I'm hoping this children's AT page will be on the web for as long as we are hosting webpages (and all of this is free - all volunteer). I'm not sure if you know, we already host the Appalachian trail parking/access page which has grown significantly in the past year and a half - http://appalachianTrail.rohland.org. Our original PA AT pages have been around for many years.
But to get to your question, yes I realize a lot of you will not be hiking until the weather gets warm again like us. Actually we probably won't be doing much AT hiking until next fall so I understand what you are asking.
What I was hoping is that some of you would invite Flat Stanley (http://www.flatstanley.com/template.htm) to your home for a weekend or a couple of days to tell him some tales of your previous hikes BUT these tales would be told by Stanley in a reading level for second graders. Ex. Flat Stanley visits our AT friend Mr./Mrs. Smith and he/she tells these wonderful stories about his/her hikes on the AT. The Flat Stanley page began with a request from a current second grade class that will no longer be with the original teacher as of June. We would like to have as many experiences as possible for this particular class before the end of the current school year.
We found while doing some web searching that there really isn't much information geared toward young children about the Appalachian Trail. Before we posted our Flat Stanley webpages for this second grade class in Boiling Springs we asked a friend to have their child, a second grader, read our posted Flat Stanley adventures on the AT. Right now that youngster has asked her parents where the AT is and if she could go there. This is the reaction of children that we would like to encourage.
Our original website was geared to facilitate adults getting to the AT. The purpose of this new website is to entice youngsters to become interested in the AT via Stanley's tales.
The children's page may be found at http://childrensatpage.rohland.org. If you would like to send us an AT tale/story for grade level two, directions for submission may be found at this link from the children's page: Send us your stories of the Appalachian Trail. If you should have a problem with that link, the direct link is http://rohland.homedns.org/at//FlatStanley/submitStories/StanleyStories.asp. You can also always contact us at
[email protected] if you are having difficulties submitting stories for the children's AT page.