Language School
A friend of mine is in language school in the country of Costa Rica. Little did I know, 14 years ago, when I became a parent, I entered language school too. The language of Kid Speak...Toddler Talk... and baby blabber. However, the language school that my friend attends and the one that I am a part of have one HUGE difference. The difference is that she has textbooks and dictionaries to help her learn the vocabulary that is thrown her way. I, on the other hand, am a pioneer. There is only 1 person who knows the actual words that are being said (baby, toddler, kid) and then there's me...the guesser. I'm supposed to be the knowledgeable adult, not the one left saying...."what did you just say?" or (in a whisper)"tell me that again when we get home" (aka...saying something that sounds like profanity that needs to be deciphered somewhere other than the grocery store).
Most of my kids are pretty much done with this phase, but it would seem that Emily still has a way to go. This got me thinking about how hilarious my kids are and all the funny stories that have resulted from our "language barriers".
Maybe I shouldn't highlight some of these stories, and maybe someday my children will be embarrassed that I did. I guess we'll wait and see how they feel later. Just so you know, I have their full permission to tell stories on each and every one of them...as long as I leave out their names. ha ha.
One day at the dinner table...
Frankie: "Caleb, I need some butt."
FYI..."butt" is not a generally used word in our home and sooo...Obviously, this child meant, "butter", but (ha), was a little mixed up about the real word.
It was still funny and the other kids could not contain their mirth, and all attempts to then teach the proper word were lost until another time. I tried, really, I did.
One day while walking outside...
Toddler: "Mama, do you think there is a behind in that tree?"
Me: " A what?"
Toddler: "Look waa-ay up there in the top...you see that thing? I think its a behind! We better get out of here!!"
Me: "Um, all I see is a squirrel's nest."
Toddler: "Well, I see bees flying around up there and I think they're going back to their behind to feed their babies".
Me: "I think you mean Bee HIVE, not BE - HIND...Bees live in bee hives, and you sit on your behind...got it?
Toddler: "oh, ya, I got it."
Needless to say, she doesn't "got it" and still continues to slip up on that one whenever a bee hive arises.
Just yesterday, she colored a picture for someone that featured a bee hive with bees flying all around it. When they asked her about the picture, she told them..."its a picture of a be-hind...see? See the bees?"
The color Y-E-L-L-O-W...
...while showing cards with colors and shapes.
Me: "And how about this one?"
Toddler: "Oooo, that's Lellow! I like lellow"
Me: "Yes, I like YEH-low too. Can you say YEH-low with me"
Toddler & Me: "YEH-low!"
Me: "Listen to me say it...."YEH-low!" now it's your turn!
Toddler: "LEH-low!"
Me: "Let's try this. Say..."Yeh, yeh, yeh...yeh-low!"
Toddler: "Okay...Yeh, yeh, yeh...LEH-LOW!"
Me: "Wow, Good job, we'll try that again another day!"
Obviously, there is a disconnect somewhere. Guess we'll work on that one a little more!
The "Dee"...
For what seemed like months, he would point and say over and over
"Deee, dee, dee".
Then he would say it and stand by the closet that we kept the vacuum in.
"Dee, dee, dee"
When we would get the vacuum out and use it, he was enthralled with it, he wanted to push it and turn it off and on and play with the cord. It was weird. really, really weird. I could, literally, turn on the vacuum and just let it run and he would play with the cord and shift it around (or try to) for quite a while.
Finally, one day it became
"Vee, vee, vee"
I'm still not sure what the fascination was about. Was it the sound it made? The vibration effect? The lovely lines it left on the carpet? A premature love for engines? I don't know, but he's a pretty normal kid now, so we'll just let it go at that.
And, just so you know...he eventually started saying the real word, "vacuum" when he was about 2 years old and to this day he can still say it! Now, as a bonus, I even let him use the vacuum to clean rooms! Nice, aren't I?
Most of my kids are pretty much done with this phase, but it would seem that Emily still has a way to go. This got me thinking about how hilarious my kids are and all the funny stories that have resulted from our "language barriers".
Maybe I shouldn't highlight some of these stories, and maybe someday my children will be embarrassed that I did. I guess we'll wait and see how they feel later. Just so you know, I have their full permission to tell stories on each and every one of them...as long as I leave out their names. ha ha.
One day at the dinner table...
Frankie: "Caleb, I need some butt."
FYI..."butt" is not a generally used word in our home and sooo...Obviously, this child meant, "butter", but (ha), was a little mixed up about the real word.
It was still funny and the other kids could not contain their mirth, and all attempts to then teach the proper word were lost until another time. I tried, really, I did.
One day while walking outside...
Toddler: "Mama, do you think there is a behind in that tree?"
Me: " A what?"
Toddler: "Look waa-ay up there in the top...you see that thing? I think its a behind! We better get out of here!!"
Me: "Um, all I see is a squirrel's nest."
Toddler: "Well, I see bees flying around up there and I think they're going back to their behind to feed their babies".
Me: "I think you mean Bee HIVE, not BE - HIND...Bees live in bee hives, and you sit on your behind...got it?
Toddler: "oh, ya, I got it."
Needless to say, she doesn't "got it" and still continues to slip up on that one whenever a bee hive arises.
Just yesterday, she colored a picture for someone that featured a bee hive with bees flying all around it. When they asked her about the picture, she told them..."its a picture of a be-hind...see? See the bees?"
The color Y-E-L-L-O-W...
...while showing cards with colors and shapes.
Me: "And how about this one?"
Toddler: "Oooo, that's Lellow! I like lellow"
Me: "Yes, I like YEH-low too. Can you say YEH-low with me"
Toddler & Me: "YEH-low!"
Me: "Listen to me say it...."YEH-low!" now it's your turn!
Toddler: "LEH-low!"
Me: "Let's try this. Say..."Yeh, yeh, yeh...yeh-low!"
Toddler: "Okay...Yeh, yeh, yeh...LEH-LOW!"
Me: "Wow, Good job, we'll try that again another day!"
Obviously, there is a disconnect somewhere. Guess we'll work on that one a little more!
The "Dee"...
For what seemed like months, he would point and say over and over
"Deee, dee, dee".
Then he would say it and stand by the closet that we kept the vacuum in.
"Dee, dee, dee"
When we would get the vacuum out and use it, he was enthralled with it, he wanted to push it and turn it off and on and play with the cord. It was weird. really, really weird. I could, literally, turn on the vacuum and just let it run and he would play with the cord and shift it around (or try to) for quite a while.
Finally, one day it became
"Vee, vee, vee"
I'm still not sure what the fascination was about. Was it the sound it made? The vibration effect? The lovely lines it left on the carpet? A premature love for engines? I don't know, but he's a pretty normal kid now, so we'll just let it go at that.
And, just so you know...he eventually started saying the real word, "vacuum" when he was about 2 years old and to this day he can still say it! Now, as a bonus, I even let him use the vacuum to clean rooms! Nice, aren't I?
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