Journal
Staff Writer
EAST PROVIDENCE
-- Youngsters in Sharon Chalmers's second-grade class at Sacred Heart School have been doing a lot of vicarious living these days, thanks to their pal and classmate, Flat Stanley.
Flat Stanley, as many children around the world know, is a youngster in a book by Jeff Brown. Stanley had the misfortune to have a bulletin board fall on top of him, making him as flat as a cracker.
Flat enough to fit in an envelope to be mailed overseas. Flat enough to slip in someone's pocket for a trip on a plane.
During the last three years, Chalmers has encouraged children in her class to color and laminate their own Flat Stanleys with the idea that the little fellow would become part of their family, venturing out on vacations and even on trips around the world.
And travel he did. Youngsters came back with pictures and journals chronicling Flat Stanley's visits to Japan, London, Rome, Paris (where he visited the Eiffel Tower) China, the Philippines and even the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia.
Maybe it had something to do with Sept. 11, but Flat Stanley's visits so far this school year have been more local.
"They're not traveling as much," observes Chalmers, "but they're doing more."
Take Flat Stanley's visit to The Providence Journal. Seven-year-old James Boudreau's Flat Stanley landed on the desk of Deputy Executive Editor Carol J. Young, who made sure he got the royal treatment.
Not only did Flat participate in The Journal's morning news meeting but he helped photo editor Jennifer Boucher select pictures for Page 1.
"Flat Stanley kept asking if he could go to the Winter Olympics," Young noted.
Alex Branco's Flat Stanley was one of the few that managed to go abroad. But take it from Flat, his trip was no walk in the park.
Thanks to Army Spec. Joseph A. Melo, of the 14th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division, which is based in Fort Drum, N.Y., Stanley spent a considerable amount of time in war-torn Kosovo.
As Stanley journeyed back from the region, Melo sent an e-mail to the states, informing Branco where they'd been.
"Keep in mind that Flat Stanley has earned his medal of honor," Melo reported. "Not only did he go through the extremes, but he was in my pocket during every mission I was at. He did not suffer any major wounds, but did bring a lot of laughs to me and the guys."
Flat Stanley also apparently had an interesting time hanging around the home of Branco's schoolmate, Christopher Carduto, also 7.
As with most of the children in the class, Chris kept a detailed journal of Stanley's whereabouts, filled with photos.
"That's Flat Stanley in my bunk bed," he reported. "And this is where he met an iguana at a museum in South County."
Carduto has pictures of Flat Stanley with a crab, a lobster, and a boa constrictor ("He's lucky he wasn't eaten"), to name a few. He has pictures of Flat Stanley swimming in a pool. "And that's him at Kelsey's house, watching the Super Bowl."
Chalmers said that since she began the project three years ago, Flat Stanley has become a popular undertaking among the students in the lower grades.
"The children who are in the class now learned about him last year because they were just across the hall. And the parents know about him through the open houses. Most of the families can't wait to make him part of their families."
It's become almost a tradition now that the children are invited in early June to bring their Flat Stanleys back to a welcoming party, replete with cake, where youngsters read from their Stanley journals during the final days of school.
So far this year, says Chalmers, there's been only one mishap. During a trip to Aruba with Ashley
DeCastro's aunt, Flat Stanley suffered a broken leg. His leg is now in a cast.
But that's a lot better, she says, than what happened last year. Somehow, on the way back from the state of Washington, Stanley slipped out of his envelope, so that when the envelope arrived only his pictures were there.
"It was very traumatic," says the teacher. "We checked with the dead letter office, but there was no Stanley."
The Flat Stanley phenomenon apparently has become increasingly popular among teachers around the country, though according to Chalmers, each one adds his or her own twist.
Chalmers says Flat Stanley is an important teaching tool that helps the children learn not only about geography but also about people's occupations. She finds that the journals help the children develop their writing and artistic skills.
"There are some classes that have big Flat Stanleys. But we think the small ones are better. They're easier to slip into an envelope and get past security at the airport."
At the end of the year, the children will be receiving a grade for their journals. But the teacher says she suspects that won't be the end.
"I still hear from former students who say they still have their Flat Stanley and cherish it. They say they really learned something from him. And that's our goal."
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