More from Japan

Ohayo again First Graders!

Japan is such an interesting place. I have been getting around in Tokyo and I found out about a lot of things that you wanted to know.

Mia asked what the money looks like. It is called yen, and here are two different bills.

 

The top one is a 1000 yen note. It has a picture of the Emperor. The bottom one is a 2000 yen note, and it has a picture of a torii gate.

 

Ziggy and Christian both asked about what kind of special buildings that I saw in Japan. A torii gate is one kind. It is not exactly a building, it's more of an entry way.

 



This one is in the water. Boats come through it on the way to shore.  Other ones are on land. People  walk through them to enter some buildings.

Another type of building is a pagoda. It is a religious building (like our churches) where people go to  worship and pray. They are tall towers with many layers of roofs.

 

You can see guard lion statues, called Shishi, outside many buildings. They are always in pairs. One has an open mouth, and one has a closed mouth. They are supposed to keep evil away.

 

 



Xaria asked what kind of clothes people wear. Mostly, they dress just like us. They like jeans and hoodies. Girls wear a lot of Hello Kitty clothes. Boys like tee shirts with Pokémon and Picachu on them. Did you know that all 3 of those characters started in Japan?

 

There are some traditional clothes that people wear on special occasions. This woman is dancing onstage, and wearing a kimono. She has traditional make-up on her face to make it very white.

 

 

Another type of special clothes that children wear all the time is school uniforms. Elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools all have uniforms. I saw these boys and girls in the subway station one morning on their way to school. There are no school buses. Kids walk to school, ride bikes, come in cars with their moms, or take the subway.

 

The uniforms always have hats. Their backpacks are bigger than ours, and made of leather.

 

 

It is time for my to say good-bye to you. I know that your school year is almost over. Soon you will start summer break, so this will be my last post. I hope that you have enjoyed learning a little bit about some far away places in our world. Always stay curious and keep learning.

 

Sayonara!

Your friend,

Flat Stanley



 

 

 



 



 



 

Ohayo from Japan!

I just said, "Hi" to you in Japanese. The word sounds like the English word, "Ohio" which is the name of a state in our country.

I have been here for one week now, and I have been learning a lot. I am staying in Tokyo, which is the biggest city in Japan. Much bigger than New York City even! It is very busy. The people are very nice, though. They are so polite. They bow from the waist when they meet. Girls and ladies bow with their hands clasped in front of them. Boys and men bow with their hands straight down at their sides. Would you like to try that?

We have been tasting many different foods. Japan is an island nation, so most people live close to the sea, and they catch and eat a lot of fish. Rice is another favorite food. Rice and fish are part of almost every meal - even breakfast!

This is a picture of a restaurant window. 

 

Lots of visitors to Japan aren't familiar with the foods, so they put plastic models in the window for people to look at to help them choose what they would like to eat.

 

This man is selling food in the street. He is cooking squid muffins. They are steaming hot when you buy them. They're round spheres, crispy on the outside, with pieces of squid in the middle. We liked them a lot!

 

 

 

Not all food is different, though. If you want American food, you can go to Subway, or McDonalds.

The signs look different, but the food is just the same.

 

 

 

Because I am in a city, the animals that I have seen are birds and squirrels. These small animals can live alongside people in crowded conditions. They can find enough food, and places to live. People here like to feed the birds. This man was scattering pieces of bread, and soon a whole flock of pigeons came to eat.

 

 

 

Another animal to see in the city is fish. These are called koi. They look like goldfish, only bigger. These fish are not for eating. They are for decoration. Many families have a pond in their yard full of these pretty fish.

 

I bet you know where I am in this picture!

 

 

That's right - the fire station. The big front doors were open, and the fire fighters let us come in to take a picture. Except for the writing on the side, the truck looks like one in the USA.

 

That's all for today. I will write more another time.  For now, I will say goodbye.  "Sayonara!"

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley.







 









 

Here I am in North Carolina!

