I taught third grade for 12 years and we did this activity EVERY YEAR during the first week of school. This is the best back-to-school activity that can be done in a classroom OR it would be a great homeschool experience as well. The kids love it and there’s so much learning involved that they don’t even realize. So it’s a win-win! I’ll break share the materials you’ll need, then I’ll break down how it works and then point out all the learning targets.

What materials will you need?

The materials are pretty basic. The one thing you might not have at home is a roll of butcher paper. Otherwise, you’ll just need markers, scissors, one envelope and stamp per child, and a copy of the letter explaining the project. If you work in a school, you’ll also need a permission form. I have everything linked at the bottom for you so it’s super simple to just print and go!

How does Flat Stanley Work?

First, you are going to get your kids (you can do this with your classroom or at home with your homeschoolers) super excited for this activity because they are about to start getting mail from all over the country! Who doesn’t love going to the mailbox to look for real snail-mail?!

Measure out a piece of butcher paper that is a little longer than the height of each child. They are going to lay on the paper on the floor and someone will trace their whole body. I usually have my kids take their shoes off or else the paper tends to rip. Depending on the ages of the kids, you might have to help with this part. There’s usually some good laughs happening.

Then, another fun part! BEFORE they cut out their bodies they should color their Flat Stanleys. I told my students to make them look like they do - same color eyes, same hair, similar clothing. Otherwise, you might get some crazy looking, red-eyed Flat Stanley that you might not actually want to send to family and friends.

Now you’ll want to print the letters and have the kids sign them. We like to practice signing in cursive. Show them how to fold their letters so they fit in the envelope. Address the envelopes, put the stamp and return address on, and put the letters inside. After their Flat Stanley is colored, then they cut them out, fold them up neatly, and put them in the envelope.

I taught in a small town so we’d walk to the Post Office office every year for a little field trip. Each student would have a couple dollars and they would take turns standing in line to mail and pay for their letter. We’d practice manners and eye contact. Lots of great lessons!

Then we wait…after a week or so the first post card would come in the mail and they would be sooo excited!! I’d read the post card to them and pass it around. We’d talk about whatever state it came from. We’d find the state on a big U.S. map and name the capital. Each student has their own paper map that they would label at the same time. Then we’d staple the postcard around the map and that way we could see and keep track of all the postcards we got all year long.

Now let’s talk about all the learning that takes place with this one activity:

• Learning how to address an envelope

• Learning how to fold a paper neatly to fit in an envelope

• Learning their address so they can write the return address

• Learning how to mail something at the Post Office

• Using their creative brains to color, decorate, trace, and cut out their Flat Stanleys

• And finally - learning all about the states and capitals!