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Flat Stanley ~ Hands-on Geography

1:07 AM, Jun. 16, 2006

Flat Stanley

In the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, Stanley is squashed flat by a falling bulletin board. One of the many advantages for Flat Stanley is that he can now see the world by way of the U.S. Postal Service. His escapades inspired the “Flat Stanley Project.” There is an official website, www.flatstanley.com, and there are numerous Yahoo groups dedicated to helping children send their own flat travelers around the country and even the world. In exchange for sending your traveler somewhere else, typically you volunteer to host another family’s traveler yourself. We belonged to a Yahoo group consisting primarily of homeschooling families. Our flat travelers went to New Zealand and Canada, as well as to a number of states. We also hosted travelers here in Delaware and even took a dozen with us once to Williamsburg! (Hint: Hosting 12 at a time is way too many!) Currently there are about 47 countries taking part in the FSP. This is an exciting and painless way to learn about the world.

This is waaaaay too much fun! Happy Trails!

Spend more time with Maggie Hogan on her blog:

www.homeschoolblogger.com/maggiehogan

Check out her great homeschool resources (including the award winning geography curriculums she *co-authored) at her business site:

www.BrightIdeasPress.com

info@BrightIdeasPress.com

Read more about The Ultimate Geography & Timeline Guide here - http://brightideaspress.com/UGTG.htm

And Hands-On Geography here:

http://brightideaspress.com/HOG.htm

Biography

Maggie and Bob Hogan live in a formerly Amish farmhouse in Dover, DE where they began homeschooling their two (now grown) sons in 1991. She is a regular contributor for homeschooling internet sites as well as print magazines like The Old Schoolhouse. She’s a nationally known speaker and co-author of The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide, Gifted Children at Home, Hands-on Geography and other resource books. Involved in local, state, and national homeschooling issues, they both serve on boards of home education organizations in Delaware. They’re also owners of Bright Ideas Press, a home school company dedicated to bringing the best practical, fun, and affordable materials to the homeschool market.

Posted in geography, 2 comments, Link
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Comments
We Love Flat Stanley!!!!

12:02 AM, Jun. 17, 2006, posted by Boltbabe

We have participated in this before. It is really great, even for preschoolers. You can have a flat or 2 for the family or have the kids make their own flats. Make sure you have a few back-up flat travellers...we have had them lost in the mail. Another tip is to laminate the falt travellers...they will enjoy their journey MUCH more! Along with our flats, we designed a little suit case and pet carrier (one of our flats is a cat). Inside has info about our family. This is FUN geography!

Tips and Typos

10:32 AM, Jun. 19, 2006, posted by homeschoolruby

As a long-time member of the homeschool flat travelers group, I noticed the URL had a typo in it. The group name should be flat_travelers_homeschool, with only one l. You may want to correct that so others can enjoy that group.

A tip I would like to share is to keep flat travelers you are hosting and your camera in your purse or car console all the time. Then, whenever you happen to come upon a sight or activity worth remembering, you can snap the picture right then and there. Some of our best pictures were done that way --- after I missed several due to no camera or not having the flat traveler along.

I would also warn families with younger children not to let the child play with the flat travelers and keep them out of reach when you cannot supervise. In fact, in retrospect, I suggest copying the original travelers when they arrive. Then, you can take the "clone" around with you for the pictures and keep the original in its envelope in a drawer to send back when the time comes.

Never, ever, use a flat traveler as a bookmark, even if the sender suggests it. We left one in a library book and it was not found until the library moved its location two years later.

One more recommendation ---use a digital camera and e-mail the pictures as you take them. That way, if your mail gets lost or delayed (as some of ours did), the sender will still have a record of the visit.

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