Fun times with Stanley

Earlier this year one of my teaching friends from Tassie sent me a Flat Stanley. I assume all of you early years teacher friends of mine know what a Flat Stanley is? If not, I am mortified on your behalf. You should know! For those of you who are not teachers, I will explain. Flat Stanley is a little fictional boy who was squashed and then sent to his friend. The idea is that a class sends Flat Stanleys around the word and use it as a platform to study other cultures. There are many other curriculum links that apply, but I won't bore you all with details. You non-teachers will zone out and you teachers have enough sense and training to figure it out for yourself. Here's some deets, in case you are interested (like my Mum most likely is):

The Flat Stanley Project is an educational project that was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade schoolteacher in London, Ontario, Canada. The project featurespaper cut-outs based on the title character of the 1964 children's book Flat Stanley.The project was designed to facilitate the improvement of the reading and writing skills of elementary school students, while also promoting an interest in learning about different people and places. In 2001 Hubert was presented the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence, an annual award issued by the Prime Minister of Canada to honour outstanding and innovative elementary and secondary school teachers.

In an interview with CNN in 2005, Hubert explained: "In the book, by Jeff Brown, Stanley gets squashed flat by a falling bulletin board. Stanley's parents rolled him up, put him in an envelope and mailed him to his friend in California. And that just seemed like a way of communicating that grade-three students might enjoy."

Students involved in The Flat Stanley Project are read the story of Flat Stanley and are subsequently given black-and-white cut-outs of him for them to color.The students are also asked to write a story about him, including details such as where he is from, his daily routine and his interests, then they mail their Stanley to someone, such as a friend or relative in another country, or a student at another school participating in the program. The person receiving the Flat Stanley is asked to take a picture with the cut-out doll and to send a letter back, either via email or regular mail, to the student recounting Flat Stanley's adventures along with the accompanying photo. The student then shares the photo and letter with their class.

By then end of its first year there were 13 classrooms participating in the project across the province of Ontario. Classrooms in the United States were short to follow suit and by 2006 the program had grown to 6,000 classes in 47 nations. By 2011 it was reported that at least 88 countries were participating in the program annually.

Here's one of the first Flat Stanley's that was sent from Canada. 

So my little project was to take this Flat Stanley and show him around PNG, giving him a taste of the what PNG is like. Along with showing him around, the idea is that Stanley has his picture taken and then writes a (longish) letter about all of the things that he has learnt about the country he has visited. I thought I'd share some of the photos with all of you.

Flat Stanley in my classroom (appropriately wearing PNG colours)

Flat Stanley hiding in my bilum (PNG bag) 

Flat Stanley learning to read the Pidgin Bible. He's making progress!

Flat Stanley learnt to play Settlers of Catan. He's played a LOT of games and is becoming quite the strategist

Hanging out near the empty coconuts

Watch out Stanley, I will eat you!

Flat Stanley enjoying the view and dying in the humidity....

Flat Stanley wondering if he can escape out of the gates

Flat Stanley watching the pineapples grow. He's been there a while......

Flat Stanley hanging out in the PNG haus kuk (kitchen)

Flat Stanley going down the slide

Flat Stanleys LOVES bananas. He especially loves it when the LCM boys bring a banana rope from one of their trees and hang it in our compound :)

Flat Stanley admiring the PNG flowers

and the beautiful leaves on some of our hedges

Considering if he can drive the truck. He's learnt that Jesus is the Way. Him Only! 

Yep, Stanley is a truck driver too!!!

He's had quite the adventure in PNG and now he's winging his way back to Tasmania, so he's probably somewhere in the air between us right now. Goodbye Stanley, it was fun hanging out!! I hope you enjoyed your stay in PNG!