During the Iditarod Summer Teacher’s Conference, the handkerchief squares were passed out to all the teachers and you could tell they were excited to share special thoughts, pictures, lessons and ideas with classrooms around the nation. Out came the markers, stencils, photo transfers, appliqués and the squares began to take shape. Next it was time to assemble the squares into the quilt cover, insert a batting, select a quilt back, hem the sides and tie the corners of each square. The next thing you know, Quilt was born and ready to travel to all the classrooms of the contributing teachers.
Quilt’s squares are very colorful and mean something special to their creator. One has a picture of Chief from Dream A Dream Dog Farm, another has a picture of Sanka, one of Zuma’s pals. There is a depiction of the Northern Lights on one and others have awesome messages. Artist and friend Jona Van Zyle created the center square that includes Alaska shirt fabric, an abalone shell button, a rabies tag, a Nome Kennel Club Pin, a seafood shoelace and a Forget-Me-Not patch. It’s an incredible work of art!
When Quilt gets to a classroom, it can be used in many ways. Here are a few ideas.
1) Choose a square and discuss or defend why it has the best or most important message.
2) Write a descriptive paragraph about a square on Quilt for readers to identify which description goes with which square.
3) Design your own square or create your own quilt around any subject matter.
4) Write stories or poetry to go with squares on Quilt.
During this school year, Quilt will travel around the nation. After visiting three schools in Wisconsin, it’ll be routed to Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arkansas, Washington and then Alaska. Wow, this is a geography lesson in itself – landforms, climate, landmarks, etc of all the places Quilt will see. By sending an essay and digital pictures to me, everyone will be able to follow this quilt’s journey on line. The documents you send will later be turned into a hardcopy scrapbook.
Special thanks to all the teachers as well as Jona Van Zyle for designing, creating and contributing squares for the quilt. BluJeans, Sammmmmmmy, and KoKo (my cats) were a great help in assembling the quilt. Cats can make a game out of anything and always pick the best places to sleep. The sled dogs, except for Sanka, haven’t seen Quilt yet but will get a quick peek before it begins its journey.
It was great fun to get to know Quilt during the assembly process. I hope Quilt brings exciting learning adventures to your school!
Terrie Hanke, Eau Claire, WI
2006 Teacher on the TrailTM
