Flat Stanley in Louisville

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I've been hosting a Flat Stanley for a couple of weeks. If you aren't in education or don't have a wee one in your family, you may have no idea what I am talking about.

Flat Stanley is a character from a book from the 1960's, a little kid who is squished by a falling bulletin board (scary, right?) who then discovers certain advantages to being "flat" including the fact that he can be mailed to far away places for vacation. Somewhere along the line some smart educators decided to use Stanley in their lesson plans as a way to teach their little kids about geography and different cultures.  Students are given a Flat Stanley to send to a friend in another city; that friend is supposed to show Stanley around, take pictures of Stanley visiting city landmarks, and then send Stanley and the pictures back to the originating classroom.

My Stanley came all the way from a kindergarten class in Needham, MA and my favorite cousin's son, James.

Even though early on in Stanley's visit my cousin told me that I shouldn't write a blog for Stanley because the kindergarten has sketchy tech... well, heck, blogging is kind of my thing.  I couldn't help myself.

For the actual project, I turned the blog into a powerpoint and send the printed slides back to Needham with Stanley (along with a box of Modjeskas from Muth's because I want James's Stanley to be everyone's favorite Stanley).

If you want to see all the fun things Stanley and I did during his visit, check out the blog Flat Stanley In Louisville. As with all blogs, posts appear in reverse chronology.

Disclaimer #1: I'm writing for kindergarteners... expect simple language and oversimplification of facts at times.

Disclaimer #2: Yes, James calls me "Missy." No, you may not call me "Missy."

Enjoy!

Arthritis, cancer, cholera-- Oh my!!

Those of you who know me, know that I'm a little twisted. And that's why when I saw a tweet from Locust Grove Historic Home saying "Register for the death tour!" I had to hop online pronto to see what's what.

According to their website:

Alcoholism, arthritis, cancer, cholera, chronic infections, mania and depression, skin scald, strokes, and tuberculosis---family letters reveal how serious the Croghans’ health problems were. What went wrong? This night-time tour features new research and expands our views of how this affluent Kentucky family really lived and slowly died. Cost is $10 ($7 for members and volunteers). RESERVATIONS REQUIRED - call 897-9845.

Yeah, I'm thinking I need to check this out. Nothing says "Happy Halloween" like skin scald, right?

October 21, 7pm.