You are all so respectful! Two posts were supposed to show up yesterday afternoon but were kicked over to "draft" for some reason. Now it is clear why the children had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned the fun slideshow pictures. Luckily, a parent mentioned it to me after school today. The blank post was deleted and the draft was posted. If there is ever a gap more than a day, then something went wrong in the posting. Feel free to let me know via text. ;)

It was a fun end to our week! We read the entire first chapter book of Flat Stanley yesterday and made our Flat Stanleys. Today they were laminated and your child designed a special envelope to have him mailed for his first adventure. A few children have traveling parents (or are traveling themselves) next week out of the country, so we are excited to see the photos of Flat Stanley in the near future. Thank you in advance for taking your child's Flat Stanley on his first adventure. Other children plan to take their Flat Stanleys to Thanksgiving activities or even to a restaurant. A few children left theirs with me to be traded with another class in either another state (or hopefully) or another country. The idea is simple and described on the back of the Flat Stanley as well as on his special envelope. Your child can tell you why he is flat. :) His goal is to travel the world. Someone will take a photo of him in a recognizable and fun location, upload the photo to the special email address created for him last night, then we will download and print the photos. The photos will be mapped on our wall as we learn more about the countries of the world. We will read his other chapter books in the upcoming months that include travels to various countries. I purchased a few sets of the chapter books to be used in guided reading groups as well. They are so excited to see where our Flat Stanleys go!

You will notice that there is no homework packet. There was no purpose with only one night and the interviews being due by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. The goal in scheduling was to give you this upcoming week to coordinate with your families a time that will work to record any of the following interview formats onto video:  live interview, Skype or Vtok interview, or phone on speakerphone interview. Please upload them to the website via the directions sent home stapled to your child's folder last week. From there, the real work begins with a huge payoff for you if it all comes together as envisioned. As of yet, I've never heard of anyone doing it so there are many pieces to figure out. Surely it will be possible. ;)

A photo slideshow of Flat Stanley's introductory greeting to all is available at the following link (which was supposed to post yesterday):

Flat Stanley Arrives

Yesterday, your child finished an amazing autobiography completely planned, organized, and written by your child. Every child was so proud. So far, your child has now created a full autobiography and a biography of Rosa Parks. Next, we will finish learning about Babe Ruth and write biographies of his life. In full multimedia fashion, each culminating activity requires your child to create (highest level of iPad use) something on his/her iPad that represents his/her learning of the person who changed our world in a positive way.

In case you were wondering, the "people" chosen for us to focus on were indeed chosen based on the interests of the children in our class. After Babe Ruth? Who else but Walt Disney? Making biographies interesting and relevant to the lives of the children was the priority. The same is true of the people who will represent our "present heroes".

Speaking of which, you are all present day heroes and heroines in the lives of your children! ;) Those are not just words. It can be proven with evidence as each morning's interviews somehow have included that sentiment.

Enjoy your weekend!