Mean or Nice?

As Isabel sees more and more of the world, she seems to be trying to find a way to classify the things she experiences. Obviously she is very intelligent as this is, in essence, what great thinkers like Dmitri Mendeleev (inventor of the periodic table) and Melvil Dewey (of Dewey Decimal System fame) accomplished.

But I digress. Isabel's system of classification du jour is called MoN, also known as the "Mean or Nice taxonomy". Basically, every person (and sometimes object) she sees is put into either a mean or nice category. Puppies? Nice. Ursula, sea witch from Disney's The Little Mermaid? Mean. Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz? Nice. The Wicked Witch of the West? Umm... also nice. Isabel seems to believe the Witch has just been misunderstood and needs a hug.

At the same time, Isabel is learning the power of words. She likes to point to someone who is clearly nice and say "mean", then giggle. In fact, she did this today at school, pointing to me and saying "mean"... in earshot of the school director. Child Services will probably be beating down my door now. I made a sad face, and she said, "Sorry. NICE".