Hi First Graders,

It was a long car ride, but here I am at the Outer Banks. It is a NC beach that is on a long skinny island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is pretty here, and VERY windy. It was because of the wind that the Wright Brothers picked this place to try out the first airplane. It needed lots of wind to help it fly.

 

 

 

This is what the plane looked like. It was made of wood and cloth and had no motor. It seems more like a big kite than a plane. I went to see it in a museum.



The people in North Carolina are very proud of this. You can see a picture of the first airplane on the back of the NC state quarter.

Jaylen wants to know if I saw any famous buildings, and Ziggy asked if I saw any big buildings. The answers are yes and yes. I saw a building that is big AND famous. It is not a skyscraper, it is a lighthouse.

 



The island has some very tall lighthouses. They warn ships about where there are rocks in the water. Many, many shipwrecks have happened in the water near the Outer Banks. A nickname of this area of the ocean is "The Graveyard of the Atlantic". That sounds creepy, but it does describe what really happened here. Do you remember another place where I saw a lighthouse?

Andre wondered what kind of animals are here.
I saw wild horses. These horses have no owners.
They live together in small herds on the beaches and in the wooded areas of the island. They aren't afraid of people because they see so many of us. You can get pretty close to them, but not touch them. There is a law against that.


They came here from ship wrecks that happened long ago. When ships carrying horses crashed and sank in the water, they swam to shore and have been living wild ever since. Isn't that cool?


Here are some other animals that live here. They look a bit like eagles. They are called osprey, and they are birds of prey that hunt and eat fish. They fly down to the water and grab the fish with their feet.They made their nest on a tall wooden platform that people built for them. Can you tell what the birds used to make the nest?
                                   

 

Here is one last animal picture. It was the smallest one I saw. Do you know what it is?

That's right, a dragonfly. There are lots and lots of them in the Outer Banks of NC. I saw them everywhere, but especially at the beach. They fly very slowly and are very pretty.

Ka'Mya asked if I went to the beach. We did, but not to swim. It's not really hot out, and the water is very cold! We walked on the beach, and took a boat ride. You can see some small boats, and behind them, a long strip of sand in the water. That is called a sand bar. The red floating barrel is a marker to show where the deeper water is, so the boats don't get stuck in the sand.

This is a short trip, but it has been a lot of fun. I will be back in Rock Hill later this week.

I'll see you soon!
Your Friend,
Flat Stanley

 

More from Atlanta, Georgia

Hi Kids.

All cities have big museums, and I got to visit two of them on this trip. The first one is a natural science museum called the Fernbank. You can go there to learn a lot about dinosaurs, other animals, and outer space. Dr. Kristie took this picture outside when we had just arrived.

 



Those dinosaurs were HUGE! If they were alive, it would be frightening! I'm kind of glad that they are extinct, and we can just see their statues and their skeletons.

Another museum in Atlanta is the Coca-Cola Museum. Did you know that the man who invented the recipe for Coke lived in Atlanta? He got very rich selling it because everyone seems to like it a lot. His name was Dr. John Pemberton. Here is his statue. I climbed onto the table for my picture.



Inside the museum, they show you a lot about how Coke is made and bottled. The best part is the tasting room. They let you drink as much soda as you want! They have many kinds that are sold in countries all around the world. I think the Italian kind is the worst - it tastes like mouthwash! My favorite was Gingerbread Coke. It is amazing - it tastes exactly like gingerbread and exactly like Coke at the same time!

Another day we went to the Georgia Aquarium. It has so many kinds of fish, eels, turtles, dolphins, and even whales! It has pretty much anything that lives in water. Before we went in, I posed for a photo with this dolphin statue.

 



Inside, we watched the fish swimming. This is the biggest tank. It is three stories tall! The big fish is called a whale shark. The name is confusing - it IS a shark, but it is NOT a whale. In fact, it is the largest kind of fish in the world.

