The champions of the Iditarod are true icons.  They embody the enormous accomplishment that we aspire to within our own individual passions.  We look at them and we see success.  Although these amazing examples inspire us, we often feel very small around them, as though we could never do what they do because, after all, we are only human, right?

It is for that reason that I find the rookies so very interesting.  Iditarod rookies are mushers that have not yet completed the Iditarod and crossed under the arch in Nome.  I find I can relate to them more easily.  I watch carefully each step they take toward their successes and think to myself – that’s doable, not easy, but doable.

There are 12 rookies signed up so far this year and as the school term progresses you will be able to learn about them and their hopes and dreams by going to http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/category/news-for-classrooms/rookie-mushers/

I have a new inspirational partner of my own this year.  His name, oddly enough, is Rookie and he is a sled dog that appears on my easel every morning.  My job is to work with him until I can draw him quickly and easily (under a minute) to introduce him to the students I meet along my trail.  Rookie helps me see things with an accurate and positive perspective. He reminds me every morning that there isn’t much I can’t do if I put my mind to it.  So far he has gotten me back out on the pre-dawn running road four out of five mornings this week.

We are all really rookies at something.  This month I offer you the beginning of Rookie’s development, (please feel free to offer suggestions).  I also offer three lessons you may wish to include this year.  They all involve imagining a goal and planning for it, which is where all rookies start on the road to success.

The first lesson is “Safety First” and can be adjusted to any grade level.  We begin with a reading of Rivers, Diary of a Blind Alaska Sled Dog by Mike Dillingham showing us how his musher prepares a place and life for him that helps to keep him safe and on the trail. safety first

The second lesson is “Tracking the Musher.”  This activity may seem a little premature in the heat of late summer, but some video of the race itself may inform the students about the enormous complexity and overall scope of information generated by the race and is a slightly less overwhelming planning exercise than the planning of volunteer placement and supply drops that we will look at later.  It is never too soon to start planning how we will keep track of the grand movement that is the Iditarod.Tracking the musher

The third lesson I call “Imagine the Possibilities.”  Norman Vaughn, explorer and WWII hero was an Iditarod rookie at 83 years of age.  His story is in Iditarod Classics by Lew Freedman (available on line from Iditarod.com).  Many of the stories would be great jumping off places for a discussion of dreaming big and making the choices necessary to achieve a goal but Norman’s is my favorite. Imagine the possibilities – lesson plan

I hope you find one of my lessons this month that works for you and as always feel free to email me with reactions, suggestions and new ideas.

Staying on the trail with Rookie,

Blynne