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Teacher Dustin Carlson is making sure his kindergartners keep mentally active during the winter break.
The Prairie Lane Elementary students — and their families — are following the (mis)adventures of Gingerbread Fred.
The mischievous Fred, a stuffed toy that looks like a gingerbread boy, has adventures in the vein of “Flat Stanley.”
Carlson is traveling during the holiday break, and Fred is along for the ride. Through the Internet, students can follow Fred as he flies to Japan, uses chopsticks, makes new friends, sees things not available in Omaha, all the while remaining a step or two ahead of the Westside Community Schools teacher.
In the process of tracking Fred, students learn about airplane flight, time-zone changes, foods common in Japan and gathering seashells.
To follow Fred, Carlson's students must read, write, use the classroom Web page and use Twitter.
Details of Fred's saga come from Mr. Carlson's writings to the children: “Gingerbread Fred is so sneaky that he managed to set up his own Twitter account! Please help Mr. Carlson keep track of him over this winter break. Visit: https://twitter.com/gingerfredbread.”
Fred's Twitter account is public, so you don't need your own account to view. Some children, whose families have accounts, also are replying to Fred.
Here are some of Fred's tweets:
Ÿ Mr. Carlson is going to keep his eye on me over winter break. He thinks he will keep me from running away on an adventure! ;-)
Ÿ Ha! I ran away! I am sitting in the Omaha airport waiting for a flight to Chicago! Let's see if Mr. Carlson can catch me!
Ÿ Snow delayed flights in Omaha and Chicago, so Mr. Carlson caught up to me fast! But fly, fly as fast as he can, he can't catch me!
Ÿ Mr. Carlson almost caught up to me in Tokyo, but a police officer pulled him aside to check his passport!
Ÿ I'm in Okinawa! Mr. Carlson hasn't caught me. I sent him pictures of my adventure so far. He put them on our Kindergarten Web page!
Ÿ Mr. Carlson hasn't caught me yet! :-) I hope I get a chance to explore Okinawa before he catches me!
Ÿ It is a nice cool 57 degrees, so I am relaxing on the balcony of an apartment looking out at the East China Sea!
Ÿ I ventured out this evening to eat at a ramen shop and use chopsticks for the first time! They are tricky!
Ÿ Everywhere I go I see Shisa, the lion dog who protects Okinawa.
Ÿ After eating, I went to Yogurtland for frozen yogurt! There were lots of choices and toppings! It cost 200 Yen for every 100 grams of yogurt.
Ÿ The time difference here is hard to get used to. In Omaha, it is 6:30 in the morning. In Okinawa, it is 9:30 at night and time for bed!
Ÿ I walked on the sea wall, saw lots of hermit crabs and sea shells, and put my feet in the water!
Ÿ I am loving the 65 degree, sunny weather! And the sound of the waves! It is beautiful in Okinawa!
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