Second-graders travel the globe on paper

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

Kristin Raffo’s second-grade students at Belle Terre Elementary School have traveled as far north as Norway and as far south as Puerto Rico.

But these students didn’t pack any suitcases, or buy any plane tickets. Their minds traveled to these exotic places with the help of the “Flat Stanley” curriculum.

“Flat Stanley” is a book series that Raffo said, “Our students love.”

In the book, Stanley Lambchop and his younger brother, Arthur, are given a big bulletin board by their dad for displaying pictures and posters. He hangs it on the wall over Stanley’s bed.

During the night, the board falls from the wall, flattening Stanley in his sleep. He survives, and soon he is entering locked rooms by sliding under doors, and playing with his younger brother as a kite.

Stanley even helps catch art museum thieves by posing as a painting on the wall.

But one special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope. Eventually Arthur reverts Stanley to his proper shape using an air pump.

Students in Raffo’s class made their own Flat Stanleys to send out to their friends and family in different states and countries, though the mail.

“We are learning about geography and map skills, and (Flat Stanley) was a great way to tie that into real-world experience,” Raffo said.

The Belle Terre Elementary Flat Stanleys have also visited the Grand Old Opry, the Biltmore Mansion and have even become a staff member at the Children’s Hospital, in Dallas.

“This is a great way for their families to be able to be a part of their education,” Raffo said.

For more on Flat Stanley, visit www.flatstanleybooks.com.