More from Zambia!

Hi kids!




Here I am on the deck at my hotel.  The river you see behind me is the Zambezi River.  It reminds me of the Catawba River in Rock Hill, but it is much wider.  The animals that live near it are different too.  Here is a sign that warns you about some of the dangerous animals here!  Oh my!  I was careful.



On the Catawba River I see turtles and blue herons.  When I went on a boat ride on the Zambezi we saw something else!



Look behind me in the river.  Can you guess what I saw?  Here's a hint- they aren't rocks!!







Did anyone guess?  They are hippos!!!  The full name is hippopotamus - which means 'river horse.'  I saw one running beside the river.  They are big, heavy animals but they can run really fast!!

Look what else I saw from the boat- hippo tracks in the sand!  They like to come out of the water in the evening to eat grass.  During the day they usually stay in the water to stay cool.



There was fun music on my boat!  People were playing marimbas- they are wooden xylophones. They even let me and Dr. Kristie play with them!  It was fun!



After the boat ride I went to see a famous waterfall.  It is the biggest waterfall in the whole world!  Remember that it is dry season here, so it has less water than usual.  When wet season comes it will have a lot more water.  Here I am on my hike.  You can see the big waterfall in the distance.  During wet season, all of the cliffs near me are part of the waterfall too!



This very special waterfall has two names.  Its name in English is Victoria Falls.  Its name in the local language here is Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means "the smoke that thunders."  The noise is the thunder and the mist around it can look like smoke from far away.  The mist also makes rainbows when the sun is shining!



OK, well I'm coming home to Rock Hill in time for Christmas.  My trip is almost over and I'll see you soon! Before I go, I want to teach you to say good-bye as they say it here in Zambia:
"Pitani bwino" first graders!

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

Zambian Safari!!

Hi kids!

Greetings from Zambia!  Do you know what a safari is?  It is a trip you take to see animals and take their pictures.  You see a lot of the same animals that you might see at the zoo, but in their own habitat!

We went in a jeep so that it could drive over the ground without a road!  We had a guide who knew how to find the animals and keep us safe.  His name is Stanley too!  We took a picture together:

Before we could see animals, we drove for a while through the land.  Here in Zambia, there aren't four seasons like back home.  There are only two seasons: Dry season and wet season.  Can you guess which season it is now?  Look at what I saw:



That's right!  Dry season!  When the rains start, there will be more leaves on the trees and lots of grasses and flowers.

Soon, we started to see all the animals!  I was very excited to see the elephants.  They travel in family groups and protect their babies.  I even got to see a baby elephant.  Look!




I took a picture with the elephants, but I didn't get out of the Jeep!



I also saw a spotted animal with a verrrrrrry long neck!  Can you guess what animal I saw?

Here is a picture:



The giraffe was eating, stretching its long neck up to munch on the leaves that other animals can't reach.  I took a picture with two of my giraffe friends.  Can you find them?




While we were driving, I asked Stanley about some big, giant piles of dirt.  He said that they are made by termites, which are a kind of insect that eats wood.  They reminded me of all the fire ant hills that I see in my yard in Rock Hill, but way, way bigger!  Isn't it amazing that something this big was made by tiny insects?




Our safari was almost over, but we stopped to see one more animal.  It was a brown furry animal with a long tail.  It liked to run and play.  Can you guess which animal it was?




 





Yes!  It was a monkey!  Or really, a whole group of monkeys.  I had so much fun watching them play by the river.

Well, that's it for now!  I will write again soon to tell you more about Zambia.

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

More from Connecticut

Hi First Graders,

Last weekend we went down to the water. Connecticut has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean, like South Carolina does. There are 14 lighthouses here.  They do an important job - keeping ships safe in the night or in the fog. I had a chance to visit one. It was fun to go inside.



I learned that the sperm whale is the state animal. I didn't see one of those, but I found this picture on the internet to share with you. Do you know that South Carolina has a state bird, and a state dog?  Ask your teacher about those.

 

We went to the marina, and walked on the docks. Lots of people have motorboats and yachts  moored here.

 

 

After spending time on the waterfront, we drove inland again, and took a walk by the Housatonic River. Some of the bridges were built long ago. They are called covered bridges, and are built to look like long houses or barns, with open ends for cars to enter, but with walls and roofs to keep out the snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I loved going through this covered bridge to get to the other side of the river.

We stopped to see one more sight before we went home. This is the oldest house in the state. It is made of stones. It was built in 1638 - almost 400 years ago.  The house has lasted a very long time!

That is all for now. I hope that you have enjoyed seeing some things about Connecticut - one of our 50 states.

 



Your friend,
Flat Stanley

In Connecticut - Wish you were here!

Hi first graders,

This is the first trip I have taken in an envelope this year! The mail carrier brought me to Mrs. Clarke's house. It took 3 days to get here.

Connecticut is one of the 6 states in the north-east corner of the country known as New England. The people who live here are sometimes called Connecticut Yankees. Maybe that's why the state song is Yankee Doodle Dandy. You can hear it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_BMzqwSdW8

Connecticut's nickname is The Nutmeg State. It is a spice that grows here on trees. It looks like a nut when it is ready to pick. It is ground up into powder and used in baking. The yummy smell of apple pie and pumpkin pie comes partly from nutmeg. Your teacher can let you smell some.



