The Arts

Announcing Our Trail Mail Contest Winners

Our first annual Trail Mail Art Contest was a tremendous success! We were thrilled to accept over 40 entries from students in grades 4-12 and from all over the country. A team of Iditarod Educators narrowed the field to ten finalists which were then judged by artists Jon and Jona Van Zyle. The Iditarod Education …

Classroom Connections: Husky Art Drawing (Virtual Lesson Possibility)

  Throughout the years of my teaching about the Iditarod, I have always had a lot of  support from the special areas teachers at my school. These teachers have always been so collaborative, that I wanted to make sure that I included some lessons that can be used with their class content as well. So …

Trail Mail Art Contest

UPDATE!! Now open to Fourth and Fifth Grade Artists! DEADLINE EXTENDED! Now due December 20th! Attention 5th – 12th Grade Artists,  Teachers, & Parents: We have a special art contest just for you & your students! We are thrilled to announce a student art contest to create this year’s Trail Mail judged by official Iditarod …

Idita-Vation: Innovation on the Iditarod Trail

Iditarod Mushers are naturally Design Thinkers. They are constantly thinking and  looking for ways to make things more efficient, more cost-effective, more comfortable… safer, faster, easier. So why not give your students real life design challenges centered around problems that mushers face daily in their training and racing? The lesson plan features a challenge centered …

Idita-Boxes: Tinkering Along the Trail

Mushers are constantly tinkering – working on ways to build better sleds, harnesses, cookers, dog jackets, etc… Your students are also natural tinkers too – always playing and fiddling around with found objects…. Why not mesh the two together with these Iditarod Inspired Tinker Tubs? Students will be provided materials to try to build various …

Listen to Iditarod’s Hobo Jim Sing the ‘Iditarod Trail Song’

Each year, ‘The Iditarod Trail Song’ is sung in classrooms around the world. Watch this performance and listen to students in Maryland sing this song at their school program.  2018 – Spring  (with Hobo Jim granting permission)  Here’s the words to the chant that the students recite prior to singing. In the land of the midnight sun, …

The Patch!

Each year the Teacher on the Trail™ gets to create their own patch and mine has finally come in!  My patch was designed by my 4th grade student, Libby McMahon.  Libby’s design was one of 35 submitted, and it was selected as the winner by the 3rd-8th graders at Saint Andrew. Libby’s design included three important things—an …

Music for Your Classroom by Herb Brambley

Herb Brambley, 2010 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ Enjoy these musical arrangements by Herb Brambley. Herb is a K-6 environmental education and technology teacher at Southern Fulton Elementary School in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania.  He is also a part time grant writer for the district and has been instrumental in helping the school secure more than $115,000 …

Musher Music Playlist

Music is enjoyed by so many people across the world.  From rock to pop, and country to classical, music is all around us.  Music can tell a story, convey a feeling, or simply help us relax. The music in the Insider videos help us catch the feel of the race, while listening to Hobo Jim …

A Husky Point of View

In my class we have been learning about the differences between perspective and point of view in our writing and in the stories we read, and how they help us understand someone’s experiences in a different and unique way.  We wanted to write about the point of view of the different participants in the Iditarod: dedicated …