The Beginning of a Fanatic

When people see me in my jacket with the Iditarod patches sewn all over, I am often asked how I became interested in the Iditarod. Being an avid reader of mysteries, I found myself reading Sue Henry's Murder on the Iditarod Trail about eight years ago. I found it interesting and wondered if there was such a thing as this "Iditarod." I checked it out on the Internet, and sure enough, it was real! I did some research and introduced it in the most bare-bones way to my sixth graders. It was my first year of teaching, so frankly I was putting more effort into simply learning how to teach than in putting together an elaborate Iditarod unit! But I did tell my kids about it, and I posted the standings everyday, but that was about the extent of it. In fact I didn't even know when the winner came in! Another teacher told me that Jeff King had won. Since then, I have developed a major cross-curricula Iditarod unit, which my students loved. I've hungrily searched for news and coverage of this race, and admit I am an Idita-nut! Presently I am a stay-at-home mom who misses teaching about this fascinating topic very much, but rest assured, this year when Jeff King won the Iditarod, nobody had to tell me because I was in front of my computer at 4:00 in the morning watching on the webcam!