September Count 2013

The September count is complete and we are excited to announce that we are getting very close to the quarter million mark. We collected 9,303 stamps in September.  Our grand total is
240,196 stamps! 
How many stamps do we need to collect in October if we are to reach a quarter of a million stamps?  How many is a "quarter of a million" stamps?

Summer 2013 Update

It's been a long time since we have posted information so here is an update.  The Pre-K through sixth grade students continue to collect stamps and month by month have increased the monthly count.  Word of our project is spreading.  Our goal was to reach a quarter of a million by the end of the 2012-2013 school year.  Our grand total was close, with  

230,893 stamps!

Thank you for continuing to collect stamps during the summer months.

Challenge and Contest for December

During the month of December we will collect as many Christmas stamps as possible and display them in the elementary foyer.  The oldest Christmas stamp we currently have is 49 years old.  What year was it printed?  Post your answer here.
So, students, teachers, and anyone else who reads this post:  During the Thanksgiving holiday when you may be getting together with relatives, ask them if they have any old Christmas card envelopes that just might have stamps on them.  If the envelope is exceptionally interesting, please send the entire envelope.  Grandparents and great-grandparents can be great savers!   Maybe you will be lucky and be able to contribute the oldest Christmas stamp!

The classes who contribute the oldest as well as the class that contributes the most Christmas stamps will receive a treat in January.

Nearing 50,000 Stamps!

After the last collection of 9,093 stamps we certainly didn't expect another great collection.  But, wow . . . we collected 3,297 stamps for a grand total of 47,417.  The classroom collections ranged from 26 to 2,360 stamps.  Eight classrooms participated.  If those classes that didn't participate had collected just 26 stamps each, we would have had 338 more!  Teachers, thank you for encouraging your children to collect!

Challenge:  Will you be the class that donates the 50,000th stamp?  If you are, your class will receive a treat!

1,072 Hits

This Blog has been visited 1,072 times by people from the following countries: United States, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Romania, Indonesia, Germany and Singapore.  Now we have to figure out a way to get them to send stamps to us!

What a Summer!

The total stamp collection from the first twelve weeks last spring was 25,027.  The summer collection totaled 19,093 for a grand total of 44,120 stamps.  Can we reach 50,000 in the next two weeks?  A tip from a family who collected thousands of stamps - post a large envelope in the bathroom where you work.  If you need a label explaining the project, email me and I'll send you a PDF.  Keep on collecting!  

Welcome Back

The new school year has begun and stamp collection here at school and in community business places will resume.  We will be updating this Blog so check in often.   Many children have been collecting stamps all summer.  Some of their collections are in the thousands and include many very old and interesting stamps.  We're excited!

Wishing for a million....

We were working on some pages about how much a million is when I answered a question about what I would wish for a million of. I originally wished for a million hours of free time. Then I found out how many days and years it would take by multiplying and dividing. I came up with 114 years! Finally I changed it to 1,000,000 minutes of free time. Please post on the blog if you can find out how many years 1,000,00 minutes is.
Posted by a student in fourth grade.

New Website - The Lonely Planet

The Lonely Planet site has wonderful continental and regional interactive maps.  Check it out! 

Celebrate 10,501 Stamps Collected to Date!

Celebrate!  We have collected over 10,000 postage stamps!  The stamps continue to come in at a fairly regular pace.  Thank you!

Research These Stamps

Help us provide information on the following stamps.  Post the information below in comments.

Do the Math

We have collected 10,501.

Round that number to the nearest thousand.  Use that number to answer the following questions.

1.  What fraction of a million stamps have we collected?

2.  What percent of a million stamps have we collected?

3.  How many more times will we need to collect 10,000 stamps to reach our goal of one million?

Be sure to explain exactly how you arrived at your answer.

Freerice Website Recommended by a Parent

Freerice, WFP's online vocabulary game that feeds the hungry, was recognized as an "outstanding" site by the 15th annual Webby Awards! Freerice has already provided enough rice to feed more than 4.6 million people.

Take this opportunity to tell your family about the amazing game that not only educates but also helps build a world without hunger - for free! www.freerice.com

I tried this site and I loved the map skills section. 

Do the Math

We have collected 9,388 stamps. 

1.  How many more stamps do we need to get to 10,000?

2.  How many groups of 10,000 are there in a million?

3.  This week 15 of 20 classrooms participated.  What percent of classrooms participated? 

Reminder: Explain how you got the answers.  If someone has already posted an answer and you can think of another way to solve the problem, post your explanation.  If you think that someone answered a question incorrectly, please kindly suggest the correct answer.

Week 7 Total Nearing 10,000!

We have now collected 9,388 stamps with 80 countries represented.  We are truly amazed at the quantity and quality of the stamps.  We love the grandparents who are going through the old mail they have saved over the years.  Thanks to them we have some very old stamps which we will try to feature on this Blog very soon.  Some parents are putting up collection containers for stamps where they work.  Great idea!  If you would like a label and an information sheet to attach to your collection container, email me and I will send you a PDF to use. 

We have had 764 pageviews of this Blog from the USA, Indonesia, Hungary and Thailand, using Windows (62%), Macintosh (32%), iPad (4%), iPhone, (1%) and BlackBerry (1%). 

Thank you to everyone who is helping with this major undertaking.  Keep on spreading the word and passing along a link to this Blog.

Prince William and Kate Middleton

My grandmother went to England last week to attend her dad's funeral.  While she was there she went to the post office and got some stamps.  That's how she got these.  She asked the postman to cancel them.  She gave them to me to keep.

Posted by a third grade student. 

New Stamps Commemorate Start of Civil War

The Postal Service released two new Civil War stamps which went on sale April 12th.

Honorary Stamp of the Week

Being four years old hasn't stopped a student in junior kindergarten from making his/her contribution to the stamp collection.  As we were counting stamps this week we discovered this one!  It was from an activity sheet the students were working on.  Yes, it is a stamp and beautifully colored too!  Should we count it?  Of course!  Who could NOT count it?  It will be stamp number 1,000,001!  We wonder what grade this student will be in when we reach our goal of a million stamps.  Post your guess in comments!  HONORARY: Conferred as an honor, without the usual requirements or functions.

Weekly Stamp Collection - Total 7,441

Each Tuesday we collect stamps from each classroom.  There is always great excitement in finding out where the stamps came from, who/what is on them and what new sizes and shapes we received.  All stamps are carefully trimmed and sorted by categories such as people, plants, animals, art, US states, foreign, military, patriotic symbols, holidays, vehicles, sports, scenery, etc.  Foreign stamps are posted on a world map on a bulletin board in the 4th and 5th grade hallway.

This week we received over 800 stamps from a parent of a first grader who has some connection to a phone company.  H-m-m-m-m . . . think about people that you know who work someplace where a lot of mail is received and ask them if they might save them for you.  I'm a great "rebater" at Menards.  I wonder who opens all those envelopes?

Thanks for helping us collect and keep those stamps coming!

People on Stamps

Take a careful look at these stamps . . . but don't expect to find YOUR picture on one of them since "no living person shall be honored by portrayal on US postage."  Check out the criteria used in the US stamp collection process.  Please consider selecting a stamp pictured below and doing some research on the person.  If you submit your work to us we may post it here or on the bulletin board at school.