Abstract
Three to 5 year old preschoolers were interviewed about their daily living activities, to examine developmental changes in Generalized Event Representations (GER) of preschool routines. All children were asked about their routines, from arrival at preschool until departure, and some were also asked about their routines during lunch and nap times. Even 3 year olds formed GER, because they were able to describe routines in the present tense without referring to the subject. But the description of 3 year olds were fewer in number and more concrete than those of 4 or 5 year olds. The fact that some referred to their afternoon refreshments as meals suggested an over-extension of knowledge about refreshments and meals, which children acquired outside of preschool. Most 5 year olds, but not all, described the activities of daily living hierarchically. Individual differences were apparent in numbers of acts and in children's GER structures.
