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r. mhm. comma? nope you're missing a... a period I mean. no. e? yep. r. nope you're all set. huh [frustration]. that's it. where. I wish you were. mhm. here. I was like where. hm. where here. mhm. hair. ah [surprise] www [laughs]. [laughs]. erase it. [laughs]. she's writing hair. oh [laughs]. wish you were hair. here like hair. those hard homonyms.
[sighs deeply]. [sighs deeply]. okay. wish you were hairy I guess. www [laughs] wish you were here. can I have a piece? okay so how do you write here? h e r e. %int: chewing mhm. alright. r e. okay can I say something? sure. please write back. [points to sentence; Chi has written right] okay period is good. you mean like writing a letter back to you? you know what this means? [points to right] right. that's your right hand. you wanna erase it? [laughs]. [MOT erases right] then how will I fit it? oh you can finish. that's not a big word. you can fit in there. what should I write?
okay. words. write. please write back. what's the first letter? r. no. please write [strangely enunciated]. %int: whispers w? mhm. w r! mhm. very good. i. mhm. g. nope nope nope. [giggles]. write www [laughs]. t? yeah. e. very good. you knew how to spell the hard one. [laughs]. [laughs]. xxx write. that's the hard one to spell. oh yeah.
okay. please write back. very good. anything else? Mommy you're a very good tutor. %int: whispers can I write my name in cursive? dear who? [Chi wrote dear as sign-off] wait wait wait wait wait stop xxx [laughing]. [cries out]. dear what's this for? what is this? a dear. for what? dear Julie! yeah but you already said hi Julie up here. [points] so you don't need dear. [sighs]. okay y can you erase that for me? mhm. are you finished with your letter? yeah. okay. love C. do you want... love Chi. very good. [laughs].
okay. and you can write your name in cursive yes. I don't write it very well. that's alright. it's just like signing your name. that's very nice. okay. why don't you put um... oh I like that Chi! %int: with wamth and conviction you make a good w! wow! that was neat. I can't even do that. [laughs]. very good. why don't you put a comma here. you wanna read it? very good. excellent. do you wanna try reading it? huh? do you wanna read it? yeah. okay. excellent. yeah! I like that w. it's okay. I'll rip it [letter] off [off pad].
don't worry about it. it's hard. they start to... okay why don't you read it honey. abcd... %int: singing date. shh shh. date March twelfth nineteen ninety three. hi Julie I miss you. come back soon. please write back. I wish you were here. love Chi. nice. is Julie your friend that moved? mhm. she's um... she she useta be my teacher. her teacher. oh! last year? she w... she no... no she just moved a month ago to Washington. aw. she's living at Washington D C. D C. yeah? where the president lives.
is she living with the President? [laughs]. [laughs]. no probably not. nah. great. thank you very very much you did a nice job. can I please have some [? one] more cheese? nice r-s. [looking at Chi's cursive signature] oh look at the w. and h s. the w just impressed me. oh with the little extra www [laughs]. oh my God! can I see the w? yeah you can see w. see the fancy w. that w is beautiful. %int: sincerely and enthusiastically [EXP translates curvy motion of w into sounds] with the www www [curling sound]. I love that. you must be practicing when you're famous and you're gonna sign your autograph. [laughs]. I never did that when I was in school. I can't do that. [laughs]. that's really good Chi. super job.
= = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/tamlw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 4] so however you two wanna do it. do you want? you wanna write it? [nods] print it? with a take your time. you want her name up at the xxx and see what we wanna write it with. and what do you wanna write about? okay [? Chi]. can you think of anything to write about xxx? you know what my teacher's name is? %add: INV2 Mrs Hamilton Mrs Newman. no Mrs Ford. Mrs Ford. I love xxx um... [like when drawing, Chi works quietly and intensely] Mrs. can you remember many things when they went to Disney World? this [picture on refrigerator] is upside down. that was four years ago. can you remember many things to write about that? when we went to Disney World? sure. huh? [shakes head] no?
you [laughs]. alright I'll hafta figure something out here. you putting this [picture] upside down. oh okay put it the right way. %add: BRO I don't know. alright can you think of something? [nods] mm. what are you gonna put? oh okay. who you gonna write it to? xxx dear. 'kay. okay you hafta put a comma after that [dear mom]. [points] after mom. dear mom. put a comma after mom. okay. mommy. %int: mumbling mommy. what? %add: to Bro xxx candy. [BRO is hugging Mot, and Sis is watching Chi over Mot's shoulder] huh? mm. oh Chi you gotta leave a space xxx.
you could take your time a little bit. okay wait a minute. you hafta leave a space don't you? [Chi starts to write lovey, love you as one word and then crosses out the y and writes you after] write those words. you're sposta leave a space though. okay wait a minute now. alright. put a period? period. no! [laughs]. what's that gonna be? oh xxx. okay. xxx love. remember about the space. a little bit of space after your words. [Chi writing second I love you?] 'member? okay p. now you can put a period. and can you think of anything else? nice? what to me? t o m e. okay again put your period but you forgot to put your space. okay I'm just gonna put the e... [moves letter toward herself and changes thay to they.] okay that's sposta be they.
%add: EXPs? okay um. alright xxx. [writing] how do you spell cousin? alright leave a small space. c o u s i n. um put an s. what? cousins you're gonna say? no. [shakes head] give me xxx. how do you spell Tony? [has already written t o] t o n y. no she's just still learning to print so some of her's you're gonna notice that should be capitalized are not and so forth. [MOT is talking to INV2] [Chi continues writing] I'm not really correcting it that much. um what her teacher said it's important for them when they're first starting to write to not always correct their xxx little thing. I don't know if you ever heard of that xxx. but to just let them write when they're writin' a letter. and then she doesn't do corrections or anything but she'll just say that's a good letter you know. and but if there are some that are um you know like like them. she doesn't leave a space and so forth. they just usually tell 'em you should have left a space and this letter maybe she'll be. but not to correct every, each and every thing you don't hafta. that's why I'm not going along xxx that is. sometimes then it's twice as long and the thing'll be real real messy.
could get messy you know it's a... [laughs]. that's just the reason I'm not... how do you spell church? I'm just lettin' her write. %add: INV2 uh. how do you spell xxx church. yeah that's a u. [to INV2, but they'll get the idea; you know basically you'll get the main idea I'm sure of what the words should be; you know there might be, it's usually just one letter she might spell wrong] uhhuh. %add: MOT um. okay church is usually a u but see usually I just tell her the letters but xxx. %add: to EXPs I thought you knew the uh xxx the u. church on Sunday. I'll tell you how to spell out long word. okay a big s. u n d a y. [to INV2, it does take them a while if they don't know what should be capitalized and what shouldn't; that's more like kinda she gets mixed up on; and sometimes not leaving like a space after the words you know] how do you spell c c d? c c d? okay c c d. big c. per period. and then another big c. period and then a d. [writes a small d] okay that could have been a big one but it's okay.
just put the period though. [points] they'll [experimenters] still know. oh good. okay 'cause that goes xxx. [shows the letter?] you're all done? yeah. are you all done Chi? can you... can you read it to us Chi? can you read it now? dear mom. I love you. I love you all in my heart. [Chi consistently pauses when she reaches the end of a line] Chi. I... okay take your time xxx. she's reading. %add: SIS I love my nana and papa. they are nice to me. I love my cousin Joe and Tony. I go to church on Sundays. I go to c c d. oh good. very good. thank you!
= = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/suslw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 4] now what I'd like you to do is to write a letter to anyone in the world you wanna... and you can have your mom help you. um one thing though is we actually take the letter. so... you needta write a letter. %add: Chi xxx 'cause they wanna see your handwriting. among other things yeah. just write it to anyone you want and see how... if she doesn't know how to spell something. oh you can however she wants you to help her you can. how long of a letter? just the page I mean it doesn't really matter as much as... can I xxx d? %add: MOT it's your letter essentially and... hm? %add: Chi xxx d? hm? %add: Chi d! who you wanna write to? she wants you to... %add: Chi you want her to write a letter. %add: EXP you can write to...
you can write a letter to anybody... she thinks a letter like an a. oh oh I see. a letter. you know when you write someone a letter... %add: Chi like a letter... hi how are you? you know in the mail that type of letter? if you could write it... you could write it to Andrew or Dad you know... to anyone you wanna and you could have your mom help you however you want... you can write a letter but they're gonna take the letter. your mom can help you... okay. write it spell it whatever. who do you wanna write to? not a long letter. Nana. who? %add: Chi xxx be long. alright you wanna put the date. [points to the spot on the paper to write the date] %add: Chi [whispering] [Chi is writing and sounding out letters] that's good what's today? ninth. xxx dear nana.
%add: Chi she writes letters once a month to my mom and stuff... puts stickers and stuff on it that... does your mom live in xxx? %add: MOT Boston. oh xxx. oh right the one that you... %add: MOT %int: whispered [Chi is asking for help from Mot?] yeah. okay. %int: whispered %add: Chi I wonder if they have that bird on every tape they've made? yep [laughs]. do a study on her. ah [laughs softly]. you need periods? [points to end of sentence on page] what else? you wanna ask her how's... spell like. %add: MOT l i k e. how do you spell couch? %add: MOT c o u c h. she asked Nana if she liked her new couch because me and my sisters chipped in to...
my mother moved and her couch was a disaster. so we all chipped in so that's why she's saying out of the blue... oh. how do you like your couch? yeah really [laughing]. how much are we into furniture? %int: sarcastically [laughs]. how do you spell Ericka? %add: MOT e capital e. [Chi erases small e and puts a capital e] don't forget your capitals. %int: sing-song r i c k. no k xxx. [MOT corrects how Chi makes the k. Chi erases original and corrects it] a. now we have the name Ericka! tell who. %add: Chi [points to spot on page after tell] oh t. %int: sighs with frustration [Chi erases and rewrites] mhm that's right. [lots of noise in the background of trucks going by] xxx keep in touch? write it. xxx you can erase it.
just to make it xxx. there that's a good girl. now it's xxx gonna try. go ahead. yeah are you xxx? %add: Chi dear Nana I miss you. I will come out next week. I hope you like your couch. how is Ericka and Kristen. tell them I miss them. that's her cousins. that's a great letter! super! that's a real letter you wrote. [coughs]. too bad we can't send it [laughs]. good thanks a lot. = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/emilw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 4] okay the last thing to do is to write a short letter to whoever you wanna write to. oh! who you gonna write to? I'm not telling you. you're not gonna tell me? I'm gonna sit here and look. mm. no you're not! yes I am!
no you're not. know why? you wanna bet? because I'm gonna lock your eyes [giggles]! then how can you write? [EXP talking to other exp in background] no no. [laughs]. you don't write j... do you write with the right hand? yeah? how come? xxx left. [blip in tape?] whoops! xxx sorry. that's alright. and you're not gonna see! so I'm... okay. I'm not gonna write dear until after I write the letter. [writes?] know why Mama? why? 'cause it's someone you know. oh. I xxx. okay. I do it. I'll find out.
[laughs]. [laughs]. you don't know it's to you or Melissa. [I think she has written Dear M] I don't know who? it's to Melissa or you! so uh. it's to Melissa you? [laughs]. you don't know if it's to Melissa or you. oh [laughs]. or me? could be Melissa or it could be me? no. write neat [? me]. [Chi is covering the page so Mot can't see] [giggles]. [sighs]. Mom you still don't know what it is! [because Chi wrote the M for either Melissa or Mom???? or just because Mot can't see the page] alright alright. alright. you write. [laughs]. I'll do this. [collecting papers to put back into her briefcase Chi's sister had pulled them out] I'm gonna xxx. their name for xxx. %int: teasing go ahead.
I'm not looking. [laughs]. yes you are! [giggles]. [laughs]. I wrote to Melissa [laughing]. oh. uhoh. not to you. 'cause I... well. my feelings are definitely hurt Chi. oops I can't say it. [laughs]. why? I'm kidding though. write it. you need your hair in a ponytail girl. [fixes Chi's hair] no sir! 'cause I don't want you to see. %int: sing-song Mama? mhm. can I sleep upstairs tonight? why? we'll talk to xxx. [probably whoever sleeps upstairs, could be a different apartment] I asked her yesterday and I thought it was Friday. well I dunno.
we hafta talk to her. I don't hafta work in morning you know. [noise] I know. www [gasps] you don't? nope. yeah! but I'm still sleeping upstairs. you're excited when I don't have to go to work [laughing]. [writes] oh. uhoh. [sees that Chi started sentence with a lowercase letter] yeah? now am I sposta interrupt her? %add: EXP or... go ahead it's up to you [laughing] really. look it. look it what you just did! so. what did you just do? [laughs]. fix it. huh. I can't! go ahead! I'm writing in pen. well... [laughs].
you think I'll scribble off that and that and that? you're writing well. you don't hafta scribble all that off. but look at that. you started a sentence like that? uhoh I'm telling! [laughs]. bad! shut up [laughing]. want me to fix it? I'll fix it. no. do what you want. it's okay. I'm just pointing it out. [aft returns to her papers] oh. [yelps]. I know what the problem is Mama. what? that that's sposta be a capital. what's the problem? that's right! [laughs]. good going! [laughs]. [lots of paper rustling sounds in the meantime] xxx! okay go ahead. are you in a rush?
