3V1416.1

3V1416.01 A Big Penny and a Little One (12/8/81) We went to Boston this day for a pre-Christmas visit. Rob hung around LCSI with me. Miriam took Peggy over to the Childrens Museum. Late in the day, the kids were going out with Greg to buy sodas and Peggy — of course — wanted to …

Continue reading ‘3V1416.1’ »

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’ »

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’ »

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’ »

3V1267.1

3V1267.01 Computer-based cuisenaire rods (7/12/81) Peggy enjoyed playing with the Cuisenaire rods during out experiment P181. Either in that one or the next P182, Peggy first accomplished a set of “stairs.” After the end of the experiment, she continued playing with rods and I heard her mention (at a point where she omitted the 3-length …

Continue reading ‘3V1267.1’ »

3V1252.1

3V1252.01 Pure Conditionals (6/27/81) Last observation was not accurate or complete. This becomes clear from a very surprising thing Peggy said as she and I had breakfast this morning (actually, I believe she finished first, then returned to the table): “Dad, if I want some orange juice?” I looked at her and asked, “What was …

Continue reading ‘3V1252.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1247.2’ »

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’ »

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’ »

3V1188.1

3V1188.01 Piecemeal discovery from playing with TI BLOCKS (4/24/81) Peggy’s grasp of what she could do with this micro-world has been delightfully piece meal. The first and most striking thing was learning to make the blocks walk. I seem to recall this happened in the first session. The next discovery was the BACK command. It …

Continue reading ‘3V1188.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1186.1’ »

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’ »

3V1181.1

3V1181.01 Blocks microworld: “Clever little blocks” (4/17/81) Peggy was introduced to computers with P168 and P169. We talked a little today about what she was doing with the computer upstairs. She replied that she was “making the blocks walk.” I asked if she was able to make the blocks turn yet. She replied, “No, they …

Continue reading ‘3V1181.1’ »

3V1179.1

3V1179.01 Counting Plates with numbers in various ranges (4/15/81) Peggy loves to help empty the dishwasher. After stacking the small plates on the shelves, she began counting: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, etc…18… She continued from stack to stack, using ‘big’ numbers as well, “eighty, ninety, tendy” repeating them as well as smaller …

Continue reading ‘3V1179.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1171.3’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1171.1’ »

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.

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. …

Continue reading ‘3V1160.2’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1156.1’ »

3V1153.1

3V1153.01 Peggy volunteers a spelling: letters instead of words (3/23/81) Miriam worked on her school work in the dining room, writing a composition. She called out to her mother , “How do you spell ‘couples’?” Peggy volunteered an answer, “L, N, G, P, L.” While Gretchen supplied a more nearly standard one. A few seconds …

Continue reading ‘3V1153.1’ »

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’ »

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’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1124.1’ »

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’ »

3V1105.2

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1105.2’ »

3V1104.2

3V1104.02 Solla Sollew: just how long is the title ? (1/30(81) Peggy came to me and asked, ‘Will you read this book (in her hand) about Solla Sollew…(pause) on the banks of the beautiful river Wahoo… where they never have troubles…or at least very few. (Bob suggests she may think this entire spiel is the …

Continue reading ‘3V1104.2’ »

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’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1100.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1096.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1091.1’ »

3V1089.1

3V1089.01 Explanation by wrong causal inference. [Cold hands. Because the wood is cold.] (1/15/81) Peggy sat before the stove while I loaded some logs in. My hands were cold (perhaps I had recently been outside). The logs were from the living room, and warm. What is striking here is Peggy’s assumption that a causal inference …

Continue reading ‘3V1089.1’ »

3V1084.1

3V1084.01 Counting Irregularities (1/10/81) Peggy “counts,” ie. recites the number names in a quasi-standard fashion. (omitting “seven” more often than including it.) Although she has put objects in one to one correspondence, she has not done so successfully in the standard sense. She counted on her fingers today showing no non-standard variations. First she counted …

Continue reading ‘3V1084.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1071.7’ »

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” …

Continue reading ‘3V1069.3’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1069.2’ »

3V1069.1

3V1069.01 Planning a trip: to B-A-S-T-G-A-K (12/26/80) Peggy wants very much to go along whenever I go to Boston. She loves to travel anywhere beyond the house , and argues she should go and the older children stay home because “Some kids are too little to be left alone.” I hate to let her overhear …

Continue reading ‘3V1069.1’ »

3V1066.1

3V1066.01 Reading letters: new development (12/23/80) Peggy often gives evidence of not distinguishing words from letters. (See especially her play with letters in the past videotaped sessions). Consequently, it was quite surprising today to hear Peggy saying letter names as she poked around in Scurry’s food bag. My best appreciation was that she pointed at …

Continue reading ‘3V1066.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1065.1’ »

3V1063.2

3V1063.02 Reciting number names: varied responses to correction (12/20/80) I drove to New Haven. Miriam and Peggy came along for the ride. On the return trip, Peggy stood behind and between the two front seats of the Saab, holding on and exclaiming amazedly at nearly everything seen. As I drove from I-91 down onto route …

Continue reading ‘3V1063.2’ »

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”, …

Continue reading ‘3V1063.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1043.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1035.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1033.1’ »

3V1029.1

3V1029.01 Graphics as names (11/16/80) Peggy sat on the floor, a large Richard Scary book opened to the title page which was decorated with the drawing of a large moose. The words, of course, were the title of the book. Peggy read it: “That say ‘moose’.”

3V1022.2

3V1022.02 Appetite for Reading: (in text between two notes written up on 11/12) Back in May, Peggy began to request a Tintin in her crib at night. Sometimes she “read” it, but many times she just wanted to have it there before she would lie down and go to sleep. And of course, it would …

Continue reading ‘3V1022.2’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1015.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1013.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1011.1’ »

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 …

Continue reading ‘3V1010.2’ »

3V1010.1

3V1010.01 Playing with coins: progressive discrimination (10/26/80) After P143 (where we played with many coins) Peggy found the pile of change and asked me to join her in playing with them on the floor. As we did so, Peggy separated them and said, “I’m picking the big pennies out and putting them on the floor.” …

Continue reading ‘3V1010.1’ »