logo. Everybody “hung around” Logo while I tried to complete my Tictactoe paper for Cognitive Science. I don’t recall much of what Peggy did then.. -> for …

Continue reading ‘3V1215.1’ »

3V1212.1

3V121201 Writing words: in order to load programs (very impt.) (5/18/81) Peggy has spontaneously begun to “write” (ie type) words in order to control the loading of programs. While waiting for Gretchen to make available the DRAW program, Peggy typed “LO” (Did she ask if that was right ? Did she ask what next ?) …

Continue reading ‘3V1212.1’ »

3V1192.1

3V119201 Issues in learning graphical language: Logo logon messages (/28/81) Peggy has more or less read “BY” — the common word in her story books. Her reading it shows little discrimination but for length. Today, Peggy began reading (in my presence, for the first time) the Logo Logon messages “Setting up” and “Welcome to Logo.” …

Continue reading ‘3V1192.1’ »

3V1191.2

3V119102 Cutting up a Tree: an old joke (4/27/81) Robby and I were hauling hickory back from the site where I recently felled a tree. When Peggy came to watch us, I introduced her to a joke, a simple absurdity of the language. She knows one cuts down a tree (she has seen this twice …

Continue reading ‘3V1191.2’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1188.2’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1185.1’ »

3V1184.1

3V1184.01 Blocks microworld: Moving Blocks (4/20/81) Peggy has experienced a number of insights in her developing control of the little blocks microworld. The record of her discovery of “BK” is in P169. This is a significant and meaningful operation for her when the block has a forward velocity. In the case “BK” interrupts the velocity …

Continue reading ‘3V1184.1’ »

3V1181.2

3V1181.02 Anything can represent anything: Forks and Bottlecaps (4/17/81) Anything can represent anything. Sitting in the chair beside [me] at the end of supper this evening, Peggy began playing with a dinner fork and a cake fork (the smaller of the two). They became me and her, going for a ride in the car. The …

Continue reading ‘3V1181.2’ »

3V1171.2

3V1171.02 Letter roller: compared to Rubic’s cube (4/7/81) Peggy has played with Rubic’s cube for several weeks, first destroying the complete pattern by a single or double twist, then “fixing” the cube by reversing the operation — uniformly with great pride and delight. We, of course, applauded her efforts. This was not at all surprising …

Continue reading ‘3V1171.2’ »

3V1150.1

3V1150.01 A Tricycle at last: lost observation opportunity (3/17/81) I wanted to buy one for Peggy’s third birthday but (even on sale) the prices were too high and the quality of the bikes too low for purchase. Today — some eight weeks later — I saw an ad selling a tricycle for 10 dollars. We …

Continue reading ‘3V1150.1’ »

3V1149.1

3V1149.01 Drawing on Peggy: drawing on her arms and more (3/16/81) When she asked me to draw on her hand this evening, I made a little heart that said, “Dad” (she asked on my beginning with “D” if it said “Daddy”) and “Peg” which she figured was “Peggy”). Upon presentation of the other hand, I …

Continue reading ‘3V1149.1’ »

3V1146.2

3V1146.02 Dancing and whooping: a new script for animal play (3/13/81) Last night after supper, Peggy brought her collection of toys. Our new Chieftains record was playing, so when Peggy (as BearHug) asked me (as Pink Panther) ‘What do you want to do now ?’ I answered, ‘I want to dance’ and began bouncing the …

Continue reading ‘3V1146.2’ »

3V1146.1

3V1146.01 Dead flowers: [They been shot.] (3/13/81) A warm day, the family outside working in the garden. Peggy picked up some dried flowers, brought them inside and asked me to put them in a vase. I refused to do so, avoiding a confrontation by evading her request. Outside later, Peggy again mentioned her flowers. I …

Continue reading ‘3V1146.1’ »

