Need Ideas For Teaching Stamp Class

Contact Rich Freidberg through His website or by phone. He might donate a copy of His book An Introduction to US Revenue Stamps It is one of the best entry level books on US Revenue Stamps ever written.

Spanishmoss, you may be able to utilize the following map in your class.

Below is a link to a thread that Rod222 started which identifies an internet site that has a map where you try to place country names in the correct geographic location on the map.
https://goscf.com/t/13129&SearchTerms=quiz

Spanishmoss, imo the very first item children need to be taught and reminded of at the start of each lesson would be; The removal of all substances from their hands especially grease/fat and sugars.

A little dish-washing liquid and warmish water followed by complete hand drying is essential. Sweaty prone hands should have a little fine talc/baby powder rubbed in after washing, before handling mint stamps.

This will set them on the correct stamp handling path for the rest of their lives.

No I do not.

You need to be careful these days getting kids to lick anything that hasn't been tested in 1001 ways and does not have FDA approval etc. You could not do it in Aus without running into lots of legalese, not sure in the US. Peeln'stick are much safer and really there was nothing good about licking stamps they always tasted like some one's old gym boots.

Not everything from the good-ol'-days was better, in fact most things were worse IMO.

alex

Double posting removed



alex

1. You might be able to have a local stamp dealer give a talk on how he/she handles a stamp shop.
2. I believe the APS has a document on preparing a stamp exhibit. Have them prepare an exhibit for the class and issue "ribbons". For this type of class, always try to have a category where each wins "best of ..."

spanishmoss,

First and foremost..... , and

Fun activity as I understand it is when you give away stamps. I'd think the best way of doing so is to have a 5 questions quiz given to the kids. They would get the freebies after answering all questions right. Questions should be educational and easy (who was the first president, what is the biggest city etc) and should be connected to some of the stamps you show them or the ones they get.
Kids are allowed to "cheat", i.e. to ask their friends around for the right answers and if they still get the questions wrong they immediately get a second or a third chance.


This way all children will get free stamps and at the same time you will be able to build up some knowledge and get them enjoy a bit of an adrenalin rush.

Just my two cents.....

Here is a link to the APS free pages download. These are very colorful.
http://www.stamps.org/Education/edu_AlbumPages.htm

An other idea. Previous post indicated how to use catalogues. As an exercise in using stamp catalogue, (since it isn't always easy to get the stamps for a topic), have each student select a topical theme (examples, horses, states I have lived in, dogs, etc.), and have them search and list stamps for that topic.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who responded and made such great suggestions. I apologize for taking so long to respond. We have just gotten back home after being out of town for almost a month.

Based on all the ideas mentioned here, this is the syllabus I came up with:

Lesson 1- Hobby Overview (this will include an overview of tools of the trade and different ways to collect stamps- topically, country, etc. Kids will leave with a couple of topical collections started.)

Lesson 2- How to Soak Stamps

Lesson 3- Stamp Collecting Terminology

Lesson 4- Using the Scott Catalog & Grading Stamps

Lesson 5- Understanding Different Cancellations (meters, slogans, etc)

Lesson 6- The History of the Mail

Lesson 7- First Day Covers (explain what they are & have kids design their own)

Lesson 8- Using a Stamp Identifier

Lesson 9- Different Types of Stamps (mint, precancels, cinderellas, etc)

Lesson 10- Stamp Design (mention different printing methods, what info should be on a stamp, have kids design their own)


So..... after all the time I spent coming up with all these lessons, only ONE kid signed up for the class.

We had our first class yesterday and it was like pulling teeth getting her to respond to anything. I taught 3rd grade for 7 years and never had any experience like this. I am hoping it was just because it was the first day and she was nervous. If the rest of the classes go like this one, though, I am going to be completely gray by the time this is over. Ya'll keep me in your prayers!

What are homeschoolers?

What age?

What about serendipity
I was at the Red Cross stamp shop today,
and bought 50 packets of stamps,
then I thought, to heck with it, I took the lot

10c per stamp packet.

What about..........
I package them up in a parcel, and send them to the school
then you can open up the parcel in class and distribute
the packets?

Interested?

Rod,

Thank you so much for your very generous offer. I think seeing those packets of stamps would probably get more kids interested.

Homeschoolers are children that are not enrolled in the public (state-run)or private (religious or privately owned) schools. They stay at home and their parent/s teach them. This group that I am working with has a co-operative on Mondays where the parents get together and offer classes for all the kids. One person might teach Japanese, Irish dancing, art lessons, or stamp collecting. The children range in age from 6 - 13 for this particular group.

There is also a group of schooling here called "virtual-schooling," which is what I do with my boys. It is an online school that can be offered through a private or public school. All the learning is done at home with the parent's help. Since we are home all day, we are able to do things with the homeschoolers even though we are technically enrolled in a public school.

Hope that helps and didn't get too confusing!

Whay a great adventure for you and the kids. My money is on you'll learn more than expected as will the kids. Kids and computers are little geniuses even from young ages so making it interactive and something theu can do on the computer will help. Not sure how Admin or BobbyG would take this but what if you registered each here at SCF(with parental permission of course). I'm thinking with the generosity that is usually shown we could all put together a little of this and that to encourage todays youth.
I have a computer perf gauge that is extremely acurate and only requires hoto shop and scans at 600x600 to work perfectly that may help in presentation (email me for details an quick tutorial). If you have images of a regular stamp and its rarer counterpart to show how 1 can be worth pennies when a simple thing like double impression can make it worth 100's or more it may spark the treasure hunter aspect. I commend you for your efforts and anything I can do to help I will try.

OK Spanish Moss,
please email me offline with a suitable address
and I'll package them up and send immediately.

Should take about 14 days to get there.

Take heart, if you get across to just one
tacker who has interest then you have succeeded,
the fact that you engage and do it deserves commendation.
Remember the teacher in Billy Elliott?

Nitro, thanks for the tips. I think I might wait, though, to introduce them to our message board. They are pretty young and their typing skills aren't so good. If I ever get an older group that has more computer experience, I will consider it. I will send you an email, though, about the perf gauge. That sounds really neat!

Rod, I am going to have to google "Billy Elliott." I've never heard of him. Is he Australian? I will email you my address and again, many thanks for such a generous offer.

Apologies SpanishMoss,
however, you have a great film waiting for you to appreciate...

The cigarette smoking Julie Walters gives a stunning performance
as a ballet teacher.