Join us at the 2012 Summer Camp for Teachers!  Send an email for details!

Images by Kelly Gaskins and Diane Johnson

After the puppy walk, Vern Halter spent the rest of the morning presenting information to the campers covering the topics of dog care, mushing, racing, and his personal experiences.

Following lunch, the campers got their first experience of helping to harness and hook up a dog team.

Afternoon sessions were from Crissy Lovelace, Big Lake Elementary School, Big Lake, Alaska, and Sara Lamont, Larson Elementary, Wasilla, Alaska.   Crissy’s focus was on their school wide Idita Read project.  Sara’s focus was on her school’s projects, an Idita math project, science lessons, and literacy connections. Sara also introduced the campers to the Iditarod and Alaska books that she uses with her students.

Vern grilled fresh salmon.  Delicious salads, potatoes, and cheesecake rounded off an incredible meal.  Campers spent the rest of the evening collaborating and team building through conversation and relaxation.

Click to view slideshow.

Campers with Mushers: Raymie Redington, Ray Redington, Jr., and Nick Petit

It is official!  the 2011 Iditarod Teacher Camp is under way!

Campers began arriving at the Iditarod Headquarters around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

After touring the inside of the Iditarod Headquarters, campers went outside and enjoyed a dog sled cart ride on a ‘summer sled’ driven by Raymie Redington.  Raymie is the son of Joe Redington, Sr., the Father of the Iditarod.  Raymie’s wife, Barb, provided important information to the campers and introduced them to Nickolas Petit, the 2011 Iditarod Rookie of the Year.  Another musher stopping by and introduced to the campers was Ray Redington, Jr.  (Raymie’s son, and grandson of Joe Redington.)

After watching a video at Iditarod Headquarters, the campers departed for the Dream a Dream Dog Farm.

Time:  2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Location:  Iditarod Headquarters: Mile 2.2 Knik Goose Bay Rd. Wasilla, AK

Teachers:  Are you ready to begin the 9 day adventure in Iditarod learning?

See you soon!

Thursday Evening: Clouds Wrap Around the Mountain

 I arrived in Anchorage very early on Wednesday morning (June 15).  It was raining in Anchorage when my plane landed.  No, I’ll take that back.  It was more than raining, it was pouring.  My plane had left Minneapolis more than an hour late for a reason that wasn’t shared with us.  Prior to that, my flight out of Aberdeen to Minneapolis had left as a huge thunderstorm approached Aberdeen.

So all day, rain, rain, rain had surrounded me and there it was once again as I landed in Anchorage.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sara Lamont and I went shopping in Anchorage, gathering up the supplies that we’d need for our summer camp.

It rained Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.

Thursday evening, clouds wrapped around the mountains.

There was a 5.2 earthquake on Thursday.  I was driving from Wasilla to Anchorage so I missed that event.

Friday morning begins with blue sky and bright sunshine.

Among the list of things to do today:  Go to Iditarod Headquarters, finalize camp plans, pick up education department supplies at the storage building, check in with ‘campers’ who have begun to arrive in Anchorage, work with my intern, Kelly, on projects, go to Anchorage to the University of Anchorage to pick up registration materials for our class offerings, pick up additional supplies, and after midnight, pick up camp staff, Terrie Hanke at the airport.

Iditarod Summer Camp is about to begin!

]]> http://iditarodineducation.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/two-views-summer-camp-begins/feed/ 0 djohnsoniditarod CIMG3340 Friday Morning: Same Mountain, No Rain http://iditarodineducation.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/471/ http://iditarodineducation.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/471/#comments Thu, 09 Jun 2011 03:18:01 +0000 Diane http://iditarodineducation.wordpress.com/?p=471 […]]]> Hello, Campers!

We’ll see you at this statue soon!  Of course the snow won’t be there, but I’m certain you’ll find the statue!  Won’t you?

Sunday, June 19, 2011

2:00 – 3:00 PM

Need a ride from Anchorage to Wasilla?  Be sure to let me know!  I’ll coordinate this to make sure everyone is ‘at the statue’ and ready for camp!

After our session on Sunday, we’ll be heading to the Dream a Dream Dog Farm!

See you soon!

Check previous articles for additions and changes today!  I’m taking care of details and finalizing information!  Time is going fast, isn’t it?  But not so fast that snow will be covering the statue seen on this article!  I’m going to for now, have this article as the first one that you see….  so check below this article for new articles or changes in previous articles…

See you at the statue!  Diane

Our staff is looking forward to an exciting 9 day adventure with you!  Click on each staff member’s name to learn more about our staff!

