Flat Stanley- Daytona (Group 3)

Talk about an excited group of students!! 

At the beginning of the year when we sent out our flat classes on their field trips around the world I didn't consider the fact that I would have new students at the end of the year. These students watched as our flat groups returned and were patient but sad that they did  not have a flat version of themselves. 

With only a small hope that we could get an adventure squeezed in at the end of the year we sent our group to Daytona International Speedway. Ed Sweeney, guest service supervisor, hosted our group 3. These were our adventures in Florida:

Daytona Beach
Daytona International Speedway
Richard Petty Driving Experience (We did this!!)
Jimmie Johnson Car (winner of the Daytona 500!!)
The trophy case of all Daytona 500 Winners (with a student lead discussion about how many races are won before you can even make it to the Daytona 500 and how hard that is)

The students all got their very own Daytona car! The most exciting part for the kids was looking at the huge speedway and knowing that they were their eating pizza with Ed. Teachers favorite was seeing the students in the netting of the winning Jimmie Johnson Car! Wow! 

Thank you Daytona International Speedway!

Flat Stanley- England (Group 1)

The first amazing fact about our arrival home from England was that we flew via Royal Mail!! We even went through customs!
We arrived home with a book of photos and a long story about all we did. We also had maps to look over and post cards to gaze at. All of these wonderful moments are going in a class scrapbook!

We received the English flag which is now hanging in our classroom!

We don't want anyone to be jealous but we did go to:

• Felixstowe
• Big Ben
• Harley Rides
• Buckingham Palace
• London Eye
• Landgaurd Fort
• Pub for Birthday dinner
• Playing in the snow (laminated snow suits!) 

We had a wonderful time with our hosts! The highlight...the motorcycle rides! Image that. When we were there our littlest host got sick and had to go to the hospital! We were glad we were permitted to visit and cheer him up. We loved it so much our flat group is going back to live. We hope we bring you as much joy as you brought us. Thanks again!

Flat Stanley- Minnesota (Group 1)

Our world wall is really getting full of our adventures!  Our next trip was to Minnesota.

Our flat class arrived back with 2 hardbound books of our adventures (a class copy and 1 to pass around our homes)

The book had sticky notes inside that told us to open individually wrapped gifts during our reading of the book. We got a hockey puck when we were reading that most kids play ice hockey there. We went to see a huge event that had 28 different ice rinks.

We all received our wings because we got to fly the plane!! And we learned that mice do not like dryer sheets, so we got some for our backpacks. That is how Minnesotans winterize their boats with dryer sheets!

Other highlights:
Photo shoot with a winning basketball team from Los Angeles
Dinner with Cuban food- who wants Yucca?
Contra Dancing
Bluegrass Music- we sat with the band, in their pockets!
Mall of America
Ice Castles in parking lot of Mall of America
Ice fishing
Guthrie Theater

There are so many you will need to come on over and read our amazing book!!!

Flat Stanley- Sweden (Group 2)

Group 2 has just arrived from a wonderful trip to Kristianstad, Sweden. Thanks Meredith!! (and Felicia!)

We stayed in a small city that was built around 1600 AD according to our host.  The adventures we had and things we learned:

• Students take off their shoes when they enter into the school
• School is never cancelled for bad weather and student have recess even if it is raining
• Sweden in Swedish is called "Sverige"
• For holidays people often eat fish, such as Herring
• They speak Swedish
• Soccer and Hockey are very popular

Even the stamps are amazing!

Adventures we had and places we visited:

• Elementary School
• Army building (Legibus Et Armis)
• Cathedral (built 400 years ago)
• Public transit
• Biking around town
• Feeding ducks
• Walking on frozen river
• Castle ruins

We received a special surprise...another package from Sweden! Our flat class also got to go to Ullstrop, Sweden. I loved the milk container in this picture!! Mjolk...beautiful.

What we learned:

• It is usually raining and cold in Sweden..unlike the hot desert that we live in
• High School is optional
• English is taught at the age of 11
• For fun people hunt mushrooms in the forest
• Hiking is very popular in this area because of the untouched land

Flat Stanley- Blacksburg (Group 1)

On our adventures south we went to Blacksburg, VA. 

