Hello from Alaska! I arrived in Anchorage dark and early Monday morning. At the moment there’s actually more snow back home in southern Indiana than there is here! During my time in Alaska, I will continue to share information about the race, but I will also give updates on my adventures and share lesson ideas for the classroom.
HAVE YOU HEARD _ Due to a lack of snow, the official re-start for Iditarod 2025 is moving to Fairbanks, Alaska! The Ceremonial Start will continue as planned in Anchorage on Saturday March 1st. Fairbanks is more than six hours north of Anchorage, so to allow plenty of time for the teams, handlers, volunteers, and spectators to move up that way, the re-start will be on Monday March 3rd. This change in the route will keep everyone quite busy up until race day! Keep an eye out for an updated race map to show your students. The route this year will not be the same as the 2017 Fairbanks route. Instead of teams traveling north to the checkpoint of Huslia, they will travel south to the checkpoint of Shageluk.
LATEST PUPDATES _ Tuesday was a magical day! My love for teaching and the Iditarod was combined in an unexpected way. I started the day at Big Lake Elementary School in Big Lake, Alaska, where I presented information to the students about the Iditarod, the Serum Run, the Centennial Seppala Expedition, and the Junior Iditarod. The students were great listeners and hopefully learned something new! Lesson Idea– have your students research the dogs that a specific musher will be taking along the trail. Look at the names, ages, and genders then use that information in different ways, such as a math lesson (comparisons, ratios, central tendency, etc) or for a quick write. If you haven’t noticed, the kids are all about the dogs, too!
On the way to the elementary school, I noticed a sign for a nearby kennel. My buddy for the day, Jane Holmes (former Iditarod EDU Director and 2008 Teacher on the Trail™), suggested we stop by after our time at the school. A few hours later, I was exploring Happy Trails Kennel and meeting four-time Iditarod Champion, Martin Buser! There are so many words to describe Martin, but kind and humble are the first that come to mind. He took the time to chat with us about memorable moments in his years of running the race. Lesson Idea– As a teacher, I typically have my students research the current mushers, but after meeting with Martin, I realized that it’s important for our students to first research the mushers who paved the way to understand how the current mushers got to their place. Take the time to let your students become familiar with the legends of the mushing world!
I want to hear from you! Send me a message at emailtheteacher@iditarod.com