%add: EXP nope! I'm done! %int: sing-song yeah? you're done? you wrote a whole letter? [laughs]. wow let me see. I'm not gonna do that a capital. it's not a letter. that's a sentence. [banging on something] I know. [laughs]. I don't like write! I like writing only a little. [banging pen with each word] how come? 'cause I hafta use the right hand all the time! %int: sort of jokingly and never the left hand! well use your left hand. no! you think I'll write like this? hm [laughs]. [laughs]. do you want her to do more? or... it's really up to you.
whatever you want is fine. whatever I want or whatever she wants? whatever whatever. okay. are you sure... do you wanna read it back to us? [laughs]. just once. ouch! just once? ouch. do what? oh read it xxx. just once read it back to us? no. read it back to him. [laughs]. go ahead. I'm taking this out. okay you can take it out. read it back to him. [laughs]. you just read him a whole story! [laughs]. you don't wanna read him a sentence xxx? [laughs]. [kissing noise] who's Melissa? um one of my friends. %int: funny voice
[does SOMETHING] [laughs]. you are a silly goober. you're gonna sign it? [giggles]. [writes] are you left-handed or right-handed? um right. but I hafta use my left hand but I didn't. [writes] she's the first girl in my family who's not left-handed. really? yeah. all my aunts my mother my sister and myself are all left-handed. I'm the only person in my family who's right-handed. really? my brother and my father they're all... all done! %int: sing-song and all my sons were. yeah my brother and my father and my cousins are all left-handed. you forgot something. [the r in your friend] read that. what? %int: high-pitched voice read it! tell me what that says. oh! an r.
right. [laughs]. how about you friend yeah. alright! = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/monlw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 4] oh well this one's pretty exciting. this is a letter writing xxx. yeah! what do I hafta write? well... what you're gonna do is write a letter to whomever you want. anybody in the whole wide world. um and your mom can help you write it. or whatever help you need. I have to go to xxx. okay. okay. [tape stops and then starts again] um here's a piece of paper. do you wanna use the letter chart? no. what would you like to write with? [puts different pencils and pens on the table] pencil or pen? well you can't write with me! you want a pencil or a pen? %add: Chi www [loud intake of breath] xxx.
oh. [laughs]. Mom Dusty [dog] got hit... pencil. by a car. 'kay. [MOT and Sis tell EXP stories about dogs that have been run over; Chi signs her name at top of page while waiting for them to finish so she can start] okay go sit. %add: SIS I wanna watch. okay. so xxx gonna write a letter? I'm gonna write a letter to you. %add: MOT okay write it. okay. mhm. jittergoofball. I'm gonna write them all in capital letters. oh that's not how you write a letter. I don't care. no you do it right. it's funny the way you have a pencil with an eraser huh? can't find one around here. hm. [chuckles]. hey don't look this is for you. %add: MOT oh okay I'm sorry. hm.
[MOT and Sis talking about someone outside] [sneezes]. God bless you! bless you. [sneezes]. bless you again. thank you. Mama? what? %int: softly come here. huh? %int: softly how do you spell because? beca. becca. e oops. e a. I know you'll think I'm xxx. I write sloppy [chuckles]. yes you do. hm [laughs]. you write like you father [chuckles]. where's Sis? a. a. u. %add: SIS [SIS goes out the door to look for SIS2] a u.
I did u. s e. how do you spell special? s p... is it e? it's... I don't know I forgot [chuckles]. s p e a c i l. right special xxx [laughs]. gotta whip out the dictionary sometimes! %add: EXP hm [laughs]. [SIS comes back in] [discussing what SIS2 was doing outside] Jesus Christ you think he doesn't know what he's doing next store. [gets up to look out window] [MOT acts fairly disengaged at this point and lets Chi write on her own] he's been working on that door for like three hours [chuckles]... and he still hasn't fixed it. see my five sentences! %add: MOT I love Mom because she is special. oh isn't that nice. %int: sarcastically what are you looking for? huh? [laughs]. = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/todlw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 4]
just write a short letter together. okay. you want him to write it though right? however you wanna work together. yeah. okay. what a short letter? okay who do you wanna write a sh letter to? Wendy. to Wendy? okay. are you gonna write it to Wendy or to Melissa xxx? [maybe last name] to all of 'em. to all of them? yeah. okay. you wanna write it? yeah. okay. dear... whoops. d. xxx d. [writes a lower case d] no. that's not a d? oh that is a d yeah. I'm getting mixed up xxx [laughing]. %add: to EXPs
um but you hafta make a capital d. I forgot to tell you that. oh what are you doing sir... I mean... that's alright leave it like that. no. you can leave it like that and we can just fix it when we're all done with the whole letter. d e a r. okay. and Wendy. capital letter. what's that? dear um... w? is that what they call them in school or is it upper case? %add: to EXPs capital letter. %add: to EXPs they call it capital... %add: to EXPs you know what a capital letter is don't you? no. a big letter instead of a you know... yeah I know. but what is it? w. am I really xxx? e... what? am I really giving this to her?
yeah if you want. I need an eraser. n. %add: SIS [tells to go to her room] okay. %add: MOT and what else? d y. what's a y? the one you can't say. what else? %int: slurred okay now you need a little comma there. you know what a comma is? [nods head] okay. now on this line you write what you wanna write. [points to line] what do you wanna write? um when are you coming back? you wanna write how are you first? yeah! okay. do you know how to spell how? no. h o w. how are a... a. [writes]
r oop! you gotta... okay next time when you're doin' a new word you hafta move it over a little more. [starts to move Chi's hand, then points] r e. now move it over a little bit. um y. this is you okay? is that y? yeah. o u. nope that's a y. [Chi spelled you as yoy] [whines]. u in you. okay. and then a period. oh no. I don't mean a period [giggling]. I mean... comma. nope not a comma. you need... [starts to take pen] what's it called? %int: quietly a question mark. question mark [laughing]. what's that? a question mark.
okay lemme see. I'll do that for you. [takes pen] no it's uh... [takes pen back] you know what it is? it's like... after a question. right. okay good. and you wanna write when are you coming? back. back. okay w h e n. n. oh. but this hasta be a capital. [takes pen and corrects when] um okay now make a space for the next word. that says when are is a... got enough room? r. what else? r. [laughs]. e. okay and when are... %int: to self you is y o u. see just like here y o u.
