Common Sense
Vn55.1 About Taxes 8/1/77 Since the beginning of the High School Studies Program, the children and I have come to Logo to use the system from 8 to 10 am. One consequence is that we occasionally skip breakfast. Even when we do not, the children have become accustomed to mid-morning snacks. The favorite: apple pie …
Vn54.1 More Arithmetic 7/31/77 While I was having lunch, Miriam came (in her bathrobe from the tub) and asked me if I could divide 79. I asked by what. Miriam didn’t answer but moved away. I pursued the question: “What do you know that’s a 79?” Miriam replied, “They said it’s 2 for 79, the …
Vn53.1 A Birthday Party 7/28/77 Robby’s birthday comes in August. Connecticut friends whom he would like to have at a party can not come to Boston. When he suggested an early party during our vacation, we agreed. Preparations for the party focused on choosing activities and procuring treats and prizes. If you have ‘prizes’ at …
Vn52.1 Fort Griswold 7/26/77 From many places in Boston when you look to the north you can see the obelisk on Bunker Hill rising above the buildings of Charlestown. There is a similar but smaller monument in Connecticut, at the site of the lone major battle of the Revolutionary War that took place in that …
Vn51.1 Paper Ships 7/25/77 This has been a rainy, midsummer day with both children at home in an acoustically live house. Having slept ill last night, under pressure of the noise and our common confinement, I went to bed early. When the children failed to fall silent instantly, I “yelled” at them, i.e. I told …
Vn50.1 The Go-Cart 7/25/77 Kept inside on a rainy day and with me working in the living room, Robby and Miriam were constrained to play quietly (more or less) in the kitchen-dining area of our Connecticut house. Since we vacationed in an unfurnished house, they had few of their usual toys and a limited selection …
Vn48.1 Tenable Explanations 7/23 & 25/77 7/23 We drove to town late in the afternoon. In the clear sky, Miriam could see a bright half moon (I could not from my seat). “If you were on the moon, Daddy, what would happen when it got skinnier and skinnier? Would you get bumped off?” I couldn’t …
Vn43.1 Binary Counting 7/7/77 At dinner this evening, the topic of counting on fingers arose. After performing some finger sum, Miriam turned to Robby with 2 fingers of her left hand raised and all the fingers of her right and asked: Miriam Robby, how much is this? Robby 7. Miriam No. It’s 25. Tricked by …
Vn42.1 7/6/77 Because the High School Studies Program begins next week and the lab will be filled with teenagers all day every day, we moved into my office the equipment not to be used by the high school students: the slot machine, the floor turtle, and the music box. Since moving things around brings change …
Vn41.1 7/5-7/77 Whenever we ride to Logo in the MG, Miriam has a standing request that we follow Memorial Drive down past the underpass at Massachusetts Avenue. The children like the magnification of their voices provided when they shout in a closed place. Over the past several years, we have agreed that they may do …
Vn40.1 Logo After Hours 7/4/77 During the bicentennial year Miriam was too young to enjoy the fireworks. She was frightened by the noise of amateurs’ exploding firecrackers and so sleepy by 9 o’clock that we abandoned a half- hearted attempt to watch the display from the vantage of Corey Hill in Brookline. Radio forecasts promised …
Vn034.01 Candle Fire Crackers 6/23/77 We usually dine by candlelight. We enjoy making candles and using them, and the ill distribution of light in our dining area makes this practice a useful enjoyment. Having agreed that he will not play with fire, Robby has the responsible job of candle man: he brings the candles to …
Vn031.01 Collecting Tolls 6/19/77 Robby and Miriam each receive a nominal ‘allowance’ weekly, regardless of whether they’ve been ‘good’ or ‘bad’ or done what we parents have wanted them to. They know it is computed by multiplica- tion: for each child the ‘allowance’ is 5¢/year times the child’s age. Thus Miriam recently began receiving 30¢/week. …
Vn56.1 TicTacToe 7/19/77 These games of tic-tac-toe followed immediately the arithmetic of Home Session 13. The focus of the session is on the bipolar (i. e. competitive) quality of tic-tac-toe. This focus is maintained by contrasting the game with playing SHOOT around the issue of clever tactics. (My moves are numbers; Miriam’s are letters.) Game …
Vignette 27.1 Emberley’s Faces (2) 6/17/77 A large portion of Miriam’s drawings during the past year have taken the form of presents she makes to others. She has spoken of them as presents many times. One formal element of these notes reflects that character. Each typically bears a tag of the form: “TO _______/ LOVE, …
Vn004.01 The Clever Hack (2) 5/12/77 At dinner this evening we talked over some of the incidents of the day. It had been one of novelty for Robby. His friend John (the son of a former naval officer with whom Robby shares an interest in naval battles and model building) came to Logo with Robby …
Vignette 25.1 TicTacToe (4) 6/3/77 Miriam wanted to play a few games of tic-tac-toe before going to bed this evening. After vignette 15’s instruction in the proper ordering of three rules, 1. Look for a way to win (complete a row of three) 2. Look for a way to lose (make all forced moves) 3. …
Vn024.01 Writing Stories Robby called me from Miriam’s bedroom: “Dad, come see the puppet show.” They have played with, even made, hand puppets for a while and enjoy giving shows — whose typical script has been, “Hello, my name is Owl. Goodbye.” I was in high spirits after a very successful arithmetic session with Miriam …