 

 



The next picture is kind of tricky. It looks like a lot of underwater plants and rocks. Actually, it is a lot of underwater plants and animals! There are some types of seaweed (plants), but the things that look like gray rocks and the light green rock in front are really animals called coral. Taken together, these plants and coral form an underwater habitat called a coral reef. 

 

 

Here is one last picture from Atlanta - it shows a beautiful fountain in Piedmont Park. The blue sculpture in it is made of glass.

 

 

I know that Rock Hill has built a new Fountain Park too. I hope that you'll all get a chance to go there - especially in the summer when you can play in the water.

This is the last day of my stay in Georgia. Tomorrow I'll come back to Rock Hill, and I'll be at school when you get back from Spring Break. I hope that you all had a happy Easter.

Your friend,
Flat Stanley

 

 

 

 

Salutations from Atlanta, Georgia!

Hi First Graders,
I learned that fancy way to say hello when your teacher read Charlotte's Web. I like to learn big words and use big words. Do you like that too?

Georgia is the state right next to ours - it is not very far away at all. I am finding out that many things here are just the same as in South Carolina. Mia asked about the plants here. I went outside in the backyard, and found some that you can see right now in Rock Hill.

 

These are called daffodils, and they are nice because you only have to plant them once, and they come up every spring. Some other flowers have to be planted each year.

 

Here are more flowers in the yard. They smell very sweet. Their name is grape hyacinth. I'll bet you can guess why they are called that.

 

 

 

The weather here is a lot like the weather in Rock Hill. It rains a lot in spring! We went to for a walk in Piedmont Park on a rainy day, and I saw some animals that don't mind getting wet at all!

 

 

The ducks and turtles live in a pond, so raindrops don't bother them a bit! How many turtles can you count in the picture? How many ducks? Which is more? How many more?

 

 

 

 

I don't want to get wet, though. Dr. Kristie shared her umbrella, and kept me nice and dry. These birds are Canadian Geese. They swim in the pond too. Behind the park you can see the skyscrapers downtown.

 

Atlanta is a large city - bigger than Charlotte, so there are lots of big city things to do that are very different from Rock Hill. We took a ride on the subway. In Atlanta it is called MARTA. It goes a lot faster than a car, because it doesn't have to stop for red lights, and there are never any traffic jams.

 

 

 Xaria asked if I met any famous people. No, I haven't, but I did see a famous place. This is the house where Dr. Martin Luther King was born and grew up. It is on Auburn Avenue. We took the picture from the car window as we were driving past. You might have seen it in a book about Dr. King.

  

 

 

That is all I have for now. I will try to write one more time before I come home.

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley





 

 



 

Hello from Sunny California!

Hi First Grade!

We got here on Saturday morning. We were on the plane for 5 hours, and when we got here, it was still Saturday morning! How did that happen? Did you know that it is always 3 hours earlier on the other side of the country than it is in SC? When you are eating lunch, the people in California are eating breakfast. When it is your bedtime, the kids out here are eating supper. That is because the earth is turning slowly, and it takes 3 extra hours for the sun to shine on the west coast the way it shines on the east coast.

On Saturday afternoon we went out to look around the city. It is interesting to be here.  Kamiya asked about weather, and Mia asked about plants. Most of California skips winter. (In the high mountains that is not true.) Here in the city of San Francisco, the leaves stay on the trees all year. The summer doesn't get very hot, and the winter doesn't get very cold. It does rain more in the winter, but the temperature stays nice all year long. When you go outside, it always looks like springtime. Look at the picture - Rock Hill plants don't look like this in February!

We went for a walk in Golden Gate Park (the biggest one in the city) and here are some things that I saw:

 

The fancy white building is made of glass. It is called the Conservatory. It's filled with beautiful plants and flowers. Do you see some trees out front that look like some I saw in Africa? What are they called?

 

 

That's right - palm trees. They grow in hot places all around the world.

 

 

Most old-fashioned windmills like this are found in a country called Holland. Many years ago,  Queen Wilhemina  of Holland gave two windmills to the people of San Francisco, and they stand in Golden Gate Park.