[points to previous you in the letter.] y o u. [writing] coming c o m... c o m. [writing] [SIS2 asks when dinner is ready in the background] i n g. i n g. [writing] great remember when you start a new word you hafta move it over a little bit okay. how how will she know what I'm saying? she can read that. and then there's period at the end of that. oh no there's a question mark again [laughing]. 'cause that's a question. Mommy he put an e xxx. %add: MOT [points to letter] e in where? %add: SIS2 right here. [points to letter] y o u that's xxx. %add: to SIS2 um okay now what else do you wanna write? um. happy Thanksgiving. okay. wait a minute.
let me see. how are you when are you coming okay? h. it hasta be a capital h. 'cause it's at the beginning of a new sentence. a p p y. that's happy. now a new word Thanksgiving. what's this? that says happy. Thanks what else? mm you might wanna start here because it's gonna be a long word. t h... it has gotta be capital. oh wait yeah t h [laughs]. t h e? a n. what? %int: softly a n. k s. k s. g i v. what's a g? oh yeah. what else? i v. i v. i n g. i n g.
period. period. anything else? nope. that's it? yep. can you rip that off so I can send it to her? well you gotta write your name on it [laughs]. oh. you're gonna to write love Chi or what? yeah love Chi. okay you put it down here. [points to bottom of page] l o v e. l o v e. what is that [v]? [the v in the word love but it looks like a y] v. that's a y. that's why you keep getting mixed up. love. [writing] and you know your name. j o h... %int: to self while writing love Chi. can we send it to her tomorrow? [laughs]. [laughs]. well we'll hafta take it with us and make a copy of it we can bring it back afterwards.
yeah they are going to take it with them. you want us to send it for you? yeah. and that way it might get to her... in Florida. in Florida? if you... we can do another one okay? that way you can draw a picture with it okay? can you read it to us? dear Wendy... how... what's that? you said it how. that's right. how are you doing. where's doing? we didn't put doing in [laughing]. [laughs]. [laughs]. what did I put? that's the end. how are you. and then you said something else. when are you comin'. %int: hesitantly but more fluently than Very Hungry Caterpillar happy Thanksgiving love Chi. great. = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/guylw5.cha = = =
[Home Visit 5; Chi sits on the floor with the pad of paper on the table.] because now we have one more school like thing to do here. and it's not too. xxx think it's school. you're right you're right. I do that all the time and I'm not in school. a b c that's a b c. you're right you're right. www [giggles] I like to write. um anyways what it is is if you could write a letter to anyone in the whole wide world. um and your mom can help you. who would you write a letter to? um. no no no. Iris? Sandra. like my friends. Iris is his girlfriend from school. %add: EXP oh! ew. no. in the whole wide world who would you write a letter to? Sandra. not Sandra! my friends! my friends. okay go ahead. his friends. [giggles].
here. let him do it and then I'll www [laughs] help if he needs me. alright? ah [sighs]. want this off? is it in the way? hm. okay. [did you get xxx.] [I have to go to work at three.] [yeah I'll say.] yeah xxx. okay. dear. who? dear who? Frans? who's that? friends. oh. okay. dear friends. [doesn't matter how he writes right?] yeah however he writes is fine. huh? I needta xxx. o. what do you wanna write okay? yeah. o kI k.
k. oh yeah. [laughs]. o k. o k. %int: sort of sing-song I think there might be a letter chart. is there a letter chart in this one? it's on the cover. yeah it is. oh if you wanna look. that's fine. where's the k? find the k. right. okay. hm. cool. okay start over here. [tries to get Chi to start text on line under greeting] I got xxx more room up there. okay. finish the xxx [laughs]. I'm trying to get him to write a letter and he uh www [laughs]. alright dear friends right [? write] on the same line and keep writing his letter. [laughs]. [laughs]. [during this section Chi may be sounding out words in the background, but it isn't clear] well. okay.
xxx first grade. that's a start. mhm good start. great. you're okay. xxx write www [laughs]. mhm. oops. hm? yeah get him out of there. and you're happy. [giggles]. xxx T. what's ss? no look it there. s? c? s what? no. what's... look up here. [wants to check front cover of notepad for letter he is looking for] h? h. huh? no. what? how do you write th? how do you write th? yeah.
what's the word? how do I write th. t h. oh yeah. th. [any word he is trying to get he tells me how do you write th.] [t h he's trying to get.] uhhuh. the? or what? or ch. t h what? there. oh okay there. E e. a. er. there [sounding out]. okay do it the way you want it. there okay. [I got an idea about what he wants to write] [laughs]. I hope you're happy there. a. uhhuh. [this is for his friend Sandra she used to live on the first floor.] oh. [and they're German so they were teaching him how to speak German.] ah! and her.
uhhuh. [and uh they just they moved.] oh. so. that's xxx. [he misses them a lot oh he was real close with them.] [MOT talking to EXP about how Chi and the neighbors had slumber parties] your dog. and your. that's a bog. dog. uhhuh. dog. dog you wrote the b instead of the d. oh. [erases the b and changes it to d] dog. okay that's good. too. and your dog too. huh. we're done? that looks great. do you want to sign your name and stuff? [points to the bottom line on the right side of the paper] your whole name over here? from... I know. right. from who?
very good. you wanna try reading it? no. wanna read it to us? okay xxx. dear friends I hope you're okay and you're happy there and your dog too. from Chi. super. yeah. they had a dog too? yeah. oh nice xxx... Charlie his dog's name was Charlie. you miss the dog too? oh yeah. wow. did it live near by or far away? downstairs. but I mean when they moved. did they move far away or? yeah they live near the xxx. oh. yeah. good. well thank you very much Chi that's a great job. mhm. that was fun huh you wrote a letter? now you can write letters to your cousins. in Florida.
= = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/raulw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 5] now. do I hafta write something? what we need... if you could write a letter. yeah! to whomever you want. anyone in the whole wide world. here's a pencil. and here's some paper. and you can write it. your Mom can help ya. however you wanna do it. okay. give me that paper. 'kay! I know what you're doing. huh? okay right here. come on xxx. write a letter to Daddy. [laughs]. God I didn't hafta whisper that huh? go 'head. I need a minute. d. write it like this. you know how to write. you did it before.
what? xxx the a nice book. oh this is nice. what xxx... xxx wait! how to write um. what's the word? no just write a letter. it doesn't matter. just write a letter. write anything? write a letter to Daddy! %int: impatiently how you write a letter to Daddy? didn't we write a letter to Daddy before? yes. so write a letter to Daddy. Ma you hafta help. [smiles] I am! I don't know what to write. write dear Daddy. no that's fine. no b xxx. he gets his b... he can't write... he gets his b confused with the d. %add: EXP [sounding out Dad?] uh everyone does that.
