Kids' minds: A peek at the process

I cleaned the parrot cage just now.

The clean newspaper I put in was one I found on a table at the pizza place and perused while the girls played in the play place when we went there on, apparently, January 24. (Yup)

The article now positioned squarely under the parrot's favorite perch is about stem cell research. I probably pointed it out to the girls at the time, although I don't remember doing so. It's been in the stack of old newspapers in the laundry room ever since.

Julia saw me putting it in, and said, "Quick! Before the bird poops on it! Who's that guy?" I told her he was a scientist working to help sick people.

"Yeah. Obama let him. And the other one ..."

"Bush," I prompted.

"The other one ... what was the first President of the United States?"

I told her the President before Obama was Bush.

"No, what was the first President of the United States?"

"The first President was George Washington."

"Yeah. And George Bush didn't let them and lots of people, I think lots of people died, and that was mean."