3V1141.1

3V1141.01 French: [I can speak French – “Cat twank” ] (3/8/81) I asked Miriam how her French is coming. She replied, ‘Comment allez-vous ?’ ‘Tres bien, merci, et vous ?’ I answered. Miriam could not continue. We mentioned ‘French’ several times during the conversation. Peggy, who had been sitting there piped up, ‘I can speak …

Continue reading ‘3V1141.1’ »

3V1140.1

3V1140.01 Letter names as entities separated from signifiers of people (3/7/81) Peggy brought me the ‘F’ from her set of letters. She asked if it were the letter ‘A’. When I said ‘No,’ she next guessed the letter name ‘E’ (She knows this, of course, is the ‘father letter.’) I told her it was the …

Continue reading ‘3V1140.1’ »

3V1139.1

3V1139.01 Advance in articulation: [Which hands is it now ?] (3/6/81) Peggy came running up to me and asked me ‘Which hand is it in now ?’ She continued immediately, ‘This one ?’ (Pointing to her right hand with her left). This question and gestures is a significant advance over that of 3/3/81 because she …

Continue reading ‘3V1139.1’ »

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 ? …

Continue reading ‘3V1136.1’ »

3V1135.1

3V113501 The Animal Game (3/2/81) Peggy has extended her animal game to others… Miriam specifically. I have heard Peggy asking her to play as they sat on the floor near the stove and then the perennial question, ‘What do you want to do now ?’

3V1133.1

3V113301 A Gymnastic Show (2/28(81) Miriam went on-stage with the other tumbling kids of the Dutch Gymnastics School. The show began with ‘The Little Rascals’ — the youngest class — marching around and exercising in time (more or less) to directive songs. Peggy found that worth watching, but when they finished she said, ‘I think …

Continue reading ‘3V1133.1’ »

3V1122.1

3V112201 Same vs. Different: different animals, same activities (2/17/81) Peggy sat in my lap, playing her animal game (see examples in videotape, e.g. P162). I tired of it and she volunteered, ‘I know…let’s play a different game.’ I agreed enthusiastically, so she got from her toy box two different animals, sat in my lap and …

Continue reading ‘3V1122.1’ »

3V1120.2

3V112002 Squirting (skunks; rabbits squirt with their ears.) (2/15/81) Peggy has a skunk… it attacks other animals by SQUIRTING them with its tail. (Does this show the influences of Robby, Miriam ?) Squirting is NOT limited to the skunk. Most other animals also squirt from tails. An exception is the rabbit. It has a button …

Continue reading ‘3V1120.2’ »

3V1120.1

3V1120.01 Peggy’s invented games: extensive notes on animal play (2/15/81) For the past week or more, Peggy and I have played together in a way that appears very important to her. that is, she is really hurt if I am unwilling to play. Last night she was unwilling to stop — without tears — only …

Continue reading ‘3V1120.1’ »

3V1109.2

3V1109.02 Trip to Logo: typical stories (2/14-15/81) Peggy, Robby and I went to MIT after story hour. Danny Moore came to the lab late in the afternoon and I tended Peggy while Robby played with him. What I recall of this time is that Peggy and I went to DSRE for my Spencer Foundation letter, …

Continue reading ‘3V1109.2’ »

3V1109.1

3V1109.01 Peer avoidance at story hour (2/4/81) The story hour began later than Crafts. I took Peggy to the first session, since we were departing from there directly to Boston. We arrived late and Peggy was unwilling to join the other children. So I sat on the floor near them while Debbie Rutter told stories, …

Continue reading ‘3V1109.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1105.4’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1105.3’ »

3V1105.1

3V1105.01 [I think the Rubic’s cube is Mimi’s, but I’m not sure.] (1/31/81) no text beyond title.

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1103.1’ »

3V1102.1

3V1102.01 Playing with toys: using animals as manipulatable actors (1/28(81) Recently Peggy has frequently climbed on my lap after dinner, bringing a small collection of animal toys with her. Frequently the horses (Calico and Blue Mane) and Gretchen’s old rabbit and mouse are the main actors. Peggy takes one animal and gives me another, e.g., …

Continue reading ‘3V1102.1’ »