I think. I didn't write to Dabby. [laughs]. see now you're nervous. what? I don't wanna hear excuses. now notice this here. %add: EXP this is what he wrote. uhhuh. [MOT shows EXP letter Chi has written in school] this is what he wrote in school now. remind you. that's what he wrote in school. yes. okay he brings that home to me. Mom because that is this ain't the same paper as that. now. it's a it still has lines on it! %int: with frustration so then when he writes I'm like this here's what I say to my son when he had took the letter up to the school to the teacher right after. I said excuse me. I said... is this my son's penmanship or did you write this for him? she says... no that's Chi's penmanship. but yet watch this here. go ahead. I'm xxx. I wondered if I make him nervous.
[laughs]. let me see honey. get out of here. see when he gets nervous... look at this. hm. you see what I'm sayin'? yeah yeah not bad I mean that's actually very neat to be honest with you [laughing]. I think it looks pretty nice. %int: laughs but I think it could be a little bit better. well here. tell Daddy how you feel. Ma you gotta help. %int: whining I know. I am gonna help after you mess up. just wait. do you miss him or what? %int: impatiently Ma what to write? dear daddy. see that's not right. dear daddy what? dear daddy. what um. I'm writin' this letter uh okay. just write dear daddy I miss you and hope and be glad when you come home. there. no it goes down on the next line.
[MOT points to next line] okay. I miss you. no write I am. just go ahead and write I am. [Chi erases what he has written and writes I am] xxx I. [mouths letters as he writes them] [coughs]. yeah I am trying. [Chi shows Mot letter] trying. how you spell trying? don't look at that. spell trying. e uh i. try spell try. t r y. thank you Peanut [nickname for Chi]. take your time. didn't Mommy always tell you take your time? let me see it here. right ch... okay but you just forgot the i. i n g. I'm trying to. I'm trying to be a good. to be. trying to be. be a.
be a good boy. good boy. %int: softly trying to be a good boy at home. at! at home. and. and. mhm. in school. and in school. Ma I hafta go to the bathroom. home and in school Peanut. it's xxx coming xxx. school. and in school. huh. school. yeah [laughs] he did that before. write school. take your time. write school and then you can go to the bathroom. how do you spell school? [MOT hides paper from Chi] oh I forget the s. how do you spell school? s. mhm. c h o o l. are you nervous?
no. see Chi that's why I ask you to take your time. you didn't hafta go to the bathroom do you? yes! then go to the bathroom. then come back and correct it. little things like this will get you in trouble. trying to be a good boy at home and in school. xxx bathroom xxx. yeah. [EXP explains to Mot that her payment check will take a few weeks to process. Then Mot takes the conversation on a long tangent by talking about a mutual acquaintance of EXP and herself. For excerpt see RICLW5.MIS.] do you wanna fix the school? now you gotta put the s on it. thanks. sure. let me see. xxx I wanna see. I'm tryin' to read it. should be good boy at home and in school. um okay. I miss you very much. m s s? m a or m i? m i s s? mhm. do you see a coat here? hanger put it there [laughing]. what? gotta try what Mommy? I miss you.
very much. mhm. you don't xxx Chi. I miss you all? should have said my brother and I miss you very much. hm? it's too late now. I miss you very much. [MOT peers over letter] I miss you very much. now let me see. [Chi pulls back] I'm not done. what's the a doing here for? let me see. you got it upside down. what's the a doing here for? what a doing there? the a goes like this. don't mind that you. I think it's xxx how to make 'em. so you know how to make 'em. if you need help learning to write how does a xxx go. like um right here... oh. see? just like you have in school. why don't you try it 'cause I... okay this says I miss you very much. count the days when you're coming home.
count the days when you're coming home? %int: baffled mhm just write what I say. okay. I can't wait 'til you come home. I can't www [exasperation]. [laughs]. stop playing xxx. okay just write I can't wait 'til you come home. can't wait to you come home? mhm. I can't! %int: forcefully okay. [laughs]. then sign it off love and miss you. love and xxx. or I can't xxx. what did I just say to write? can't... wait... I can't I can't wait 'til you come home. %int: vehemently mhm. I can't wait to see you. whichever way you think is better. can't wait to boomboom [? see you]. can't wait to see you. I can't wait see you. %int: strained voice
remember now we've gotta make it short 'cause we don't have much paper. Ma look at all this paper! I know on that side. we're not gonna write all that much. we could write it on the back. Chi close it up. close it up! and finish. finished it. finish. close it up. finish it up. close it up! %int: impatient now how many times did I say that? uh twice. was it three times? thank you. [laughs softly]. Mama. go ahead. www [kissing noise] dear daddy. no. can't wait. can't wait to see you. I can't. can't. good boy. yeah how do you spell can't? c a.
a. and capital t. what? it's like c a n apostrophe t. thank you. [laughs]. and a capital xxx. [yells at little Bro to go into her, turn on the tv, and not to touch anything on her dresser] %int: angrily after t is what? wait. I can't wait. can't wait... to see you. to see you. %int: whispers see you. period. now xxx. question mark. what is that? it's a question mark. looks like. what's that? you see? is it? what? a period! is it a period or a question mark? period.
and when is there a question mark? it's fine Mom. okay stop playing around. and write love Chi. ha love baby! what did I say to write? Chi. look. just write love Chi. and I really don't like that penmanship xxx. that's alright. you were rushing. that's the way like this one here. Mommy 'cause this paper's not like that paper. Chi it's has lines on the paper. the big one. [relief]. right! let's see. great. you wanna read it to us real fast? could you read it? no! you help me read it? read it read it. I help you so you read it. dear daddy I am trying to be a good boy at home and in school. I miss you very much I can't wait to see you love Chi. good. [EXP claps]
bravo. how many i-s did you use in here? did you notice that? you used too many i-s. I. I am I miss I can't. www [laughs] oh well. and wait is spelled what Chi? how you spell wait? w a t e. no buddy. don't spell it the way you hear it. the way it sounds is just wait. w ate. how you spell wait? oh w. mhm. eigh. no that's the weight how much you weigh. oh. huh there's too many waits. w try w a i t. okay w a i t e. [wait is spelled correctly in end product] no w a i t. Chi that's what keep you from getting that uh uh certificate in school. see what I'm saying? you wrote w a t e instead of w a i t. there's a lot of way of spelling. I told you they tricky.
