Landing at sunset onto Lake Hood

Lake Hood

The Winter Conference for Iditarod Educators started today at The Lakefront Millennium Hotel, which is also the Official Headquarters for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.  Our meeting room had a beautiful view of frozen Lake Hood which is the world’s busiest floatplane base.  It’s stunning to watch a plane land and take off from the frozen lake. The glistening snow and clear blue sky makes a dramatic backdrop for an airplane.  Airplanes were on the move all day!

Movement was actually all around us today!  Teacher on the Trail Jim Deprez had us code an Ozobot’s journey down the Iditarod Trail.  Our Ozobot was on the move!  

I went outside to watch airplanes land on the lake and noticed the ACTIVE AERODROME KEEP OFF LAKE sign.  The word ACTIVE or on the move seemed to keep popping up around me. 

Vocabulary moment:  Based on my pictures see if your students can  figure out what the word aerodrome means. 

Lisa Wiley presented an Iditarod PE Challenge where kids do movements between checkpoints based on the topography of the trail.  Kids can learn about the checkpoints and do exercise movements that mimic the movement or action a musher would be experiencing at that point on the trail.  See my adaptation of Lisa’s Iditarod PE Challenge lesson below to get your students experiencing the Iditarod Race through being on the move!

(Thanks Lisa for letting me adapt your great idea!)

Enjoy being on the move in your classrooms as Alaska is ready to see sled dogs and mushers be on the move on Saturday!

The Iditarod PE Challenge 

• Teach checkpoint facts to your students right along with learning about the topography of the trail.  Checkpoint Descriptions on Iditarod.com
• Follow your classroom musher on Iditarod Insider and do the movement that coincides to the checkpoint he/she is at as a class.  
• Have students do the movements individually based on where their musher is at on the trail.

Ready….Set……Be on the Iditarod Trail move!

Start the Race!  Iditarod Route:  Willow to Skwentna (stop in Yetna)

Challenge #1:  Walk on a trail  (walk around your school track, walking path or any sidewalks around your school. 

Traveling up the Alaska Range. Iditarod Route: Skwentna to Rainy Pass (stop in Finger Lake)

Challenge #2:  Climbing. If your school does not have a climbing wall, do high knees walking in place.

Descend the Dalzell Gorge.  Iditarod Route: Rainy Pass to Nikolai (stop in Rohn)

Challenge #3: Run or walk fast down a slope or a flat surface.

Iditarod Route: Nikolai to Ophir to Cripple (stop in McGrath).  You are at the halfway point of the race!  Feel the burn!

Challenge #4:  Squats

Iditarod Route: Cripple to Ruby to Galena and Nulato.  Stay warm and active

Challenge #5:  20 Jumping Jacks with winter coat on. 

Iditarod Route:  Nulato to Kaltag to Unalakleet.  Loose Dog on the trail! Mushers leave the long difficult segment of the Yukon River and face the challenge of traveling on the Bering Sea Coast. 

Challenge #6:  Run for at least 20 minutes (may do in intervals)

Iditarod Route:  Unalakleet to Shaktoolik and Koyuk.  Stay strong with strong winds and white out conditions. 

Challenge #7:  Core sit ups (3 sets of 10).

Iditarod Route: Elim to White Mountain.  Take a rest to get ready for the last stretch of the race. 

Challenge #8:  Yoga Pose:  Downward facing dog or pose of your choice. 

Iditarod Route: White Mountain, (stop in Safety) then onto Nome!  The Finish Line!

Challenge #9:  Do a light run in place as you glide into Nome and under the Burled Arch that marks the end of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race!