Student Stories: that CRAZY baby...

I teach a wide range of age starting with 6 month olds (I only have one). This is a story of one of my babies. He's about a year and a half old and he is CRAZY. He climbs all over his mother, runs around screeching and babbling, touches everything. His poor mother always looks so tired. One of the funniest thing that he does in his fits of temporary insanity is runs into walls. We will be in the middle of a lesson and he will jump out of his mother's lap and runs straight into the wall while screaming. The kicker is that EVERY time he does this, he looks surprised that it hurts. I'm pretty sure most people already learned by a year and a half that slamming yourself into walls hurts. Not this kid. It's a shock every time. His mom and I are hoping that he learns some basic physics one day soon...

Student Stories: He has a catchphrase

Let me introduce another new segment! I've been meaning to put up some funny lost in translation/student moments from my experience teaching in Japan. Please enjoy the first installment of Student Stories featuring one of my favorite kids!

I have a student who on a weekly basis makes me nearly die laughing. He is a super fun and energetic kid in a small class (just him and a little girl). I think he wants to be an entertainer when he grows up because he is always trying to make people laugh and he has something every good Japanese comedian needs: a catchphrase. I kid you not. It's hilarious. He adds "baby" to the end of the most random sentences. Did I mention he's like 6 yrs old? Precious.
It started out as "Oh no, baby!" when he was first in class with me. Recently it has evolved. Here are my favorite new catchphrases from him:
~We sing a transitional song that basically just repeats the question "What's next?" four times. This was his response last week. "I don't know, baby. What's next?" I nearly died.
~ I asked him, "How are you?" He paused, smiled and replied "I'm happy, baby."
~We recently learned some phrases and vocabulary about body parts and injuries. He changed every phrase to "Oh baby! I hurt my fingers."
~He recently picked up from me the phrase "Winner!" which I will sometimes proclaim after a game. When he wins, he now yells "Winner, baby!", takes a victory lap, and then asks for a high five. The other girl in the class thinks it is hilarious and has now let him start winning games.
This is my life. Love this kid.