Monday, February 10, 2014

Mush On!



As the Yukon Quest  is winding down, the first few mushers now in, we prepare for the most infamous of dogsled races, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race! Here's some great footage from the vantage point of the sled of Egel Ellis on a sprint (short distance) race.

A great lesson about genetics would be to compare what breeds are used in sprint dogs vs endurance ones. Sled dog lineage is an important part of the process.

Nutrition for sled dogs is also a great topic to explore. I've been at parties with mushers and there's nothing more entertaining and weirdly interesting, than listening to them have a serious discussion around the campfire about.... dog poop and how it relates to how well their dogs are absorbing the nutrients from their specially planned diets.


There's great activities, lesson ideas and plans for teachers, parents and homeschoolers on both webpages:  Yukon Quest and Iditarod. Lots of great lessons integrating math, mapping, history, science, reading and writing!

Some great children's books about mushing:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Serum-Race-Blazing-Iditarod/dp/0802777236/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392080167&sr=1-3&keywords=balto

http://www.amazon.com/Granite-Susan-Butcher/dp/0975402927/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392080078&sr=8-1&keywords=susan+butcher

http://www.amazon.com/Akiak-Iditarod-Robert-J-Blake/dp/0142401854/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392080451&sr=1-17&keywords=balto

http://www.amazon.com/Dogteam-Gary-Paulsen/dp/0440411300/ref=sr_1_21?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392080512&sr=1-21&keywords=balto





Great Non-fiction Novels:


http://www.amazon.com/Winterdance-Fine-Madness-Running-Iditarod/dp/0156001454/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392081455&sr=1-1&keywords=winterdance+by+gary+paulsen

http://www.amazon.com/Lead-Dog-Was-Lesbian-Iditarod--/dp/0679764119/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392081534&sr=1-1&keywords=my+lead+dog+was+a+lesbian