 



It is fall, but colder than in Rock Hill. I went downtown on a shopping trip. The shopkeepers here have made scarecrows to decorate for fall. This one was my favorite. It is made to look like a famous painter, Vincent Van Gogh.

 

 

After shopping in town, we went to a farm to buy a pumpkin. Thanksgiving is coming, and Mrs. Clarke is having company. She is planning to bake some pumpkin pies. I helped her pick out just the right one - nice and round, and big but not too big.

 

 

After shopping, our next stop was the park. I had a snack, then I played in the leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trees in Connecticut in the fall are red, yellow and orange. They are beautiful! Do you know what I like to do? I like to jump in them. Do you like to do that, too?

 

My first outing in Connecticut was lots of fun. I will write again after I have had some more adventures.

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

 

 



Hi from the Capital of the USA!

Hello first graders,

I have been here for four days. Dr. Kristie has been in lots of meetings in the daytime, but afterwards she likes to go out for a walk or a run, and she takes me along. I have seen a lot of famous places.

We walked by this house. Do you know who lives in it?

 

That's right...President Obama and his family! It is the White House. I didn't know that it had such a big fountain in the front yard. It looked very pretty as it was just starting to get dark, and the lights came on.

 

I saw some statues of three important men who helped our country become great. The first one lived the longest time ago. He is called a "Founding Father" because he is one of the people who started the USA. He was the 3rd president.

 

 

 His name is Thomas Jefferson. You can see his picture on a nickel, and a $2.00 bill. (Did you know that there are $2.00 bills? There are some, but not too many.) Ask Mrs. North to show you one.

The next one was a president, too. He was the 16th president. He helped our country come back together when some people wanted to break it apart.

 

His name is Abraham Lincoln. You can see his picture on a penny and a $5.00 bill.

 

 

The last one was not a president. He was a minister, a great speaker, and a leader. He helped change some laws in our country to make them more fair for everyone.

 



 

His name is Dr. Martin Luther King. His birthday in January is a national holiday.

 

 

Another place that I went was the National Mall. Have you been to a mall? What did you see there? Stores? A food court? A big parking lot? A play structure? Well this mall doesn't have any of those things. It is a big grassy lawn - blocks and blocks long.

 



 



Some people call it the nation's front yard. There are fireworks there in the summer, and picnics, and band concerts, and lots of other special events. The day we visited, it was pretty quiet and empty.
Can you see the Washington Monument in the background?  We got a lot closer to it later.

 

 

There are 50 flags in a circle around the bottom of the monument - one for every state. There was a pretty strong wind, so the flags were all waving. Look at the yellow thing up in the air. That is not a bird - it's a kite! Windy days are great for flying kites!

 

Washington D.C. is not as far away as the other places I have traveled this year. I know that some of you have visited here yourselves. I hope that many more of you will have the chance to come here when you get older. There is so much to see and do.

 

My trip is almost over. I enjoyed sharing it with you. Tomorrow morning I'll leave to come home.



See you soon!

Your friend,
Flat Stanley

Sah-wah-dee khrup from Thailand



I just said hello to you in the Thai language. Because I am a boy, I said, "Sah-wah-dee khrup."  (The last part sounds like "cup' because the r is silent.) Girls say, "Sah-wah-dee kha." No one waves hello or good-bye like we do. Instead, they hold their hands together for a greeting, like this:

A statue of Ronald McDonald outside a
restaurant is greeting the customers who
come to eat.

You can practice saying hello to each other in class.

 

We are staying Bangkok. It is a big city. People drive cars, take buses, taxis, and subways to get around, just like cities in the USA. I did see two new ways to travel in the city. This is a motorcycle taxi. It is called a tuk-tuk. The passengers sit on a little bench in the back. I didn't ride on one, but I think it would be fun! 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at this! Here is one we did try. There is a big river that flows through Bangkok, called the Chao Praya River. The boat goes up and down the river all day, stopping at docks to let people get on or off. It works kind of like a bus, going to different bus stops.

 

 

 

What do you like to do for fun?

The kids here like to play in lots of the same ways that you do. There are playgrounds and beaches. I saw a lot of children riding bikes, too.  This group of boys and girls stopped to let me have my picture taken with them.   

 





 

Some of their games I had never seen in the United States. These boys are playing a tire racing game called, "tee-wong-law." They use bike tires or motorcycle tires. Do you think you'd like to play this game?

 

Many people here buy their food in supermarkets like we do. Another place to shop is at outside food stalls. Farmers sell their crops here. Fishermen sell their catch. Do you recognize some of the foods in the picture? Do some things look different?

 

 





 

Thai people eat some foods that are very familiar to us. They eat a lot of chicken, and fish, and noodles. We eat those things at home, and know that they are yummy.

 

They eat other foods that we don't.  They have a vegetable called finger root, and one called lemon grass. I hadn't ever heard of those before.

 

They eat with chopsticks, like people do in China and Japan.

