We let the kids run and play and did several great activities. In a true competitive manner, the classes were pitted against each other during the activities. Nick's class and my class were on the "Blue" Team. Both classes took winning very seriously. They screamed and cheered on their classmates during the relay races and competitions. Chants were led and the occasional tear was shed as the competitive spirit ran rampant amongst the six year-olds. It was all in good fun though and they had a blast.
First the kids ran a relay race. They had to run to the end of the field and eat a chip off a clothesline without using their hands, then run back and tag the next person in line. Nick got some amazing shots of the kids running their hardest. You can see the excitement and determination in their faces.
Next we had the "Matching War". A few dozen felt squares were scattered all over the field. On one side the color was orange (our competing team's color). The other side was blue. The object of the game was to have as many squares be your team's color as possible. This led to lots of screaming from the sidelines as the classes took their turns running about crazily trying to flip over the felt to their team's color. When it was my class's turn to sit out and watch Nick's class have a go at it, some of my children got VERY intense as they yelled out instructions to help their team to victory. Of course, I was there, camera in hand, ready to capture the moment.
After much yelling and a victory for our team, we had the "Basket Race". Once again children lined up on one side of the field. This time, the teachers lined up on the other side. The kids had to run across the field holding a basket filled with balls. They then had to flip over a card and on it was a teacher's name. That teacher had to run back with the child and basket to the line and tag the next kid. It often ended up with us grabbing both the basket and the child and carrying the two back across the field - it was faster and more fun than trying to keep pace with little feet. The orange team managed to tie up the score at this point and our kids were ready to take a break.
The picnic consisted of delicious gimbop, sesame chicken wings, fresh cherry tomatoes, and strawberries. There was plenty to go around, and the kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy feeding Nick and me all their "extras" - and we were happy to munch on a few extra chicken wings and tomatoes. The kids also brought loads of snack foods and it was quite difficult turning down all those sugary and salty snacks, but we did our best to keep our promise of eating healthy and avoiding sweets.
When all our kids were fat and full and satisfied, we let them run around and digest a little. We took class pictures and relaxed as the muggy day wore on. Finally it was time for our last competition - the Tug of War. I must say, this was the most enjoyable part of our day. We had a lot of laughs making the kids give us their "mean" faces or their "strong" poses. After the kiddies made their effort it was the teachers' turn. Wow, did Nick's class and my class cheer for us! It was super cute hearing the alternating chants of "MR. B! MISS MARIE! MR. B! MISS MARIE!" We all had a lot of fun trying to triumph over each other. It was a fun and silly time.
After that it was time to pack up and go home. Most of our kids were pretty tuckered out by all the activity during our fun day. We taught our afternoon classes and now we are happy to announce that we have tomorrow off! That's right - May 5th is a holiday in Korea called Children's Day. Basically it is like Christmas without any religious meaning. We don't have to go to work, kids don't have to go to school, and parents are supposed to buy their children a present. Whatever, it's a midweek vacation! Hooray!
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