October Field Trip!

This past Friday was our October field trip for the preschoolers (Korean age: 6-7yr olds/American age: 4-6yr olds). In the past we have ventured to such exciting places as the farm (hardly a farm, more of a hot-house yet fun for the kids), the swimming pool (actually more of a concrete fountain) and the electric museum (boring even for adults, incomprehensible for preschoolers).



Up until now, the best field trip by far has been to the "swimming pool." Imagine a staff of young teachers playing in 2 feet of water with dozens of preschoolers: adorable and exhilarating. Actually, no matter where the field trip takes place, it is amazingly enjoyable to just be out with your kids in a fun environment where you can really get to know them more. Truly, I always forget little these kids are until we take them out of the school. If I wasn't ready their teacher I wouldn't expect half as much out of one of these young kids as I expect out of a whole class all at once.



Hands down, this months field trip has been my absolute favorite thus far. This month we took the preschoolers to Daemo San (Daemo Mountain). The crisp autumn weather was perfect. And so my eight 4-6year olds and I hiked up a few trails where we then played at the pavilion, collected leaves and acorns and even spotted a squirrel or two. We enjoyed the usual field trip cuisine of "gimbap" (basically a plain sushi-like roll without the sushi part), and whatever various coffees, fruits, candies, sandwiches, teas, etc.. my class has brought for me to enjoy. The gift-giving and thoughtfulness here is incredible. It is not unusual for a teacher to receive much more than he or she can possibly eat or drink at one meal (think: 3 coffees, 2 juices, 2 teas, a sandwich or two, a bag of cherries, various candies, chocolates, gum, chips, etc...).



I have this wonderful video of my kids discovering some kind of hole in the ground. I really love them so much. The are so adorable and clever, it just kills me.