Imagine a child mailing himself to relatives to get away for the summer. Oh the adventures he would have and mischief he might cause! If you have ever read the 1964 children’s book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, you know that in the story a little boy does just that.
For years, children and adults have embraced the Flat Stanley idea and created their own paper cut-outs to take along on vacation. Whether you want to create a Flat Stanley for your own children or suggest a fun project for your students this summer, here are some tips for making Flat Stanley come alive.
How to Make A Flat Stanley Summer Project
1. Who Is Flat Stanley?
Start by reading the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. It will explain a lot and get your children excited about the idea. It’s a quick read and one that children from two to teen will enjoy.
2. Make Your Own
Cut-out a figure to decorate as your own Flat Stanley. It can be made from any type of paper, but for a more durable piece, use heavy card stock. You might also want to laminate him or her with a professional laminating machine or clear contact paper. Your Flat Stanley is going to see the world this summer, so make sure he’s durable enough to withstand the elements!
3. And We Shall Call Him…
Give your flat person a name. You can name it anything you want – from serious to silly, there’s no wrong name for your flat person. You might even want to write his or her name on the cut-out just to make sure no one forgets who he is.
4. Say Cheese!
Take your person wherever you go and snap a picture of him/her. Going to the grocery store? Take Flat Stanley along and take a picture of him in the produce aisle. Headed to Disney World? Bring Flat Stanley with you. Wherever you go, so should he. You don’t have to be in the picture with your person, but it’s okay if you are. Do not forget to take pictures; it’s the most important part of the process (and so much fun!)!
5. This Summer We…
Create a scrapbook – either digitally or by printing out the photos – highlighting your flat person’s summer adventures. You can use a social media photo site like Flickr or a personal photo album in iTunes. Or, you can go old school and have your pictures printed and created a paper scrapbook of your summertime fun.
By the end of the summer you will have a fun and memorable collection of pictures. If you homeschool, use the digital scrapbook as part of your yearly portfolio. Classroom teachers can create a special Flat Stanley picture group on Flickr.com where former and current students can upload pictures of their own Flat Stanley-inspired summers. You might even want to have a “Can You Guess Where Stanley Is This Week?” contest to keep your students connected. Whatever you decide to do, have fun with your flat person!
Thanks for sharing these great Flat Stanley ideas. I want to do a Flat Stanley project in the fall, and these will be very helpful!
Love this idea!
I read Flat Stanley to my 6th grade students when we are beginning a unit on latitude and longitude. The silly little character we used “Flat Bob” was enough to make the whole unit fun which map reading isn’t for most.
I love Flat Stanley. My 3rd graders love doing projects with him.
What cute ideas! I hope to do some Flat Stanley activities with my Kindergarteners in the upcoming school year. I think I will go ahead and make a Flat Stanley now so I can have him travel with me throughout the summer. That way, I can share with my students what Ms. Batson was up to this summer! I think they would enjoy that.
I now have lots more ideas to go with what I already do with Flat Stanley. Looking forward to my kids adventuring with Stanley next year!
What a fun idea for the summer or even when the kids are on spring and winter breaks! I plan on introducing flat stanley books in my classroom next year so it would be great for me to create my own summer adventure scrapbook using flat stanley as an introduction for the students! 🙂
I love Flat Stanley! My 2nd graders do a geography project with him every year. The kids send Flat Stanley to someone who lives in another state or another country with a journal and ask them to write about a day with Flat Stanley. When he comes back, we mark his travels on the map. Flat Stanley has visited our class after going to Ireland, China, Japan, Australia, and Sweden! He went to Hollywood once too and brought back a whole scrapbook of his adventures with celebrities! It was great! The kids love it when he brings back souvenirs from his travels! There is a whole website about sending Flat Stanley places at: http://www.flatstanleybooks.com/
You can download Flat Stanley there.
Is there a template for the Flat Stanleys in the picture above? These are really cute.