Billie Rose: We studied the Junior Iditarod. The Junior Iditarod is a sled dog race up in Alaska. The Junior Iditarod is raced by kids and their dog teams. They run the Junior Iditarod trail in two days. The normal Iditarod would take 10 days or more! We made a giant mural and put everything about the Junior Iditarod on it.
We drew pictures of Alaskan animals, food, stuff the mushers need, a map of the trail, the musher's names and if they are a girl or a boy, their ages, what town they came from and whether they are a veteran or a rookie. We even have their places and a six dog mush team. What I found really interesting about running the Junior Iditarod trail is you can run when you are 14 and when you 18 and everything in the middle of those two numbers. You can't run the Junior Iditarod after you are 18. After you are done with that, in a couple of years you could go into the Iditarod. But you better start training!
Teddy: Well, "Way up in Alaska, the state that stands alone, there's a dog race that's run from Anchorage to Nome! Its a grueling race with a driving pace and the chilly winds still wail, beneath the northern lights and the snow and the ice and its called the Iditarod Trail" (From the Iditarod Trail song by Hobo Jim)
When you start the Junior Iditarod you are not allowed to have less than 7 dogs, no more than 10 on the tow line. Coming back you are not allowed to have less than 5 dogs and you must have at least 5 dogs on your tow line at all times. Some of the mandatory equipment is: cold weather clothes and sleeping bag, a headlamp and an alternate source of light in case your headlamp goes out. There are a lot of animals on the trail such as Bison, maybe a Moose, Bald Eagles, Lynx, Salmon, etc... Your dogs must be very cute! (just kidding) You must have one days food for each dog on your sled at all times, a minimum of 2lbs per dog. You must have one days food ration for yourself on the sled as well, enough for 24 hours, not junk food. No potato chips, Yodels, etc. And you must have emergency rations of 3000 calories in case you get stranded on the trail or something. This year it was so cold that your eye balls could freeze solid. (I think) Rohn Buser won the Junior Iditarod. His dad is also a famous musher who runs the Iditarod. There were kids from 14 different towns in Alaska. There were 13 boys and 11 girls, 26 mushers. A lot of the kids have a parent who ran in the Iditarod this year. I think that these kids are very special. I would like to run the Junior Iditarod someday.
Here's the next part of the Iditarod Trail Song: "So give me a team and a good lead dog and a sled that's built so fine. And let me race those miles to Nome, 1049! And when I get back to my home I can tell my tale, I did, I did, I did the Iditarod Trail!" (Or the Junior Iditarod Trail!)
Connie: Two years ago we did an intensive unit study surrounding the Iditarod Trail dog sled race. I really recommend doing this at some time in your homeschooling adventure. There are tons of websites and curriculum materials out there. The study lends itself to multiple curriculum areas, but for me, for us, it simply overtakes our imaginations and our spirit! We still follow the Iditarod, we are hooked!
This year, we chose to take a closer look at the Junior Iditarod. We were able to review all the geography and science and history and math that we looked at with the Iditarod study. The Junior race, however, though a smaller scale event, was twice as thrilling for the kids. They were amazed that these are kids, close to their own ages, doing this amazing thing, racing across the Alaskan Wilderness, through a snow storm and freezing temperatures, sleeping overnight, outside with their dogs. They Junior mushers are not allowed any assistance. They are solely responsible for themselves and the well being of their dogs. Awesome! There is so much opportunity here for learning and growth, by following the example of these amazing young people! 
So pick up a copy of the book "Iditarod Dreams" and a couple of Gary Paulson's books, log on to http://www.jriditarod.com/ turn down your thermostat, look for those northern lights and start to dream...
