A few weeks ago, a delightful likeness of Flat Stanley arrived in my mailbox courtesy of my friend’s daughter Emma.  In her letter, Emma asked that I take some photos of her flat self so that she could add my location to their classroom’s Flat Stanley map.  Only too happy to oblige, Stanley traveled with my family to Minnesota for the holidays and went snowmobiling, saw a giant fish, and learned to make Scandinavian rosettes.

This approach to introducing the Flat Stanley series has engaged young children for decades.  And while I appreciate the classics as much as anyone, I thought it might be fun for Emma’s class to put a contemporary spin on the project.  After uploading the image below to Flickr, I asked my Twitter network to say “hello” to Flat Stanley.  The response I received was simply incredible and truly humbling.

Within seconds I had a response from New York.  A few minutes later, visitors from Virginia, Georgia, and Pennsylvania had sent their regards.  In the course of 24 hours, more than 450 people viewed Emma’s flat self and left nearly 80 comments from across the country and around the world.

While Emma is far too young to grasp all the implications of living in a flat world, the generosity of the people who participated have set her on the path, given me a new appreciation for the power of professional networks, and will hopefully inspire other educators to provide students learning opportunities that reach beyond classroom walls.  Thanks so much for sharing in the experience and taking Flat Stanley on the journey of a lifetime!

N.B.  If you’d like to say “hi” to Stanley, you can visit his Flickr page or leave a comment below.  Cheers!

Posted: 01|6|10 at 8:53 pm. Filed under: In the Classroom, Social Networks.
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