 

We went inside with a park ranger, and she talked about how windmills can catch the energy of the wind to make power to get work done for people. Wind power doesn't make smoke and pollution. It helps keep the air clean. I think that is nice.

It was a little bit dark and spooky inside there because the windows are very tiny. 

 

The best part of any park is the playground! We stopped there to check it out, because Ziggy wanted to know what boys and girls like to play with. They had swings, slides, and sandboxes like Cherry Park in Rock Hill. One very different thing that I saw was this climbing structure that looks like a giant spider web made of rope. It looked like fun to me!

 



 

 Mikhaila asked about the animals in San Francisco, It is a city surrounded on three sides by water, so there are a lot of water-loving animals here.

 

I saw these birds swimming in Stow Lake.

 

 

They are called coots. They look a little like ducks, but are gray with black heads, and they have pointy beaks. There are loads of them here. They float in the water, and always come right over when they see people, because they like it when folks throw bread on the water to feed them.  Do you ever feed the ducks and geese at Winthrop Lake?

 

 

We left the park, and went to the waterfront.  Natanael said, "Did you go fishing?" That's a good question, because the Pacific Ocean is on one side, and San Francisco Bay is on the other side. That's a lot of water to fish in! No I didn't go fishing myself, , but I did see many boats like this one that take people out for fishing trips.

 

 

 

 Here is another animal that is easy to find:

 These are sea lions. They look a lot like seals, but they have little ear flaps on the sides of their heads. They live in the ocean, and love to come out to get warm in the sun. They climb onto docks, rocks, boats, and the sand. It's fun to watch wild animals up close.

 

 

 

I know that you can recognize this bird. It looks a bit different from the ones that we see in South Carolina, but it is still a sea gull. The feathers are darker, the feet are black, not yellow, and the beak is so dark orange that it looks like it is wearing lipstick!

 

That's all for today, but I hope I will be able to get out in the city again later in the week so I can have more adventures, and share them with you.

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

 

 



 

 

 











More from California!

Hi First Grade Friends,

Doctor Kristie took me for a walk on the beach! This is called Baker Beach, and it is very near to a famous bridge - the Golden Gate Bridge. I was a little bit disappointed when I saw it, because I thought it would be made of gold, or at least painted gold. Really it is dark orange, but it is still beautiful.

 

Look at the hill on the left. Do you see the shadow of the cloud? Can you tell where the sun is? 

 

 Look what I found growing in the sand. It is the state flower of California. It is called the golden poppy, and it grows wild all over the place. It has a pretty color that reminds me of egg yolks, but it doesn't smell nice like many flowers do. It has no smell at all.

 



 

 

As soon as we left the beach, we went to the bridge to take a walk on it. There is a sidewalk that goes along the whole way across, next to the lanes where the cars drive. It is windy up there!!! Luckily, Dr. Clarke held onto me, or I could have blown away.

 

 

 

The big ship that has just passed under the bridge came all the way from South Korea, bringing containers of things for us to buy. I know that you have been learning about natural resources in different parts of the world. All countries send things to sell to other countries that want to buy them.

Big ships like these are called container ships, and many of them are criss-crossing the oceans every day.

 

The next place we went was downtown. Jaylen asked a question about buildings. I will show you 3 famous ones. Look at the pointy building. I know that you have been learning about 3-dimensional shapes. What shape is this building?

 

 

 

 

That's right - a pyramid! It's name is the Transamerica Pyramid. 

There are many more interesting buildings in the city. The one on the hill is called Coit Tower, and it is supposed too look like the nozzle on a fire hose. Do you think it really does? What 3-dimensional shape is it?

 

 

 

 The next part of sightseeing was taking a boat trip. We saw a famous old prison. It is called Alcatraz, and it is all by itself on an island.  It is closed now. The people who were sent to this jail couldn't escape. There is water all around it. Can you name the shape of this building?

