SEND LETTERS WITH FLAT STANLEY

By SUZANNE M. SCHMIDT

After traveling all over the globe through the mail, Flat Stanley found a home with students at Seven Oaks Elementary School.
Students at Seven Oaks learned about all of Flat Stanley’s adventures, and in the process, discovered a little about different places in the world.
Teachers Laura Olsen, Aimee Frier and intern Shannon Taylor teach mostly second-graders in the Golden Eagles Team at Seven Oaks. Their students read about Flat Stanley and his adventures in the book “Flat Stanley” by Jeff Brown. They then made their own Flat Stanleys and sent them out to friends and family across the country and the globe.
“They sent letters with Flat Stanley,” Olsen said. “Then, as the letters came back, students read them aloud to the class and then put a star on the map for all the places he visited. It was a literature study teaching student to write and to read, but it also exposed them to different landmarks and spots around the country. Lots of places sent us back brochures, books and souvenirs.”
Flat Stanley visited the White House, the North Pole, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Poland and other places. When people returned Stanley, they included letters describing the various adventures, as well as pictures and souvenirs. After Flat Stanley shared his adventures with the class, the students who sent him out took him home, along with the souvenirs he brought.
Clay Mikkelsen sent his Flat Stanley to the Indianapolis Colts training center. A letter came back describing all the fun things Stanley was able to do while visiting.
“He went to Indianapolis and just got back,” Mikkelsen said. “He got to kick a 45-yard field goal. I learned a lot about where places are and I learned I would like to go to the training facility one day.”
Cameron Rowe sent his Flat Stanley to Gainesville to hang out with the Gator’s football team. The letter came back with posters for each child to take home and a letter describing some of the fun Stanley had. He also sent a Flat Stanley to his uncle Jack Biegen in Australia.
“I got them all back and I learned new things about each place,” Rowe said. “I learned there is a street in Australia named Rowe Street like my last name. Stanley went to Australia and got to meet my uncle’s dog and now I want to go and meet him, too. In the picture, he looked so cute.”
Sarah Fayiz sent her Flat Stanley to a cousin in Canada.
“Stanley got to play in the snow, bake some cookies and go to the mall,” Fayiz said. “I

was excited he got to play in the snow and now I want to go there. It was fun sending out Flat Stanley. I learned a lot about other countries and states.”
Alex Dagama also sent his Flat Stanley to play in the snow in Poland.
“He got to pretend to drive a car,” Dagama said. “He was also playing in the snow and skiing and building a snow man.”
Jake Hracho sent a Flat Stanley to New Jersey and to the Pasco County Fire Rescue.
“I think Flat Stanley liked the fire station the most,” Hracho said. “He got to pretend to drive the fire truck and the ambulance. The Stanley the went to New Jersey got to play in the snow and that is about it. He didn’t get to do that much because it was snowing the whole time.”
Hracho said he learned about other places.
“I learned about how other places are and what they do,” Hracho said. “He had a lot of fun in the snow.”
Students sent out more than 100 Flat Stanleys in February and had received most of them back by mid-March. For information about the Flat Stanley project, visit http://www.flatstanley.com.