One day when my son was in half-day Kindergarten, I asked him if he learned anything and he showed me an imitation of his teacher putting on make-up. Apparently, she was running late and had to do this in class. If he is bored, he notices all kinds of things, but he particularly likes to study people. Several years later his interest in people and their behavior led him to read his sister's college psychology book.
When he first started Kindergarten and didn't know the name of one of the boys but wanted to tell me about something the boy did, he was able to imitate the boy's facial expressions and mannerisms so that I knew exactly who he was talking about.
His ability to imitate people, mannerisms, accents, and typical things the person he is imitating might say is what makes his jokes so funny.
I have never seen him use this ability in a mean way, but he is the only kid at home and homeschooled. I sometimes wonder if he would be different if he were in school and dealing with peer pressure. I am sure he would be the class clown.