Diane Johnson:  Iditarod Education Director, Summer Camp Director, 2000 Teacher on the Trail

Sara Lamont:  Iditarod Education Committee Member, Race Volunteer, Teacher from Palmer, AK

Terrie Hanke:  Iditarod Education Committee Member, 2006 Teacher on the Trail™, Race Volunteer, Educational Journalist.

Shannon Keene:  Iditarod Education Steering Committee and Advisor, Retired Teacher, Alaska

Blynne Froke:  Target® 2012 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™

Martha Dobson:  Target™ 2011 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™

*Please note the dates associated with the  articles on  this website.  This website is a collection from past summer camp experiences and serves as a historical document of past camp experiences and contains the current year’s camp information, so make sure you look for 2011 Summer Camp information for this year’s information!  Some articles – regardless of when they were written, pertain to every summer camp… others are specific to a year’s camp.  So, double check with me if you have questions.

Welcome to the 2011 Iditarod Summer Camp for Teachers!

We are in the final planning stages for this incredible 9 day event and we can’t wait for our teacher campers  to join us in Alaska!

(What?  You aren’t joining us?  Did you think about it and now wonder why you didn’t make plans to join us?  Have you just learned about it and wishing……    It’s not too late!  Read on!)

CAMP BEGINS:

Sunday, June 19 

We’ll see you at Iditarod Headquarters on SUNDAY, June 19, 2:00 PM.  (Time to be adjusted if necessary due to flight times.)

Our first sessions at camp take place at Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla.

We will tour the facility, visit the museum, see a brief film about the race, and have the opportunity to shop at Iditarod’s store.  Sunday’s sessions are designed to help campers start to get to know each other and learn basic historical and current information about the race.

Weather providing, you will take a ride on a summer dog sled.  (a wheeled cart pulled by dogs.)  You’ll meet Raymie Redington and his wife, Barb.

Then, it’s off the the Dream a Dream Dog Farm.

Sunday – Wednesday.  (June 19 – 21)  A Summary:

The first three days of our conference will be held at the Dream a Dream Dog Farm, the home and kennel of Susan Whiton and Vern Halter. Both Vern and Susan are Iditarod mushers.  They have run Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. Vern is a Yukon Quest Champion.  Susan is a veterinarian.  She has a vet’s clinic at the Dream a Dream Dog Farm.  You never know who might stop by the Dream a Dream Dog Farm and  kennel clinic!

Our camp will be held at the Dream a Dream Dog Farm starting on  Sunday afternoon (after we’ve met at ITC Headquarters) and continue through  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday early afternoon. We will car pool from headquarters to this location to begin our adventure at camp.  By the time Wednesday rolls around, you’ll be disappointed to be leaving this incredible facility.  The K9 and human friends you’ll make, will provide you with memories for a lifetime!

After unpacking and ‘setting up camp’, we’ll have an introductory session, our evening meal, and an evening session and opportunity to view Iditarod DVD productions.  If you are lucky, you’ll even hear a few howl songs from the dog yard on your very first night!

The  sessions will be held in the Dream a Dream Dog Farm Lee Larsen Training center and outside in the dog yard and wooded area as weather permits. We’ll be ‘camping’ out — staying in the bunk house — dorm style in the upstairs of the training center.  We’ll enjoy light breakfast and lunch each day at the Dream a Dream and two evening meals while at this location will be provided for you…  We will also provide you with a variety of snacks and goodies.   (Again: included in your camp fee.)

After our breakfast each morning, we’ll have the opportunity to go on a walk with the puppies and learn how to harness a team.

Meeting these young athletes will give you a glimpse of the very early socialization and training the dogs of Iditarod go through.  For those interested, we will also  have the opportunity to help with the morning dog chores.  Before our three days are over, you’ll know the personality of many of Vern and Susan’s dogs.   If you are lucky, the dogs might even teach you how to sing a howl song with them— or perhaps, you will have created your own tune to sing to the dogs!

Sessions will begin after ‘chore and relaxing time’ with a break for lunch and snacks.

Our activities and sessions will help you connect the race and Alaska to your curriculum. Our camp staff will understand what you need from this experience to maximize each moment you are with us so you can ‘pack your sled’ with everything you need to meet your goals, personally and professionally.  The images you collect on your camera and in your heart and soul will provide you with all the resources you need to bring the race to the classroom and your curriculum in an incredible way!