Vn019 Rehearsal 6/2/77 Last night Miriam asked me to come to kindergarten this morning to help out with a rehearsal of ‘Goldilocks.’ (see Logo Session 17, 5/1). When Miriam began showing an interest in plays (cf. Vignette 3), I mentioned to her that those years I spent at Yale were in the Drama School, that …
Vn017A Arithmetic Ripples 5/28/77 After the session in which I introduced Miriam to adding large numbers (see Home Session 4, 5/28), passing Miriam’s room I noticed in her open loose-leaf book a page of computation. Miriam later gave it to me and I include it as Addendum 17 – 1. Note that the written form …
Vn015 Tic tac toe 5/24/77 Miriam emerged from her bath not at all ready for bed but looking for someone to play with her. I agreed she could stay up and that we could play together while Robby was getting ready for bed. The game was my choice. My objective was to induce Miriam’s copying …
Vn014.1 Housekeeping Corner 5/24 & 27/77 Since Miriam started recounting where she spends her time in kindergarten (see Vignette 12), it has become clear that she spends most of her time in the ‘housekeeping corner.’ When I’ve been in the kindergarten class, I’ve usually found myself playing with blocks, or making designs and elaborate towers …
Vn012 Miriam Collecting Data 5/23/77 While the children were awaiting the school bus this morning, I noticed the little blue notebook in which Miriam was to record her kindergarten activities. I took it out and offered it to her. She said she didn’t want it when I reminded her what it was for and then …
Vn011.01 Taking Hints 5/22/77 One of Miriam’s proudest achievements since her 6th birthday had been learning to successfully ride her bike without training wheels. Because it had been her custom to make a considerable fuss on the occasion of a small scrape (from tripping over the dog, for example), I was disinclined to help Miriam. …
Vn009.01 Tic Tac Toe (2) 5/22/77 Miriam asked Robby to play with her this afternoon, offering “Sorry,” “Raggedy Ann” and “Chinese Checkers.” All were refused. Robby finally agreed to playing TIC TAC TOE. I asked the children to come sit in the reading alcove. They did so while I got out my tape recorder. Two …
Vn008.05 Ping Pong Balls 5/19/77 Miriam continued playing with the hula hoop at Logo throughout this week. Since she is willing to watch other people and listen, adults incline to show her the things they enjoy and can do. This has caused me a problem. I will elaborate. At the beginning of the project, Miriam …
Vn008.03 Doing the Hula 5/12/77 Despite Miriam’s success with the foot centered hula twist, she was unable to keep the hoop from falling down. She holds the hoop with both hands in front and a part of it against her back. She throws it in one direction or the other, moving her trunk in no …
Vn008.02 The Lemon Twist 5/12/77 I had purchased the hula hoop in the morning and was setting up the music room for our later use when one of the boys in an on-going class from CAPS (the Cambridge Alternative School Program) asked if he could use the hula hoop. After doing a hula, he let …
Vn008.01 Hula Hoop Analogies One of the most active foci of developmental incidents so far has been Miriam’s use of the hula hoop. Four separate incidents come together as activities centered on this toy. How we came to buy a hula hoop — Our family was having dinner at the house of a Cambridge friend. …
Vn007.01 A Willing Subject 5/18/77 Today was the most difficult experiment of the initial series, separating the variables implicated in the flexibility of bending rods (Cf. The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence, Inhelder and Piaget). Of the many experiments through which one may distinguish concrete from formal thinking, this one shows best …
Vn006.02 Magic Words 5/15/77 Miriam tried again her ‘magic word’ game, “It begins with ‘p’ and ends with ‘e’.” The choice of time was unfortunate; I was in a hurry to some other purpose, so I snapped back “please.” “That’s not it,” Miriam claimed, for who can tolerate any conundrum’s immediate solution? Sensing my impatience, …
Vn005.01 Tic Tac Toe 5/13/77 Years ago I bought a tic-tac-toe game for playing with Robby. The board is 12 x 12; the X’s and O’s are large yellow pieces. At that time I taught Robby a single strategy for playing the game: look for two ways to win. Robby quickly became quite good at …
Vn003.02 Journals5/11/77 When collecting the data reported in ‘Pre-Readers’ Concept of the English Word,’ I was shown by one of the children, Tina, a 3×5 notebook her mother gave her for writing down any words she wanted to learn to read. I bought Miriam such a notebook (a green one) some weeks ago for such …
Vn002.01 Productive Cheating 5/9/77 Today was a difficult day. Snow in mid-May for a beginning. Before that problem appeared, Miriam came early with me in to Logo in our joint expectation of going to the Coop to buy a hula hoop. With that option closed by inclement weather, Miriam pushed me early in the afternoon …
Vn001.02 Commutativity 5/8/77 As I sat transcribing the dialogue from recent logo sessions, I heard Robby inquire of Gretchen, at work in the kitchen, how many were 5 twelves. Gretchen simplified the computation by elaborating the problem: 5 twelves is half of 10 twelves. How much is 10 twelves? As Robby worked away on that …
Vn 001.01 Everyday Calculation 5/7/77 Miriam suffered a queasy stomach today, so she didn’t join us at our evening meal. She lay on the loveseat near our dining area. The speakers for our radio are directly behind the loveseat, thus more enforcing Miriam’s attention than ours. During a radio commercial we others chose to ignore, …