"What you old?"

I'm not quite used to our new schedule just yet. I accidentally showed up for work earlier than I needed to, and the academy wasn't even open yet. I thought classes started at 9:30am, not 9:45am, so when I showed up at 9:00am, I was shocked when no one was there. I was waiting in the hallway for Darren to show up and unlock the door, when one of my students, Eric, came up the stairs. He's one of the younger students in our academy, and he is SO CUTE! He immediately started talking to me, asking me question after question. This is part of our conversation:

Eric: "What you old?"
Me: "How old are you?"
Eric: "How old you?" (good enough.)
Me: "I am 23 years old. How old are you?"
Eric: "My old 7."
Me: "I am 7 years old."
Eric: "My am is 7 years old."

Sigh...I tried. I often correct the students when they are speaking to help them understand what they're saying incorrectly. For the older students, I'll repeat myself all day until they get it right. However, the younger ones, like Eric, can get frustrated easily, and I don't want to deter them from talking to me. It was a really cute interaction this morning, so I thought I'd share :)

Today my schedule is pretty open as far as classes go. I pretty much have class, break, class, break, class...but I think it's making the day drag on. I appreciate all the breaks, but I'd much rather teach all my classes and then go home! Too bad it doesn't work that way :)