[laughs]. weight w ei t and w uh... see I don't think there's is. = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/zanlw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 5] okay well this next job is um if you can write a letter to somebody and it can be anybody in the world and the only thing is we are going to keep the letter okay we're going to hafta take it with us so you can write a letter whatever you wanna anybody in the world okay? and then you can read it out loud. [laughs]. alright? okay. I don't know. who you gonna write to? you. you're gonna write to me? so write me a letter. anything you want. don't work good. yeah it does. it doesn't work? no. how you say love? www [laughs] v e. v e. I love. should I help him with the spelling or should he just write it the way he... %add: EXP um. it doesn't really matter if you feel like helping him it's fine. it's up to you how you do it.
I love Mommy. m o m m y. and. ay. are you writing and? yep. a n d. a n d. then erase it. how about that? hm. and. how do you spell my? my? m y. m y. [sounds like is talking while writing] sis how do you spell sister? s i s. s i s. t e r. t e r. [radio or tv now heard in background, playing music] s. s. get it all? that's it? gotta put by Carlos. by Carlos? b y.
b y. mhm. b y. d. b y. and your name. okay. okay you all done? now read it. yep. wanna read it out loud? okay. I love mommy and my sisters. [giggles]. oh that's nice. and what's the end? what did you write after that? say it. by Carlos. very nice. [laughs]. you did a very nice job. thank you. = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/alllw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 4] your mom can help you. you can do xxx. get up. you stay with me.
mhm. your mom can help you if she wants. mhm. okay? oh. xxx this paper. mm. I don't know what to do. you know what to do. xxx write a letter? dear. %int: whining dear Miss White. how do you spell... d. Mrs. mm. d how do you spell dear? d. capital d. big d? yep. how do you spell... is that correct? look it. hm. you gotta write a d. d. don't be silly. [laughs].
d. xxx this letter. a. r. mhm. dear xxx. I don't know who. %int: whining Kyle or... no no. Krystal? hm. me? hm. Papa? hm. %int: more forceful each time Grandma? hm. Grandpa? hm. Murphy? no way Jose. well pick somebody. help me out [laughing]. [laughs]. Tatanna. I don't know how to spell her name. write t a t. no way.
xxx I'll pick somebody else. well hurry up. do you know how to spell um Cara? mhm. c. capital c. big c? yes. xxx look at that. [points to alphabet in the notebook.] a. xxx I can think. dear Cara. okay. what are you gonna write? [whispers] you gotta write something [giggling]. I said xxx [whispers]. let me write that at the end. you're gonna get that marker on your shirt. what are you gonna write to her? ask her how she is? how are you? how are you Cara. yeah. I hope you're feeling better. h. capital h. %int: mumbles o.
w. now another word a r. Dear Cara. how. how. are. are. a. a. big a? no. r. e. I can write xxx. [checks alphabet in notebook] [paper rattling in the background makes it hard to hear] right. e. you. you starts with o? how are you. y. excuse me. why. pay attention to what you're doing please. so dear Cara how are you. xxx are you now. I'm not xxx. y o u. question mark.
why? 'cause you asked. you ask a question you hafta put a question mark. dear Cara how are you? not bad. xxx you put a question mark. I need xxx. you're not gonna write it xxx. [writes the question mark and hands pen back to Chi] dear Cara how are you? %int: pleased with reading letter back xxx right back and she'll say how are you... no write your name at the end. no. hm. she gotta know who it's from. dear Cara how are you? ahhah! [gets idea, smiles, and writes] %int: whispers yeah. a e. a r e. mhm. maybe maybe. why don't you xxx? never mind about xxx. [laughs]. [laughs]. just go to the next sentence [laughing].
how is this gonna get to Cara? it's not. it's stuck in xxx. it's not [sing-song] xxx. how... mhm. xxx like... how are you. mhm. how are you. %int: wildly ranging intonation mhm. xxx how are you how are you. to... how do you spell day? d. d. then what? I'm writing a little d. [checks alphabet] [laughs]. [laughs]. xxx open it without xxx. d start it right here. and day as in xxx. [laughs]. why are you being silly? stop it. what happened? how do you write the rest of day?
a. y. that's right. [tries to check alphabet] look Chi. I know how to spell. and I need another e for the r. xxx what do you xxx in here? what do you say? l ove. l. xxx v. v. Chi. %int: sounds it out yeah? okay. yes. I'm not doing very well. mm let me spell your name. alright you done? okay thanks. will somebody write on this? no. nope. nope that's it. thanks a lot. for helping us out. = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/davlw5.cha = = =
[Home Visit 5] alright the last big thing we hafta do is to have you write a letter. and you can write anybody you want. and we'll hafta take it with us but if you want we can bring it back. or we can mail it for you. oh! can you mail it? sure. Sherry. Sherry. %add: brother Sherry's my sister who's in Wyoming. %add: INV2 oh. xxx fish biologist. wow. [sighs] Dear Sherry. did she just move out there or... in April. how do you spell word? xxx spelling. [lots of noise from Bro, who's knocking around a pumpkin and Tonka Trucks by the couch] r. mhm. do you know how to spell Sherry? capital s. h. e. r.
the pumpkin! r. r r? y. Dear Sherry. [reading back what he's written] and you make a comma. what's a comma? a little you made it. little kind of curvy line. xxx like that. oh no no. after Sherry. that's right. perfect. okay. let's make another one with a comma. yes. Dear Sherry. what do you wanna say? [raspberry] Dear Sherry! [laughs]. I said something. well don't you wanna say something to her? yeah but um... what? you xxx something xxx too. how 'bout I miss you? xxx you.
I miss you. hope you come back. well she is. she's coming back for Christmas. I. I. [writing] you know how to spell miss? m i s s. okay. how 'bout I miss you and Zach. I. you. but Zach's not coming when she comes. aw shit. you know why? because he's too big. it's a dog. %add: EXPs oh. and uh it's hard. kind of old. and it's hard for dogs to fly. they hafta go in a cage. he grew? no but he's big anyways! oh. %int: disappointed and they put 'em in these little cages and they put 'em in the cargo part of the airplane. it's kind of cold.
and that flight is so long that xxx he would be much happier staying home where he is. [can hear Bro playing in the background] yeah we're gonna go up there and visit next year maybe. I miss you and... [reading; Bro is noisy] Zach. z a c h. z a what? h. c h! h. c h. sorry. Zach? period. zzz that's how she spells it. [exasperated noise] Zach. you could say you went to New York City to visit Mary and xxx last weekend. wanna tell her about that? [noise from Bro] mhm. and how we went onto that building and everything? wait a minute. I'm xxx. okay. zzz. we. we. that's nice.
