Tommy's Field Trip

This picture is Tommy and his friend Mingi.  (Mingi is from South Korea.  I can tell you where almost all of Tommy's classmates are from because they just did a unit about the places all of the children are from.  Tommy now considers this a basic detail; so basic that his new introduction at the playground is, "Hi, I'm Tommy and I'm AMERICAN.  What are you?")

This morning I went with Tommy’s class (and the other two kindergarten classes at TAISM) on a geology walk.  This means that we went for a hike with a geologist.  The woman who took our group is a Russian woman who now lives in Oman and who clearly knows a lot about geology but maybe not as much about how to make geology gripping for kindergartners.

Eli asked for a mid-walk update, and I replied:

“It’s like going on a walk with ten Tommys, each with a separate agenda unless there is a butterfly, beetle or lizard in which case they are all crowded around it.” 

The poor guide couldn’t persuade them to pay attention to her discussion of the rocks because there was always something else that was more interesting.

On the bus ride back to school, I said to Tommy, “It was sort of hard to pay attention, I guess.”  And he said, “Yeah.  But it was a great place to play!”

Regarding the photos:

First, I know Tommy’s hat is ridiculous.  He has better ones on the boat.  This was one rial at the H&M in the mall.  And is clearly for a bigger kid.

Second, my photos do not make Oman look half as pretty as it actually is.  I have photography books on the boat, too.