Two Quilt’s Journey— North Carolina to Colorado…. To Illinois
This school year, 3 Iditarod Traveling Quilts are traveling from classroom to classroom around the world. The following is an update on Quilt 2.
Two Quilt began the journey and the school year in Asheville, North Carolina at the Carolina Day School with Target® 2009 Iditarod Teacher on the TrailTM Cathy Walters. Two Quilt was introduced to the students and staff of the school. Read more at Cathy Walter’s messages. Click here.
Quilt then left Asheville by priority mail– headed for Friend’s School in Boulder, Colorado.
Hello from Boulder, Colorado!
After the 2008 Iditarod, my Kindergarten students were so engaged and excited about the dogs, the mushers and the race that we decided to extend our learning beyond the race. After reading the book Flat Stanley, the story of a boy who becomes flat after an accident with a bulletin board, each child made their own version of a flat musher to send on a summer trip through the mail.
In August when we returned to school we were greeted by a gaggle of flat mushers from all over the world. Each child took a turn showing where his/her ‘musher’ had traveled and shared photos and stories from the ‘musher’s’ adventure. We received ‘mushers’ from the exotic locales of Egypt, Japan, Wisconsin and Hawaii.
In October, to add to our Iditarod excitement, we received the Iditarod quilt in the mail from Iditarod Teacher on the Trail Cathy Walters! When the package arrived my students begged for me to open it immediately.
The following day we discussed the making of a quilt and the history of the Iditarod Quilt. Using the quilt as a springboard, we dove into quilt math, patterns and geometry. Students set to work using patterns of rectangles, squares and triangles to create their own quilt squares. Later in the year (during the Iditarod) we will also make our own Iditarod quilt.
After our individual time with the quilt, I took the quilt out on a ’school tour’. While the Iditarod is still several months away, showing off the quilt was a prime opportunity to infuse the older students with the Iditarod spirit. For the rest of the month the quilt was hung in our Great Room for parents and students to admire before it travels to its next destination— Illinois!
Laurie and Students
Check back soon for the next article.
