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!

Loved You Before I Met You, Qannick

So, if you're following me on Twitter (@loueyville), you'll know that this week I have been hosting a Flat Stanley.

Flat Stanley is a paper doll who is a curriculum tool for pre-school and elementary-aged kids. In my case, my Flat Stanley belongs to my cousin Beth's son, James.

James is a kindergartener at the Chestnut Children's Center in Needham, MA. And his teachers have asked the kids to create a Flat Stanley and then send it to someone who lives in another state so the kids can learn about other places in the US. My job is to show Stan a good time and then to send him back to James with pictures and souvenirs from our time together.

Today, I took Stanley to the zoo.  We've had a damned good run, Stanley and I, but today was just about getting to see Qannick.

And she didn't disappoint.  She was beautiful and playful and curious.

I've been a member of the Louisville Zoo since I moved here in 2006, but I don't make enough use of my membership.  When I lived in New Orleans, just a couple of blocks from the Audubon Zoo, I used to go to the zoo after a crappy day at work.  Hang out with the gorillas.  Chill with the gators.  Sometimes I would bring a book and a blanket and sit all day by the orangutang enclosure and read and visit with the apes between chapters.

Now that Qannick is here and Siku will be on exhibit soon... and the weather is warming up... maybe I'll be seeing more of Glacier Run soon.

Welcome to Louisville, Qannik!

Welcome Qannik, the newest resident of Louisville Zoo's Glacier Run.  The poor sweetie was abandoned by her mother in Alaska in April.  She arrived at the Zoo via UPS late last night.  The Zoo is officially tweeting Qannik's experience at @QannickTheCubLZ, but there's a cutie-pie unauthorized tweeter at @QannikBear.

I haven't been back to the Louisville Zoo since Scotty the baby elephant died. That wasn't really a conscious decision, but I was utterly heartbroken when Scotty died.  Then Misha, the sweet little gorilla baby who had to be transferred to Columbus when she was wounded by other gorillas in Louisville, died.  And, I've always been of two minds about zoos and aquariums, you know? (That being said, when I was looking for a job post-Katrina, I applied to the education departments of every zoo and aquarium I could think of... never got a single call back.  I guess they want you to, you know, know something about animals/fish.)

But not only do we now have a wee polar bear for the newly reopened Glacier Run, we also have a new baby girl giraffe born last Monday.

So it's time to go back to the zoo.  Welcome, Qannik!  Sorry it's so hot. Just you wait til December, dear.