For our user agree- ment, click here . Rail about threats to Oregon's natural treasures. . The world's most famous sled-dog race can be a pow erful tool for teaching life long lessons to children, says McMinnville teacher Judy Suan, cq. who will be in Alaska on Saturday to watch the start of the Iditarod Trail Race in Anchorage. Suan encourages her 26 third graders to either read or be read to for 1,049 minutes before the race. The number is the symbolic distance in miles of the Iditarod.
Kids track their progress by using racing sled bookmarks and dog paw stamps.
Suan's students become pen pals with mushers and are exposed to the Internet by tracking the race on the Iditarod home page. They learn about team effort and the discipline needed to accomplish a goal. They are exposed to proper pet care and veterinary medicine. They learn that a lot of places are still very wild and how important it is to protect them for the next generation. Suan's daughter, Danielle, a sixth grader at Patton Middle School, said the Iditarod has been an interesting addition to her March curriculum.