Topic: The Flat Stanley Project
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Tom4Uhere's photo

Tom4Uhere

Fri 04/12/19 06:34 PM

Just got off the phone with my daughter.
Seems I should be expecting a package in the mail from my granddaughter's school.
Each child in her 2nd grade class is allowed to name one person to which a "Flat Stanley" project is mailed.

"Flat Stanley" is a posterboard cutout of a lil man with arms and legs that move on pivots. The idea is for the recipient (me) to go around my community and take snapshots of "Flat Stanley" visiting. Then for me to mail back "Flat Stanley and the snapshots with a short description of what the pictures are all about.

My first thought was to wrap him in yarn and send back only a photo and a ransom note but that is a bit extreme for second graders to handle.
So, I decided to embrace the project.

I am on a limited budget, while I do have a digital camera, I don't have the money for ink or processing. So I figure a school should have the ability to play a DVD. I have a blank DVD so I will send back a slideshow DVD instead.

I'm trying to come up with ideas of things to take pictures of that a 1st grader might identify with.
Here are my ideas so far (only been thinking on it about an hour or two so far...):

Flat Stanley on my shoulder at the Mississippi State sign on I-10.
Again at the city of Bay St Louis Sign (I live in Bay St Louis, they are from a town just south of St Louis, MO).
I was thinking a photo of someone in the BSL Police station (To show that all police are not bad).
A photo inside the BSL public library.
Going to the local elementary school and asking to take a photo of a 1st grade class (So they can see what other 1st graders in school look like, and a pic of the school).
A pic of one of the local playgrounds that feature splash pads for the kids to play in on a hot summer day.
A trip to the beach and a vista view of the beaches.
A shot of Flat Stanley on a water trike that you can rent (Its a paddle boat). Shots of people riding jet ski's and wind-surfing (yes, they are doing that already).
Pics of a few of the museums (like the Teddy Bear Museum).
Take some snapshots of Flat Stanley at the annual Crawfish Festival next week.
A pic of him climbing a palm tree.

I have pics of my granddaughter from 2 years ago at my house playing outside (not sure if I should include those).

I'm wondering if there is something I'm forgetting?
I can take about 300 pictures with my digital camera (my hand are not so steady tho so timer photos would be better).
I'm figuring the video (slideshow) has to be around 15-30 minutes, any longer and it consumes too much class time.
I'm thinking about using the Theme song of The Monkees as back ground music but I will also do some talking and include audio from the beach.
Seagulls get really excited when you throw popcorn in the air.

So, I'm looking for ideas, suggestions tips, tricks, whatever?
Has anyone ever done a "Flat Stanley" project?
Gotta remember a class of 2nd graders will be watching it.


Edited by Tom4Uhere on Fri 04/12/19 06:35 PM
Poetrywriter's photo

Poetrywriter

Fri 04/12/19 07:19 PM

What a great school project idea. And I thought this was gonna be a thread about someone renaming the earth Stanley and be another flat earth thread. Glad I was wrong.
Tom4Uhere's photo

Tom4Uhere

Fri 04/12/19 08:09 PM

I was thinking I could take some snapshots of some of the children dedicated community efforts in the area, like the free lucnh program or the wildlife presevation project.

One important factor, according to my daughter is that all photos must have Flat Stanley in them. So, I'm thinking a Where's Waldo type thing featuring Flat Stanley.
no photo

Redrider1500

Sat 04/13/19 02:33 PM

Beings that they live south of St Louis Mo. and I have relatives there, and know the area. Here's a couple I thought of.

Is there a zoo around Bay St Louis? Most kids in the St Louis area have been to the St Louis Zoo.

The same goes for Grant's Farm. (Home of the Budweiser Clydesdales) Something similar in your area? Like a rice, cotton, nut, or catfish farm? Got an alligator farm around?

Since you're not far from Louisiana. Perhaps you could run over and take a picture of a parish county line. Since Louisiana has no counties, it has parishes. (For that matter, do you know that the city of St Louis, Mo, is not in a county at all? The only city in america that's like that.)

How about something silly? Is there any Piggly-Wiggly Grocery stores around there? None in Missouri. Just Schnucks. (That's a Missouri Grocery store)

Barges. Surely those kids have seen them going down the Mississippi. How about where they stop? Or for that matter, how wide is the Mississippi at that point?