The conference is great. I am learning from the teacher on the trail and the 3 finalist for next year. We went to the home, kennel and studio of Jon Van Zyle the Iditarod Artist. Tomorrow we will go to the Iditarod Headquarters to watch the veterinarians check in the teams of dogs. We should be able to get some good pictures. Today's pictures is Jon Van Zyle, myself with one of his dogs and a moose that was in Brent's backyard.
'til next time, Lena Davidson

I am sending a picture of Lance Mackey and one of Martin Buser. We saw lots of mushers and dogs today. They were checking in at Headquarters and the vets were checking every dog. Tomorrow evening is the Musher Banquet and they will draw for their starting places.

Texas Panhandle Second Grade Teacher Attends the “Last Great Race”

Anchorage, AK – March 2, 2008 –
For most kids in the lower 48 states of the U.S the “Last Great Race” also known as the Iditarod Dog Sled Race, is often times only a brief press report on local or national television news. However, it doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons to be learned and strange new worlds to explore. A second grade teacher has been making those lessons come to life for her students.

Lena Davidson teaches at Sunset Elementary School in Dumas, TX, 50 miles north of Amarillo. It’s about as far away from glaciers, mushers and exotic snow adventures reminiscent of Jack London’s tales as one could get.

Davidson is in Anchorage with her husband Arthur (a veterinarian in Dumas) for the annual Iditarod Winter Conference for Teachers and the start of the race. The conference is a way to bring the Iditarod to the classroom by way of lesson planning and technology. For the past seven years, Davidson and her students have been following the race. She has constructed entire lesson plans around the event, incorporating mathematics, reading, writing, history, geography, and character education.

“Kids naturally love dogs, and they’re fascinated with following reports of a race in a faraway place they’ve never seen. It’s a very effective tool to get them engaged in important learning processes. It’s an easy way to get them excited about exploring different ways that people live, play and compete.”

When her students listen to Davidson talk about the mushers as well as the dogs itching to run towards Nome, it’s a little difficult to determine who’s more excited about the venture – the teacher or the kids. In reality, it takes one to relate to the other.