As we said, you never know who’ll drop by the kennel or what event we’ll experience.  During the summer of 2009 camp experience, we experienced a small earthquake.  In 2007 and 2008, Gary Paulsen dropped by to say hello as did DeeDee Jonrowe.

Schedule:

Sunday:  (times are estimations and not exact… well, ok, some are exact, some aren’t…  it’s a summer camp schedule!)

2:00 Meet at Iditarod Headquarters
( * Please note:  we will send a staff car to Anchorage to pick up teachers on Sunday.  Please notify us if you will be needing a ride so we can coordinate transportation.  IF you are renting a car and you are willing to drive teachers to Wasilla on Sunday, please let me know!  Thanks!  Diane)

4:00 Depart by car pool  for the Dream a Dream Dog Farm

5:00 – until bed time:  Arrival at Dream a Dream, Welcome

Unpack, Organize

Session 1

Evening meal

Session 2

Snacks and the 2011 Iditarod DVD preview!

Monday:

6- 8:30 AM:  Morning ‘Chores’:  Rise and Shine!  (Sorry, no taps, we’ll have dog howling instead!)  Enjoy the morning at the kennel by participating in reading, reflecting, a morning walk with puppies or dogs… time in the kennel to get to know dogs, and other kennel activities.  This is also a collaboration and social time for campers.

*Camp rule:  If you are up first, plug in the coffee!  OK, the pot is always ‘plugged in…’ but you know what I mean.  Push the power button, even if you don’t drink coffee…  push the power button…   AND for those of you who drink tea, don’t worry! We’ll have tea for you, too!

Morning sessions:

Vern Halter:  Iditarod and Mushing, 101

Lunch

Afternoon Sessions: (Starting around 1:00)

Putting the Iditarod reality into the classroom environment.

Speakers include:

Diane Johnson:  Education Director and 2000 Teacher on the Trail™:  Iditarod Educational Learning Projects 2012

Sara Lamont: Larsen Elementary, Wasilla,  Idita Math and Other Iditarod Connections.   *Sara is an Iditarod race volunteer and a member of the Iditarod Education Committe.  Sara is a member of the ‘camp staff’.

Chrissy Lovelace:  Big Lake Elementary School:  School Wide Program:  Idita Read

Speaker to be announced: (check back later!)

Evening Session:  Vern’s turn to cook!  We’ll enjoy an evening meal, social time, relaxation, time in the dog yard and around Dream a Dream Dog Farm, and an evening of Iditarod collaboration!

Tuesday:

Chores

Morning Session:  Speakers include:

Terrie Hanke, 2006 Teacher on the Trail™ and Educational Journalist.  *Terrie is a member of the Iditarod Education Committee and ‘camp staff’.

Blynne Froke, Target® 2011 Teacher on the Trail™  “2012 Iditarod Preview from Blynne”

Diane Johnson, 2000 Teacher on the Trail, Iditarod Education Director:  2012 Literacy Club for Teachers!

Lunch

Afternoon Session: (  1:00 – 4:30)

1:00 – 2:30:  Sonny Chambers:   Iditarod Race Volunteer  (1 hour, 30 minute session)  What’s it like in an Iditarod Checkpoint?  Sonny goes to Koyuk during the race and during his session, he’ll ‘bring you to Koyuk- virtually’.  Everything you want to know about life on the trail as seen through the eyes of checkpoint volunteers will be answered in this session!

More information will be added later about the afternoon speakers.

Evening Session:

* This evening, we’ll drive to Talkeetna for dinner and an evening of sight seeing and ‘Talkeetna there and back’ adventures! Responsibility for your evening meal is your own.    Click here to learn more!

Wednesday:

Chores

Morning Session:  The Last Great 2011 Summer Camp Challenge:  You ‘Iditarod knowledge’ will be put to test!

Lunch and a Chance to Reflect!

Pack up and organize:  Depart around 1:30  PM

Afternoon:

We’ll be going to the Wednesday ‘market’ and the Dorothy Page Museum.  (http://www.cityofwasilla.com/index.aspx?page=80)

Hotel / Lodging:  “RE-Campment”  (after our visit at the museum and market, we’ll check into the hotel.)

Evening: 6:30 PM – Dinner and Iditarod ‘Special Session’  (Your meal will be included. * IF traveling with family members, they may be interested in attending this session.  A slight fee will be charged to cover their meal.  See me for details!)

Location:  Iditarod Headquarters  (Subject to change, but this is the current plan as of 6/10)

(Speakers and activities to be announced soon!)