 

 

 Jamarion asked if I went to the library or saw any books. I didn't go to a library, but I did go to a book store, and I bought a book about San Francisco. I will bring it back when I come home next week. It is a non-fiction book about something that happened here a long time ago. It is hard for first graders to read, but I think you will like to hear your teacher read it to you.

 

Traveling is great! One thing that I learn on every trip is that there are interesting things to see and do everywhere. I am always happy to come home, though, and I will see you at school next week.

 

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

 

 

 

 

 



 



 

 

 









More from New York

Look what happened during my second week in NYC:

We got a LOT more snow. This is what it looked like on the street where we are staying. No one went anywhere for a day or two. Schools and jobs were closed, and everyone stayed home.



One of the fun parts of traveling is meeting people and making new friends. Look who I met on this trip:

 

This is  Elspeth. We have been spending a lot of time together here in the apartment. She is very friendly and purrs a lot. Pets are one of the nice things about staying with friends. Hotel rooms never have pets! Mia asked if people have pets here in NYC. They do, but have to keep them indoors or take them out on a leash. Very few homes have yards where pets can go out to play.
 

I met some pretty famous folks too. Before the big snow, we went out for a walk, and look who we saw:

 

 

Woody, Cookie Monster, and Mario picked me up, and posed for a picture. You never know who you will see on the streets of New York.

 

Jeremiah asked if I saw big buildings. I sure did! They were everywhere. Do you know the name of this one?

 

 





It is the Empire State Building. It is the 2nd tallest building in the city. Only the World Trade Center is taller. They are called skyscrapers, because when you stand beside them and look up, they look like they touch the sky.

 

The buildings at Times Square are very unusual too - not for being super-tall, but for being super-bright. The walls are covered with huge TV screens that show commercials all day and night. They light up the streets.

 

 

A last building that I want to show you is the New York Public Library. It is HUGE! Libraries are great places because they have so, so many books and they are free for everyone. Do you take books home from the library in Rock Hill?

 

 

 The Lion statues out on the front steps are named Patience and Fortitude. Those are big words that mean waiting nicely (Patience) and being brave (Fortitude). I think those are very nice reminders of the way we all should act.

 

Today is Sunday, and I am going home tomorrow. I will see you at school in a few days.

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

 

 



 



 

Hi From the Big Apple!

Did you know that is the nickname of New York City? I don't know why, because there are no apple trees. There are lots of other things, though. I went out around the city and we took some pictures to show you.

We did have some snow. It snowed on Friday night. This is how the snow looked on Saturday at lunch time. Snow melts more quickly in the city because of all the traffic that travels over it.

 

We went to a place called Rockefeller Center to watch the ice skaters. Every winter they put a skating rink under the big golden statue. In the summer, there are restaurant tables with umbrellas here, so people can eat outside.

 

 

Did some of you have a chance to ice skate in Rock Hill? I know that they made a rink for Christmasville. I hope they do that every year!

 

The tallest building at Rockefeller Center is called 30 Rock. We rode an elevator up to the top. It is so high, you can look out and see really far.

 

The crane is building a new skyscraper. The crane operator is sitting inside, and controlling its movements. He has to be REALLY careful! It makes me dizzy to think of working in such a high place.

The water is New York Harbor.  Do you see the Statue of Liberty on one of the islands in the harbor? The land on he other side is Staten Island. It is very big. People ride to Staten Island on big boats called ferries. Here is one of them:

 

Another type of boat I saw in NYC is a tugboat. They are working boats. There are lots of them pulling or pushing big ships. This one was travelling along by itself.

 

 

Look what else we saw on the river. The gray steel bars are part of the George Washington Bridge. The little red lighthouse was here long before the bridge was built over it. There is a storybook about that. Ask your teacher to read it to you.

 

All of that sightseeing made us hungry! New York is famous for having delis that make HUGE sandwiches.We went to a restaurant called Katz's Deli to eat. You have to open your mouth really wide to eat this pastrami sandwich!

 

 

That's all for today. I'll write more later, after I have had more adventures.

Your friend,

Flat Stanley