 

I went to a Thai restaurant. These are plates
of Pad Thai. That is their national dish.
I think hamburgers are our national dish.



 Well, first grade friends, this has been an exciting visit, but it is coming to an end. I will be coming home soon. I'll see you in Rock Hill next week.

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

 

 

 

 

 



My adventure in Thailand

Hello first graders,

Dr. Kevin took me half-way around the world to Asia. I am visiting a country called Thailand.
It was an exciting trip because it took 18 hours to fly here. It is the farthest that I have ever been from home. The time is very different here. When it is morning in Rock Hill, it is night time here. When it is night time in Rock Hill, it is morning here. That is because the sun can only shine on one side of the Earth at a time. When one side gets sunlight, the other side is in the dark. Right now while you are reading this, Dr. Kevin and I, and everybody else here are probably asleep.

I spent lots of time in our hotel room.



I stayed in the hotel room all week while Dr. Kevin was working, but when the weekend came, we went out sight-seeing. The churches in Thailand are different from ours. They are called temples.
The temple has tall round towers. It is very old, and was built long ago. Thailand is an older country than the USA.

 

Outside the temple are many statues of a man named Buddha who lived a long time ago. He is very important to the people here. They dress the statues in yellow cloth to show respect to Buddha. 

 

 

Some other buildings that we saw are very old towers called prangs. They are made of stone, and have carved pictures and designs on them. You can't go inside. There are no doors or windows.

 

 

Have you ever had a pony ride? If you lived in Thailand, you could have an elephant ride! It is lots of fun, but a little scary, because you are up so high. The elephant stops by some steps. You walk up to the top to get on the elephant. There is a little chair to sit on, and an umbrella for shade, because it is so hot and sunny. The trainer (he's the man sitting in the front) takes you for a walk all around. We watched other people ride before we had our turn. Elephants walk very slowly, so I did get used and I had fun.

 

Dr. Kevin paid the man for our ride. Did you know that other countries have different money? In the USA we pay for things with dollars. In Thailand, people pay with bahts (say "bots")

 Here is a picture of some money.

 

 

It is 1000 bahts. That is the same as 28 of our dollars.

 You can see pictures of US presidents on our money. Do you know who is on our $1.00 bill?

Do you know whose picture is on our $5.00 bill?

 

In Thailand, all of the paper money has a picture of the same person. It is the King of Thailand.

His name is King Bhumibol . (say boom-ee-ball)

 

 

That's all for today. I will write some more later, after I have had more adventures in Thailand.

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

 

 





 

 

 

Aloha!

Aloha first graders!

I just said hello to you.
Aloha is a Hawaiian word that means both hello and good-bye. You can say "Aloha" when you are coming or going away.


Here are some other special Hawaiian words that I learned while I was staying there.

Mahalo means "thank-you." People remember to say "Mahalo" when they get something.

Hula is a special dance. Little girls take hula lessons starting when they are five or six years old.

Wikiwiki means fast or speedy. I hope you are "Wikiwiki" to do the things you need to do.

The mountains in Hawaii are tall,
but they don't have snow on top.

                We saw a lot of mountains in Hawaii.
                Some of the mountains are volcanoes,
                but I didn't go to any volcanoes.

               It rains a lot in Hawaii - it rained every day
               that we were there - but only for a short time,
               and then the sun came out again.

              All of that water and so many mountains
              make a lot of waterfalls!

 

             This is Mount Waialelae (say Why-ully-ully).
             You can't see the top of it because it is always
             covered with clouds.

             Signs say that it is the wettest spot in the USA.
             It rains more here than anywhere else in our
             country.
             We took a hike and got rained on A LOT!

   

           



             This is Kalalau Falls. (say kah-lah-lah-oo)
             It is HUGE!
             See the little thing in the water down below?
             It is a person swimming.
             That can give you an idea of how
             high the waterfall is.

 

                Do you like animals? I do!
                In Hawaii I saw some that I had
                never seen before.
                This is a Black Swan.
                They love to swim, and spend
                a lot of time in the water.
                Swans look a lot like geese,
                but are bigger, and have a longer neck.
                They always hold their necks in an "S"
                shape.
               
                Swans are not very pretty when they are babies.
                The Book, The Ugly Duckling  tells the story
                of a little swan who grows up to be beautiful.

This is a Monk Seal. It is endangered. That means that only a small number of them are left in the world. They are protected. No one is allowed to hurt them. This little guy came up onto the beach to take a nap. The lifeguards made us stay away. We could take pictures, but not get too close.

One day we took a boat ride out into the Pacific Ocean. The waves were big, and the boat bounced up and down a lot! That made my tummy feel funny, but it was so worth it because we got to see dolphins! There were so many, and they followed alongside the boat. They are called Spinner Dolphins. They  jumped up out of the water, and spun around before they splashed back down. It seemed like they were playing.

My trip to Hawaii is one that I will always remember. I hope that you liked sharing my adventure.

I am glad to be home again in Rock Hill.  Soon I will get ready for my next trip. In September I will visit a country called Thailand. I just can't wait!

Aloha!

Your friend,

Flat Stanley