Thursday, June 7, 2012

Field Trip: Traditional Korean Dyeing

We took three buses filled with 4-6 year old Korean kids to the mountainous countryside on the outskirts of Gwangyang for a field trip. At first, it sounds a bit crazy but in reality, it was one of the most chill field trips we've been on since the kids were actually doing something and not just running around like maniacs.

First we all sat and listened to a woman explain (in Korean) what sorts of natural materials they use to make different colors. She would get out a length of cloth and then ask the students to guess what was used to make it. Well, at least that's what I think was happening.

Then they handed out white handkerchiefs for us all to dye. We wrapped rubber bands around them in different patterns just like tie dyeing.

After we tied rubber bands around them, we headed outside to some plastic tubs filled with different color dyes. There was yellow, red, purple, and green. My group squatted around a tub filled with dye and told to wait. Then the kids got bored and started throwing grass in it and I told them to stop and be patient. Obviously, this is hard for a five year old because when I looked away, one of the kids spit his gum in it!

Finally we were given the go ahead to dye. The kids were a little apprehensive at first but I just shoved mine in and they soon followed suit. We had to let it soak so we got to play in the colored water for a while. I was strict about splashing since it would obviously stain clothing. I saw some other kids later with big colored splashes on their clothes. I'm sure their parents weren't happy about that!

After we soaked them in the dye, we dipped them in some clear liquid. Then we wrung them out and hung them up to dry while we went to eat lunch under some of the most grand, beautiful trees I've seen in Korea.

After lunch, we collected our dyed and dried handkerchiefs and bused back to Wonderland. Easy, peasy! :)

Sometimes, I think the key to being a good kindergarten teacher in Korea, is making a total fool of yourself. The above picture is just a tiny snippet into the crazy things I do to make the kids laugh! :)

1 comment:

  1. Those look awesome! I want to make one too! :)