photo credit: Coolstock

School is out. Summer is here, and the Flat Stanley Project is an excellent way to keep your child’s mind stimulated for the next couple of months. The Flat Stanley Project is a pen-pal activity, but it’s far more than that, too.  It’s a wonderful geography lesson, and it’s a great way to spark creativity in your child.

Here’s one of the ways it can work.

Your child will make their own FLAT (your child’s name).  He or she makes a body pattern of themselves. Have them be creative and decorate the pattern paying special attention to the colors in their dress, pants, shirt, shoes, socks etc.  An adult takes a digital picture of each child and attaches the head to the decorated body. To keep the picture from fraying, it would be a good idea to laminate Flat Stanley. The laminated picture should be able to fit in an envelope so it can be mailed to a friend.

NOW the fun begins!  Have your child send their version of  Flat Stanley to a friend or relative who lives faraway.   If you are a teacher, there is a list of Flat Stanley participants on the Flat Stanley Project website, where children can send their Flat Stanley. You can receive Flat Stanley’s from other children as well.

Flat Stanley can travel to exciting places all over the world.  Send him to a relative who lives in a different country, or have him visit relatives living in a different state within the United States.  When you send your Flat Stanley to a friend or relative, ask that the host family take Flat Stanly to parks, museums, festivals and as many exciting places as possible.  Ask that they return Flat Stanley by a certain date.

What a great geography as well as math and language lesson you will be able to have when Flat Stanley returns home.  There will be a wealth of information to discuss about Flat Stanley’s adventures. Where did he go?  Where is it located on the map?  Is it in the United States or in another country?  How many miles did Flat Stanley travel?  Have the child write about a place Flat Stanley visited that would be top on their list to visit in the future. The list of activities could go on and on.

Be sure to check out the site to find other fun and interesting projects you can do with Flat Stanley.

Here’s to the start of a great summer!

The Bing Note Team