Jen Reiter 2014 Teacher on the Trail

Money, Money, Money!

Rule Number 11 deals with the race purse: Rule 11 — Purse: A purse of $650,000 will be shared among those placing in the top thirty (30). Every effort will be made to supplement this baseline purse. In addition, beginning with 31st  place, $1,049.00 will be paid to each remaining finisher. But of course the …

What’s Your Angle?

What do you call an angle that is adorable? Acute angle! This week we are all about angles in math class! This is a new skill for us… it appears in the new version of our math book, and is something we haven’t taught before. So, I started by thinking of where on earth I …

Dog Yard Dilemma

This week we are focused on calculating area and perimeter… and what better tool to do that with then dog yards! This week the students are presented with a scenario where they have been sponsored by a local fencing company who offers them fencing for their dog yard.  Instead of traditional sled dog yards, the …

Idita-Math!

This week we began our huge Iditarod Math Unit!  From now until Spring Break in mid-March we will be focusing on the Iditarod as a way to get some much needed math skills taught in a fun and interesting way!  For obvious reasons, it’s my favorite math unit of the year!  My favorite student comment …

Just How Cold is it in Maryland?

Well – at one point yesterday it was colder in Oakland, Maryland than the South Pole!   At one point it was – 15⁰ in Western Maryland and -7⁰ at the South Pole! In Baltimore, we didn’t get quite as cold as the South Pole, but we did beat Alaska! For the first time, on our …

Skyping Stone Fox

Last year, 2013 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail ™, Linda Fenton issued a challenge to see how many students she could get to read Stone Fox (http://itcteacheronthetrail.com/2012/12/28/stone-fox/).  The timing was perfect for me.  The fourth grade had recently dropped the novel from their repertoire, so I was able to pick it up and tie it …

My Own Team!

So, something I’ve wanted to do before I go off on my Trail adventure is to get an idea of what it is like to be behind a team of sixteen dogs. I’ve had a bit of experience with mushing.  My good friend Ellen Rizzuto and I attended mushing school at the Wintergreen Lodge in …

Socks for Monica!

Terrie Hanke, 2006 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail ™, shared this tale with me: I have a nice picture of Mitch Seavey changing into fresh Smart Wools at Elim in 2006.  There I was inside the fire house with Jasper Bond, Mark Nordman, Danny Davidson and Jeff Schultz.  Mitch came in with a fresh, still …

Tales from the Trail: Nicole Forto Update!

How will you be spending your Winter Break from school? Well, if you were training for the Junior Iditarod, you would be spending it on the runners of a dog sled!  Having lots of free time from school means having lots of time for extra training runs! There are now seven junior mushers signed up …

Tales from the Trail: Monica Update!

So we can finally break the big news!  Monica Zappa has a wonderful new sponsor……. Introducing…. Petchup! Yes, petchup…. As in ketchup (and mustard too) for your pets…. You can learn about Petchup here:  http://mypetchup.com/ Before we went on Winter Break, we checked in with Monica to get an update on her training. She reports …