Are you planning on teaching your preschoolers about the Iditarod this year? Have you already decided on which activities you’ll be using in the process? If not, you may want to take a second to skim through my list. Each item on it is something that I have used in the past with success. Here they are:
For starters, you may want to visit the Enchanted Learning website. They have an awesome array of Iditarod handouts to choose from. One of my favorite handouts to use with preschoolers is the “Iditarod Words Mini Book”. It contains words and pictures of items connected to the race. There are also lined, blank sections where the children may practice writing words like “sled”, “dog”, “Alaska” and “snow.” Other handouts on the site that I would recommend utilizing are the “Iditarod Match Words to Pictures” and the “I Can Color Iditarod-Related Words.”
Arts and Crafts
Another option would be to have the children engage in a few Iditarod themed arts and crafts. There is a coloring sheet that features a sled, sled dogs and a musher posted on The Teachers Corner website that you could use. The site has other Iditarod coloring sheets as well. They could be used to reinforce the vocabulary words listed on the language arts related handouts that I mentioned previously.
You don’t have to stick to the coloring sheets either. Other great options include building an igloo with sugar cubes, making paper bag sled dogs, crafting Inuit figures out of toilet paper rolls and decorating polar bear cut outs with cotton balls. There is a good size polar bear picture to use with the craft posted on the Crayola website.
Songs and Action Rhymes
Want to get the kids singing and moving? The Iditarod Education Portal has two songs worth checking out. The one that I found the most favor with was “Sled Dog Pokey.” It’s a play on the traditional “Hokey Pokey” song and is short enough for classroom use. I’d also suggest using the songs “Five Little Huskies” and “My Igloo” for finger play and puppetry activities.
Math and Sequencing
Lastly, I have found that the topic may also be incorporated into math and sequencing related activities. For example, you could have the children count sled dog paw prints or repeat a series of paw prints onto a blank piece of paper. There are retailers that sell dog paw stamps that could be utilized with the activity. One of them is Dog Stamps Plus. Of course you could also have the kids make their own sled dog paws using bingo daubers or an ink pad and their own fingerprints.
Source: Personal Experience
More from this contributor:
Dog Sledding in Pennsylvania: Suggestions on Where to Go
Great Places to Go Snowshoeing in Central New York
Best Ice Skating Spots Located in Ulster County, New York
Ice Boating in Northern Pennsylvania: Great Places to Visit