we. good. went. to. New. alright try to make the lines a little bit low because it's gonna run like the line above. [points] [Chi's lines are too close together] do you see what I'm saying? uhhuh. [gets paperweight, as souvenier from NYC] thank you. oh! good idea. mm. hold that up? here xxx can see it. you already wrote New. York York. I tried putting the truck on this thing. okay I'm done. last. last. week. week. [writing.] week. period. this? now say that we went to the top of the World Trade Center?
mhm. we. and we. no. just put we. went. went to... that's alright. turn it [iy] into an o. [Chi wrote to as ti] the... top... of. actually you could make those small t-s but that's okay. [Chi has capital t's for the and top] top. of. the. wor world. r. yeah. w o r. wor. oh! [laughs]. [laughs]. what? I just thought you were gonna make that line into an r. instead you put the r in between! [apparently Chi spelled w-o-l then put the r between the o and the l.]
world. trade. t. t r [laughs]. what? t r. I know but capital or lower? oh uh capital. t o... r! t. hey you xxx! a. hm. center. is it one word? no. [BRO with the trucks again.] do you know how to spell center? no. c. [scolds Bro] I'm sorry. c e. cen. n. t e r. %int: quickly period? oh no you can write and...
what else did we do? a xxx. mhm. now make xxx. no put in an and. 'cause we're gonna say what else you did. make it look like a comma. make that into a comma. okay. now write and. you know what else you did? how 'bout the zoo? we went to the parade. and the zoo. mhm. we went to xxx. which? no. and to the parade? what are you gonna say? a. huh? a. oh a! small a. a. how do you spell parade? p a. r [laughs]. a.
d. e. parade. and... the Central Park Zoo. how do you spell central? c e n. t r. hey you. %add: BRO a. know what? I'm afraid that the water's gonna start coming out of here. l. do you know how to write park? yeah. p a. stop it Bro! %add: BRO see the water just came out. %add: BRO Bro stop! %add: BRO do it over here. %add: BRO don't! %add: BRO 'cause it zzz. %add: BRO [exasperated noise]
don't because see what happens. %add: BRO xxx stop it! %add: BRO just start over here. and let that dry. %add: BRO alright? start over here. p. oh you know how to spell park right? yeah p a r k. you better hurry up 'cause he's [Bro] getting a little bit out of control. don't throw that it's gonna break and the water's coming out Bro! %add: BRO where? %add: MOT let me see. why is that? you know how to write zoo? can I see it? %add: BRO zzz. [laughs] xxx the words. %add: BRO just do it. come on. zzz. %add: EXP
zoo! period! there? mhm. now you can just write see you at Christmas! do you have anything else you wanna say? [I think EXP is keeping Bro out of the way] see. you. at. how do you spell Christmas? c h r. ah ah sorry not s. i. i xxx. s t. m a s? right! you want an exclamation point. a line with a dot on the bottom. not there! over here [laughs]. okay. then write love. baloney head [laughs]. oh love? you write p s after you write love Chi. [Chi had written p. s.] and then you just add it on. [laughs].
%int: nervous, I think she doesn't want Chi to make any mistakes in front of the EXPs. good! xxx sorry. all you hafta do is cross it out. you said to write first. I said you could've written it instead. not that you had to. look at that beautiful comma. p s what? um I dunno. nah. you could say you went to the hundred and ninth floor. oh yeah. the top. no we already said the top. up here. oh. the world trade center xxx. xxx she doesn't know it's the hundred and ninth. xxx she xxx? why don't you say that? p s. we were on. I dunno. p s we. were on the hundred and ninth floor. how you spell were? w e. r e. were.
on. the. what are you doing? %add: BRO cut that out! hun! one o nine. xxx nine? no you make a little stilt. look it says log. but that's alright. you make a little t and a little h. yeah. no next to the nine. a small t and a small h. that's good. xxx floor. [BRO babbling] floor. [spelled florr] not exactly how it's spelled but that's okay. [Chi spelled floor as florr] then you can write love Chi again. we say. arf to Zach xxx. [laughs]. how do you spell arf? a r f? arf. arf?
[scribbles out something?] oh stop it! xxx kind of messy now. arf. f. arf. to Zach. to... [spelled too] arf to Zach! done! = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/jenlw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 5; Chi sits cross-legged on the floor and holds the pad on paper on her kneese] um now this next thing we hafta do... could you finish that later? please? done. thank you. pencil. and here's the paper. oh your favorite part writing. [coughs]. now what we'd like for you guys to do is you to write a letter to anyone in the world you wanna. and we're going to take the letter though so just so you'll know. oh but sometimes people are like here's my letter and then xxx we hafta take them. www [laughs] yeah right. so I just want you to know that before we... um but here xxx. behind it like that xxx.
you'll hafta get the kind of a carbon paper or something. yeah I know. so you can keep a copy and take it. that's a good idea. that's a really good idea. I don't know what to write. you don't know what to write? mhm. who do you wanna write a letter to? mm. Uncle Tommy. Uncle Tommy? okay. do I help her do this? %add: EXP you can do whatever you want. oh okay. however whatever help you need. okay. you first make a d. for dear uncle Tom. [points to spot and makes the shape of a d] one o'clock. four o'clock. can you sound out dear? five o'clock. dear. six o'clock. hm? seven o'clock.
e? e yeah. eight o'clock. nine o'clock. dear... %int: under breath t? no ear. a. r? e a. [BRO counting in background?] a. wait a minute. dear r r. what letter makes some kind of r? [laughs]. r r. very good. r. [writing] wait a minute. how do you spell Tom? t t. how does Mommy star start her name? t. very good. Mama. put t? yeah.
Mom can I xxx. you move 'em the amount you spinned your spinner. %add: BRO then what you do? move the guy. %add: BRO o. yep. Tom m. m. mhm. Mom Mom. okay what else do you wanna write? when xxx done? xxx is that? well what number is it? %add: BRO I don't know. let me help Chi and then I'll help you okay? %add: BRO [BRO continues to play in background of activity, foreground of tape.....] alright? mhm. miss you. m miss. how do you spell miss? spell xxx m. m. mhm! I got four.
good move him four then. %add: BRO [BRO continues talking a little] i i i. a? no. i s. s? no a vowel in between it. i. 'member we were practicing is earlier? [BRO counting in the background] yeah. s. miss. s? yep. two s. mm. [after spelling Chi taps the pencil against her face] I miss what's the next word? you. okay. how do you spell you? that's easy. fine for that one huh? very good! you did that real well. good handwriting. okay.
what else do you wanna write? this doesn't hafta be twenty pages xxx. it's okay. [laughs]. I'm all done now. %int: slight whine why don't you ask him how Alex is? okay. %int: agreeable okay start over here. [points] how. what letter is... g? h xxx. g dZA. [demonstrating what sound g makes] I can make that. how. o. go ahead do it. o? mhm. wA wA. [demonstrating w sound] y? no. w. mm. is.
how do you spell is? s... what comes before the s though? one of those words on your cards. [leans chin in hand as thinks of how to spell] sound it out. no no no. sound it out. is [buzzing sound on s]. i s. a. s. no. okay what word is this? an s right? s. okay. that makes s [? is]! okay what is i s. is. is. is? that xxx. yep. how do you know? that xxx [laughs]. how is... is. a. Alex.
a. ay mhm. big a. capital a. a. let's erase. yeah we need a new eraser unfortunately. mhm. thank you. yeah. you're welcome. Mommy thank you. [Chi erases small ay] thank you. I've already xxx for awhile. no I need some more. a l. a l. uhhuh. p. no. you said it right ale. don't confuse your vowels. ex. spell xxx. x? e first. e then x? xxx very good. that's a question so you hafta put a question mark.
