Our First Flat Traveler Experience

  We've been having fun with our Facebook group Homeschool Swapping Adventures.  Our last adventure was swapping flat travelers.  Let me tell you, we had a blast with our travelers we received.  The neat part about taking them around was it encouraged us to take more pictures of our everyday life added along with side trips to show neat things about our area!
  In addition to pictures and journaling, we also included small trinkets and pamphlets we picked up along the way - sort of like a small geo-box.  Here are some pictures of what we sent back with our visiting travelers:

Flat Darcy's packet en route to Texas

Flat Jerrin's packet en route to Washington

Here is what we received:

Texas

Flat Darcy's family had some cool trips while our traveler was there an adorable scrapbook & even some bluebonnet seeds (Texas's state flower).  Mookie is so thrilled to plant those in her garden next year!

Washington State

Flat Jerrin's family sent a great journal, a local newspaper, locally made candies and soaps, and even a Bigfoot keychain:)  Bubby is ready to use the map to go see his bestie out in Seattle someday:)

What a wonderful experience!  I've learned some new things to send, like a cd with digital versions of the pictures, and a fact sheet with state info and even a map showing where the traveler went while they were with us.

The only problem we've had so far is that USPS Priority mail is not really as fast as the 2 days like it is advertised.  Our package from Texas took almost 2 weeks, and the one from Washington took a week (it went from Washington to Kansas City, to Memphis, TN and back to us!).  The benefit of doing it priority, however, is that you get a tracking number automatically so you can track it if need be.

A cool side benefit is that you really get to act as an ambassador for your area.  It really makes you think about your everyday activities and if you send your traveler info in journal form, it's neat to see what you've been up to for the last month:)  We're ready to see what new adventures our travelers have!