We have just started reading one of my favorite books by Gary Paulsen, called Woodsong. The book is a true story about the children's book author, Gary Paulsen, before he became well-known. He and his wife lived in Bemidji, MN and Gary ran a dog-sled team trapline. The book relates his adventures (and misadventures!) and details how he decided to run the Iditarod. I just love this book, and I hope the kids like it too!
We had a wonderful time at the Pine City Trading Post. My favorite part was when we got to go inside a wigwam. It was way different inside than I imagined it would be. I can't imagine living in one during our cold Minnesota winters, but I'm sure the Ojibwe knew how to make them nice and cozy. I also like the food gathering game this kids played to illustrate why the Ojibwe lived in small groups during certain seasons and then gathered into larger groups when there was more food available.
I loved looking at the beautiful birch bark baskets and the gorgeous traditional beading.
Tuesday we head to the Pine City Trading Post (Minnesota History Center) to learn more about Native Americans and Voyageurs. We are reading a book in class called The Birchbark House by Louise Erdich. The main character's name is Omakayas. Her father is a voyageur. I think the kids are really going to enjoy this. I hope we have good weather.
It's been an exciting summer so far. The most exciting things I have done are going camping and fishing at Lake Kabatogama near International Falls, going to a Jonas Brothers Concert in Minneapolis, going to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in DeSmet, S.D . and taking my kids to horse riding camp in the Black Hills. I can't wait to hear about your summer!
My class will be participating in the World-Wide Idita"read" project that is going on during the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska. This is where kids sign-in. This coincides with "I Love to Read" month at Washington Elementary. There is a video explaining the project and PDF guides explaining the project such as the Idita-Read_MusherGuide the ReadingMileageWorksheet and Idita-Read_Bookmarks that will make life easy for kids and parents participating.
While I was at the TIES technology conference on Monday I went to a session about the Iditorod. During the session Gary Paulsen, my favorite author of all time, joined us via SKYPE. He was at his home in New Mexico. Gary has written many books about his experiences as a musher, but retired from running major events in the late 1980's due to heart disease. Much to my surprise and excitement his name was on the 2006 Iditarod roster. He had a blog which told about his preparations. And then, he scratched. And nothing else was posted to his blog. And I have wondered for 2 years what happened. So, during the live video session I asked Gary what happened. His first question was, "How graphic do you want me to be?" and his next question was, "Are there any kids in the room?". So, he told a group of teachers what happened. It involved a fence, a deep cut and blood. That's all I'm going to tell.
Yesterday, we started reading "Woodsong" an excellent children's novel by Gary Paulsen. The kids are doing this project as a book circle, with each child having a specific role.