Home of Virginia Tech.

Our school is all about being ready for college and we say every day,  "WE ARE COLLEGE BOUND. NO EXCUSES!"

Our adventures in Blacksburg were exciting and tested our party and guest manners. Sadly, some of us just could not remember our manners and repeatedly put our flat feet in the drinking glasses! We wrote some apology letters and hope we will be invited back. We went to a birthday party and all got wonderful party favors. We ate chocolate sauce on ice cream while staying in a cabin in the woods. How lucky are we?

It would take 31 hours to get from Riverside Elementary School to Blacksburg VA. That is 2,120 miles away!!

Flat Stanley- South Carolina (Group 2)

 South Carolina

The kids went wild for this package!! They have studied a few of the places we visited and just glowed when talking about how our flat selves had been there. They also loved the gifts that arrived for each of them. We loved the massive amounts of pictures of us in all of these fun places.

The highlights:
USS Yorktown and Patriots Point- I wish you could have seen the students when they heard we went here! "I know that ship!" "I studied that!"
Fort Sumter- "Whoa, we just learned about that place!" Civil War history comes to life!
Megalodon- "Is that a Megalodon tooth!!! Is it? Is it real??!!" (shh don't tell, but I didn't know what that was until now. But the kids sure knew what the teeth were from. So, I now have a fossil Megalodon tooth and my husband is so jealous!) Everyone was ecstatic about having their own tooth.
Isle of Palms Beach-we did wear our swim suits for this trip.
Charleston Historic District
Aquarium!!

Flat Stanley- Las Vegas (Group 2)

Our host in Las Vegas, Nevada really showed us the sights. She kept us very busy with the greatest activities!

1. Yuma AZ Renaissance Fair
2. Movie party to see The Hobbit
3. English Country Dancing (We did this!!)
4. Knighted in the Kingdom of Coreathea
5. We learned what Steampunk is

The highlight for one of our class members was a ride in a pirate hat! Although my favorite was being knighted. Everyone loved our gift..an amazing necklace and great photo album of our adventures.

Flat Stanley- Chicago (Group 2)

We visited Northfield, Illinois in Cook County. This is a small community on the north shore of Chicago. According to our host, sites nearby are Lake Michigan, Willis Tower (the tallest building in North America with 110 floors), and O'Hare Airport. The community loves sports, arts and politics. Home to the famous Chicago Cubs (we now have our own class cards) and Blackhawks(who are currently 22 and 3 right now)!! Broadway shows sometimes start in Chicago before they go to New York.

Did you know that President Obama is from Chicago? We just learned that!

We got to go to library story time with Mrs. Debbie! We went to a card making workshop where we sat on card makers shoulders. We went to a benefit dinner.  We also went to a birthday dinner for our host's son.

The elementary schools are a little different from here in Utah. The classrooms are small 12-15 per class. Most kids walk to school and everyone brings lunch from home! Wow, that is different.

Flat Stanley- Ogden Utah (Group 1)

We are coming back home. 

Our flat classes are slowly returning. This is our second one to return. Now the fun begins. We have organized our world map and are ready to learn about different places.

We are planning to read all about our adventures. In Ogden, Utah we went sledding in a Frisbee!! We made cookies and enjoyed hot cookies and milk.

We have also started learning letter formatting and are writing letters in our writing workshops.

Flat Stanley- Floyd VA (Group 1)

Our first flat class has arrived back from Floyd VA! Our host there, Miss Rima, sent a wonderful hard bound book about the famous Floyd Country Store which was a fun place that we visited.

Lessons:

• How to  use the internet to find maps
• How to use google maps
• How to use a drop down menu
• How to calculate miles driven into days
• What is flat footing?
• What is bluegrass music?
• What is organic?

Check out what we found:

• Link: Floyd County Store 
• Link: Google Maps It would take 36 hours to drive there!
• Floyd is a town in Floyd County, Virginia, United States. The population was 432 at the 2000 census. Wikipedia

Flat Class is Packing Up!!

Today we addressed envelopes and finished writing our letters. Everyone is so excited about going on this adventure that we could hardly do our other work today!!