Best Practices in Iditarod Education!

* Best Practices Sharing Session:  An Exchange of Best Practices and Success Stories.

* Special Guest Speaker to be announced soon!

Thursday:

Thursday = Anchorage!  We’ll head to Anchorage to first visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center followed by the opportunity to visit museums, shops, and places of interest in the Anchorage area.  Much of this day is ‘on your own’ after the morning visit at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.  This will allow you to meet your own goals and objectives as far as what you need to see and experience.  In downtown Anchorage, you’ll see the statue of Balto – the location of the starting line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and experience the shops, sights, and scenes of Anchorage in the summer time.

Alaska Native Heritage Center:  http://www.alaskanative.net/  (Your ticket to this is included in the camp fee.)

*If you are traveling with a family member, this is a great day to include them in our activities, fee would only be the price of admission to the Alaska Native Heritage Center and any other expenses for the options for the day.

Optional places for you to visit include and are limited only by your energy level and the daylight hours:  Downtown Anchorage stores and restaurants, the Anchorage Museum at the Rasmuson Center ($12 admission– Seeing this is really more of a full day’s project, so if you are going to be in the Anchorage area and wish this experience, we recommend doing this before or after camp… )  Alaska Zoo, Millennium Hotel – just so you can say you’ve been to Iditarod Race Headquarters, or take the hiking path to Earthquake Park…  There are so many options for this day!   We’ll help you design this day during our time at Dream a Dream Dog Farm.

Friday:

(Location to be announced next week, most likely at the Grand View)

Authors, Speakers, and Iditarod Adventures continue:

We will have speakers and presentations in the morning, break for lunch, after lunch, and we will depart at 4:00 for Jon and Jona Van Zyle’s home, kennel, and art gallery.

Schedule:

8:00:  Diane Johnson:  Skype and other technology projects for 2012

9:15:  Martha Dobson -Target® 2011 Teacher on the Trail™

10:30 AM:  Pam Flowers, Arctic Explorer, Adventurer, Iditarod Musher, Motivational Speaker, (Visit her website at this link.)  PLEASE NOTE:  Pam will have her books for sale after her presentation.  Please purchase them from her  if you are interested in doing so, instead of a store in Alaska, to help Pam and our conference.

Lunch

1:00 Katie Magnelsdorf, Author of a book soon to be released – Biography of Joe Redington, Sr.  Katie worked with Joe for years before his passing, listening  to stories and capturing his life.  Katie also worked on this book with Vi before her passing, and with Joe and Vi’s family members over the past several years, to create this book.

2:15:  Stu Nelson, Chief Iditarod Veterinarian

4:00:  Depart for Jon and Jona Van Zyle’s home, art gallery, and kennel.  Dinner will be served at the kennel and is a part of this camp fee!

*If traveling with family members, this is a great day to include them.  Small fee will be assessed, see me for details!  Thanks!

Saturday:

Iditarod Volunteer Picnic and 2012 Musher Sign Up Event!  This event is for past Iditarod volunteer, as a means to thank them for their hard work!  The event is held on the first day of sign ups for the next race.  You’ll get a noon meal and get to meet race volunteers, race staff, and all of the mushers that show up at Iditarod Headquarters for the event.

People will begin arriving at Iditarod Headquarters around 9:00 AM.  The picnic begins around noon.  Mushers will be signing up, providing you the opportunity to get autographs, take pictures, and visit with them.  The even generally ends between 4 – 5:00 PM.

There will be no scheduled activities Saturday evening…  Explore, go on an adventure, relax, etc.  (We’ll have ideas for you!)

Sunday:  THE SUNDAY CHALLENGE

This is a day of adventure for campers.  We’ll be providing you with a variety of optional activities for the day and you’ll group up as you desire to accomplish the project which are centered around your goals-  and complete a project that helps you to get to know Alaska and Iditarod better!  Don’t worry, by design, we aren’t giving you all the details for this until you are at camp…   Just know that the goal is for you to enjoy the day in a manner you’d like… 

Monday:

AM:  Fieldtrip:  Shannon Keene welcomes us to her home for a morning of cultural understanding and teaching ideas.  Shannon used to teach in a remote village.  She’ll share a great wealth of knowledge and you’ll come away with a rich understanding!

PM:  On Location:  Wells Fargo Bank Iditarod Museum

End of Camp—  but the start of a new Iditarod adventure for each of you!