[points to where question mark goes and demonstrates the shape in the air] you know how to make those? put a dot on the bottom. like... yeah. like... sort of yeah. what else do you wanna write? I miss you how is that? what else do you wanna write? %int: whispers how is Paula. okay. now you xxx how is. [points to how is earlier in letter as an example for Chi] this how is? how is. I'm done with math. okay go on to whatever your next subject is now please. %add: BRO2 %add: BRO2? um. Mommy can I read that book? I read you. you read you? Paula [sounds out]. right here. p. mhm. g.
no g. au. la. oh a. yeah. mhm. oh [sighs] xxx. xxx oh. l. no there's a vowel before this. Bro let go. Paul. no. Paula [sounds out, with stress on last syllable]. a? know what? what did you say before the u? p? a. l. o. don't confuse her Bro. that's l. o. yep. no small. la. A A. [sounding out] a.
yes! [gasps]. first can you make a question mark now? oh thanks. that looks good. good job. good. okay? that's it? yeah. write your name here. [shows Chi where to write] put love Chi. I know you know how to write that. a... in a minute okay? %add: BRO no no you're done. we're not all done. %add: BRO alright... how do you spell love? you know that you've been writing love for a long time now. o... here? it's backwards but it's okay. xxx your name first. squirrel. Mama how do you spell capsule? look it up Bro.
use the dictionary. they're xxx! the dictionary is right over here. they're xxx... would you like it? huh? would you like the dictionary? yeah. I'm all done. do you wanna read it uh back to us? give it a try. huhuh. you sure? sure. okay. well you did a great job. thank you. yeah. [laughs]. you have nice neat writing. yeah. that's a nice big good thing to have. teachers will love you. [laughs]. [laughs]. = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/brilw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 4] the last thing is to write a short letter to somebody. [sings nonsense].
can you handle that all by yourself? do you wanna use a marker or a pen? marker. okay. you get marker on the furniture you will be xxx. [warning] alright I can take this. name. [begins letter, looks up and smiles at Mot] not up there down here Chi. [Chi wrote his own name at the top of the letter instead of the name of whom he is writing] xxx what I'm doing. you hafta write a letter to somebody. no not up there. you use that for somebody else xxx the letter right? oh like this? what to do... %int: sing-song, very adult-like who you gonna write a letter to? dear Shawn? you like xxx. done. that's it? yeah [laughs]. xxx sure fast. can you read it? Chi dear Mom I love you. you are funny. [laughs]. alright great.
blabber blabber blabber blabber. how do you spell blabber [laughs]? blablauber. this is inventive spelling mind you. %add: to EXP [laughs]. blabber blabber! that's not bad. is he funny? %add: to EXP [laughs]. = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/jeblw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 5] tell me about the last letter you wrote. who did you write it to? huh? remember it's right up there? we're gettin' a stamp for it? oh! Bill Clinton. oh! did you now? [laughs]. yeah. what are you gonna say? you liked his new economic package or... he's reading the Boston Globe with me one day. he hasta do reading every single night for school and we chart it for the reading log and... right.
um we were reading some Doctor Seuss and I hadta read the Wall Street Journal and the Globe and all this. and so I said well wait a minute why doesn't he just read the Globe with me so... [laughs]. he would read the headlines and then I would read the article. and then we would talk about it. and after reading some articles in the Globe [laughing] we decided to write to the president. oh. and tell him how to run things? or you're not sure. [noise] hm who sh shall I write to? Barbara. you wanna write to Barbara? his grandmother. %add: EXP oh nice. [Chi begins to write] whoopsie doopsie. [erases mistake] hm [laughs]. done! super. you wanna read it to us? sure. dear Barbara I love you www [deep breath]. Love Chi. short and sweet. to the point. great. thanks a lot.
[sighs]. [sighs]. yay! = = = childes/CHILDES_NA/HSLLD/HV5/LW/juslw5.cha = = = [Home Visit 4] write a short letter to anybody you want. I just wanna write my abcs like you let the other kids. [the writing pad has the alphabet written on it] and um... okay write your letter Chi. you hafta do what xxx. I wanna do my abcs! you cannot do abc Chi. you hafta write a short letter. [whining]. say dear Mom. no [whining]. come on. sit down write me a letter. no [whining]. I'm gonna copy this! [picks up another letter] Chi! you hafta do what he tell you to do! and that's that. he said write a letter. he didn't say if I copy it or not! so I can copy it. well you cannot copy this.
can I copy? %add: to EXP %int: in a high pitched voice no. no just write a short letter to your friend or relative or somebody. a short letter? that's fine. it's up to you. okay. %int: sing-song hm. who will I write? hm hm hm hm. what about dear Mom? no way! O [laughs]. I want you to xxx the letters. I need some time to xxx with my pen. hm I don't know what to write [whining]. hm. you wanna write dear Sheenan or dear Tommy. whatever... mm. I'm taking a risk. %int: dramatically [talks with the EXP quietly while Chi writes] you said short! so I wrote short! %int: yelling that's not a letter Chi my goodness.
it's short! maybe a little bit longer. oh no! a little bit longer. %int: mimicks Chi's tone. oh no! so you can show people how well you write. I love you blah blah blah? uh it's up to you. I can write blah blah blah? xxx and write... can I write two more letters [whining]? [talks with Mot] words? I don't have a good enough pencil to write cursive. okay. how about if you write dear mom I love you and I promise I will behave myself xxx. hunhunh! %int: loudly. yeah. go ahead and write that. I already behave myself. are you gonna play that tape? [refers to the EXP's tape recorder] don't please. it's okay. oh can I take a picture? [refers to EXP's camara] well we're gonna take a picture of you in a minute. Chi you've gotta finish the letter.