Flat Traveling

Posted by AmyS | 0 comments

For those who haven’t heard of the Flat Stanley project, it is a very fun geography adventure based on the children’s book Flat Stanley. In the book, Stanley is flattened by a falling bulletin board and soon learns the advantages of being flat. He mails himself to friends around the world.

The idea behind the project is to make your own flat traveler and mail it to host families who keep it for a couple weeks. During this time they treat it like a guest, take it places with them, take lots of pictures, and keep a journal. Sometimes they send souvenirs back. It is a wonderful way for kids to learn about the every day life of those in other states/countries.

Since we had so many family and friends who wanted a Flat Traveler, we cheated and made several. Our flat guy has vacationed in Sweden, Italy, Australia, Scotland, England, China, and 6 American states.

If you would like to participate with your own Flat Traveler, I would recommend going to this website first. It includes a database of more than 400 families who are willing to host travelers. The Homeschool Lounge also has an excellent message board for homeschooling hosts.

Next, make your very own flat traveler. Be creative! We have even hosted a Flat Dinosaur and Flat Monster. I used a template and attached a picture of my son’s head. I colored him wearing an OSU jersey.

Here are a few templates:

http://www.flatstanley.com/template.htm

http://www.mrsperkins.com/files/stanley.doc

http://susanreynolds.blogs.com/artist/files/FlatStanleyTemplate.jpg

Below are several places that our flat guy has been fortunate enough to visit. Someday we hope to visit them too!

Vermont

On the beach in North Carolina

Lighthouse in Maine

On a double decker bus in Scotland

On the shore of England

In front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

At the Roman Colosseum

Amy is a devoted wife to her husband of 11 years, a Classical homeschooling mom to a seven-year-old Superhero and the co-founder of Heart of the Matter and A Woman Inspired Ministries. She has a passion for genealogy and is aspiring to be a Proverbs 31 lady. Be sure to visit her blog at Milk and Cookies.