Additional Information:

To learn about the Dream a Dream Dog Farm, visit www.vernhalter.com.

* If you require a special diet, let us know and/or please bring what you need.  If you have allergies, let us know.  If you have a special beverage you just can’t survive without, please bring it!  (We’ll supply water, coffee, tea, some soda, etc.)

Towels and bedding are also supplied, but if you need your special pillow or  you are fussy about your towel, feel free to bring yours!  Please note, Vern also has extra light jackets and muck boots, so if you aren’t fussy, we’ll help you dress up as needed!  There is also a washing machine, showers, and most of what you need to be comfortable. Usually the WI FI works at the Dream a Dream Dog Farm, so if you have wireless and/or a cell phone, you probably will get a connection, although some cell phone service works better than others!

Email me if you have specific questions.

What Do I Bring to Camp?

This is a common question asked by our campers.  To provide you with important information, read the following article.    (Click here to visit the link!)  This article pertains to what you need no matter when you attend our summer camp!

Joining as a staff member for Iditarod Summer Camp is Blynne Froke, this year’s Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™(2012)

Blynne is from California. 

Blynne is no stranger to Iditarod Summer Camp.  Having attended Iditarod Summer Camp several years ago, Blynne applied for Teacher on the Trail™ for two years in a row.  Two years in a row, she was selected as a finalist and traveled to Alaska before the start of the Iditarod to participate in the selection activities and present at the Winter Conference.  Blynne was awarded this opportunity of being the selected teacher for 2012 in an announcement made in April. (2011)

Starting in June of 2011, Blynne will begin writing on the Iditarod website.  Through out the year, she will share lesson ideas and a journal.  During the race, she’ll travel the Iditarod Trail and share a daily, on line journal with classrooms around the world.

Click here to visit the Target ®Teacher on the Trail™ website.

From Blynne’s Bio:

Adventure and personal challenge have always been at the top of Blynne Froke’s to do list.  It seems like she has been on the go her whole life. Blynne was born in Canada and immigrated to California with her family.  When he father was sent to Venezuela for work, Blynne went along to start high school.  It took seventeen years and three states to complete her college education, but she never gave up, finally starting her teaching career at 35.  Summer 2007 found her back in South America working with her brother in Bolivia and spring 2011 she explored China with her oldest daughter.  For the last thirty years though Blynne has called rural northern California home where she raised two beautiful daughters with husband, Mike, and an ever-growing menagerie of dogs, cats, goats, chicken and ponies.  An active 4H leader, Blynne and her daughter raised a guide dog, which was a very rewarding experience.

After teaching English at the junior high level for almost 12 years, Blynne decided she was up for a real challenge and as is common in her life, an opportunity presented itself.  Community Day School (CDS) is a contained “last chance” classroom for high school students that have been expelled.  For nine years she taught everything from P.E. to Physics to British Lit. to reluctant teenagers and found it to be one of the most rewarding experiences of he teaching life.

Challenge and Blynne’s new students seemed to go together like peanut butter and jelly.  Her special mix of patience and passion seemed to work for many, but something more intense was needed to draw in these very needy students and she was on the search again.  By chance, Blynne read a book about the Iditarod and shared it with her students.  They shared her excitement.  That was four years ago.  What started as a half an hour read aloud turned into a cross-curricular thematic program around which the essential themes of goal-setting, planning, personal responsibility, problem solving and stewardship revolved. The mushers came alive as “Real life heroes,” in a struggle every bit as inspiring and challenging as their own struggle to graduate high school.  It has found such fertile ground, that it graduated twice as many students from CDS than in previous years.

Blynne has embraced challenge not only in her professional life, but in her personal life as well.  What started as a whim, “a couch to 5K running club,” turned into another great passion.  Four years and a hundred pounds later, she has completed two half marathons and continues to train for distance events.

Last year saw more reductions in California’s education budget and following the “go where you are needed” call, Blynne returned to the high school to teach freshman and sophomore English.  Maybe not so surprisingly, these classes also found an expanded curriculum using the Iditarod as students wrote up research papers on various aspects of competitive dog mushing and created cross-age teaching experiences for elementary students.  These “Trail Buddies” were real heroes and are currently looking for other ways to engage elementary students in the Iditarod experience.

The adventure just keeps going as Blynne looks forward to a year as Target’s® Teacher on the Iditarod Trail™ and sharing the experience of the race and the remote villages of Alaska with students and teachers across the globe.

Blynne’s motto as always is “Challenge yourself and NEVER give up!”