My name is Gulliver and I love to receive and send postcards!  I am one busy traveling cat.  Here is information for classrooms to receive postcards:

Gulliver’s Mailbox is in its third year of operation. It is a free project (random act of kindness thing) to teach kids about the larger world around them. It can be incorporated into Common Core requirements by involving kids in reading, writing, researching, identifying their community and more. Here are some fast facts and fun ideas.

Gulliver, the traveling cat is our mascot. He types (cats can’t hold pens) onto postcards from all over the world, and shares history, geography, customs, foods and even poetry with classes. He may be in Norway one week, Alabama the next, China the third week. It is very random.
Classrooms receive postcards weekly throughout the school year. Postcards are used to describe history, geography, science and cultures of people and places around the world. Teachers decide how to use the cards and what happens to them at the end of the year. Typically they are posted next to a map of the world, and given out to kids as prizes or recognition. Students love reading them aloud to each other.
We can also arrange swaps of hand-made cards between classrooms in other cities/states/countries if teachers are interested. This is not an individual pen-pal program.
This is geared toward 3rd through 5th grades. Kindergarten through second grades may also participate, as do special ed classes through high school.  The only cost to participate is postage for a package when the two classroom exchanges of postcards. I have funded that in the past, but am not able to financially and keep up with the weekly cards.
Follow-up is requested of teachers to use in social media. This could be in the form of an anonymous quote, story, photos of the postcards (with or without kids) or other evaluation.  Sign up now at postcards4classrooms@gmail.com . Or even just ask questions!

Whew, I am sorry I have been behind in sending postcards. I was delayed in customs and immigration. They didn’t believe a cat could have a real passport! A passport is a travel document issued by the government that confirms a person’s identity and nationality. Like a birth certificate, it has my name, place and date of birth, photograph, and signature (a paw print in my case). Each country has a special stamp they use when I enter the country. The government officials finally believed me when they scanned the microchip in my neck.

Purrs,

Gulliver

I’ve been camping in some of our national parks recently. In Bryce Canyon, I had a wonderful time listening to the rangers talks about hoodoos – such a scary sounding name for the tall, odd shaped pillars of rock that are caused by erosion. I loved the moonlight night hikes and stargazing in one of the darkest skies in North America. Even without a telescope, I could see over 7,500 stars according to the ranger. I didn’t try to count them all, just imagined what it would be like to visit another galaxy. Would it look like ours?

Purrs,

Gulliver