The adventures of Mojo the Rooster

(EDITOR'S NOTE: “FLAT STANLEY” is a 1964 children's book by Jeff Brown in which the title character, Stanley Lambchop, accidentally becomes flattened by a bulletin board. Instead of being sad about his situation, Flat Stanley realizes he can fit in an envelope and be mailed to friends all over the world, who can share their adventures with him. Flat Stanley is a school project for first and second graders in which students mail their Flat Stanley to friends and relatives to learn about letter-writing, geography and other skills. Today, the Morning Journal begins its version of “Flat Stanley” with our mascot Mojo the Rooster.)

One sunny day, Mojo the Rooster, at the Morning Journal, read a story about his friend, Flat Stanley.

In the story, Flat Stanley was being shipped all over the world where he got to do and see many amazing places and meet so many exciting people. In the story, Flat Stanley was vacationing in Florida, where he swam in the beautiful, blue ocean and made sand castles on the white sandy beaches.

Mojo the Rooster who really only gets to meet people during parades, school visits, decided he wanted to visit his friends in Florida and have some adventures of his own. As the papers were rolling off the presses- he big machine that prints the newspapers- Mojo the Rooster saw the weather page and wanted to know if he should bring his swim trunks or a sweater to the Sunshine State.

As Mojo the Rooster got closer to check the weather page, his hat fell into the pages rolling off of the machine. When Mojo the Rooster reached for his hat, he accidentally fell into the presses and was squashed! Newsy the Owl than began printing on all the pages that came after the weather page in the newspaper. When he looked up, he realized he was on the front page of the educational section, where he could be cut out and mailed all over the world, just like his buddy Flat Stanley. Mojo the Rooster would be very sad if no one sent him on any adventures to far-away places and he hopes to read about the wonderful places he visits in a future edition of the Morning Journal.

Because Mojo the Rooster works for the newspaper, he can track his progress on the newspapers Web Site,www.morningjournalnews.com, which can be accessed from all over the world. While there, reader can post their photos of Mojo the Rooster and read about where he's been!

“However, perhaps the greatest benefits to taking part of the Mojo the Rooster projects is that it allows students to share important facets of their lives with others and to become a real community of learners that care about one. So often, kids want to talk with classmates and teachers about meaningful events that occur outside of school. However, in trying to meet the demands of a rigorous curriculum, unfortunately,sharing is often put on the back burner. By keeping a daily journal of Mojo the Rooster's adventures in their home and having a set-aside sharing time, our students now have a forum where they are able to share with one another the news they care about, whether it be the slumber party they just had, updates on pets or maybe family excursions. I'm a firm believer that if you allow kids to share, then they know others have an interest in them and care. Once kids know people care, then the floodgates are open to learn even more throughout the day and educational opportunities become limitless.”

Parents, guardians and teachers, please help your child cut out the Mojo the Rooster figure on the first page. Children can practice letter-writing skills by mailing Mojo the rooster to people all over the world. When friends and family members take photos of themselves with Mojo the Rooster, the photos can be mailed to the Morning Journal c/o Mojo the Rooster Newspapers in Education, 308 Maple St., Lisbon, Ohio 44432. Please include the child's name, age, school and a phone number, along with a short note about where Mojo the Rooster has traveled and who he met along the way.

The Morning Journal web site also will feature photos of Mojo the Rooster's activities, so check back often to see where he's been! Also, watch for an upcoming story in the newspapers in education section detailing more of the Mojo the Rooster's where abouts!!

• In cooperation with the Official Flat Stanley Project. Please visit www.flatstanley.com for more information on the project.