Creative Writing Exercise on the Mushroom Rock Trail

Mushroom Rock continues to be one of our favorite spots to hike to. It has been a great trail to keep in our rotation of weekly nature hikes for our homeschool.

One of the things I love about homeschool is the flexibility of adapting your lessons to what you are doing and also to your child.

On this particular nature day we were supposed to be looking for birds and their nests, but the weather wasn't cooperating. 

But were still enjoying our hike. Jack running ahead of me and I breathing in the fresh air. It was cold, but a beautiful day nonetheless.

As we neared Mushroom Rock, we passed a large puddle of water. Jack stopped to observe what was in the water while I walked on by.

"Hey Mommy, it looks like there are brains in the puddle!"

That brought my walk to a halt. I returned to see what he was talking about, and it really did appear to be brains in the water.

He wanted to poke it with a stick, but I wasn't sure what that would lead to. Instead I joked that we could call this a "Puddle of Brains."

We walked on the Mushroom Rock and I had a moment of inspiration... on the walk back we would pick out the best landmarks and give them names. Later we could make a map with all of the names we had created.

Jack loved this idea and we stopped at our favorite spots to think of good names.

At first Jack struggled a bit. He is so literal that his idea of naming was more like a long, specific description like "The Mountain Where Mommy Fell." But I coaxed him to try to be a little more creative, so this turned into "The Falling Mountain of Doom."

So as we walked we talked about what made a good name and how he could move for descriptions to something a bit more creative (that still was descriptive).

By the end of the hike, he had come up with some great names.

The goal was to take the names and draw a map of the hike. It turned out to be a really fun exercise and I love seeing his creative wheels start to turn!

Notes from the hike:

Location: Mushroom Rock in Prentice Cooper Signal Mountain, TN
Date: March 6, 2018
Time: 9:30-11:30

Weather: Sunny but cold, 40F

Observations: Made up creative names for landmarks on the trail including:

Falling Mountain of Doom, The Continuous Creek and the River Island in the Emerald Forest, The Bridge to Endless Creek, The Creek of No Crossing, The Land of Puddles, The Bridge to the Land of Puddles, Troll Hair Stump, and Brain Stew Puddle

We didn't have pen and paper while we hiked, so as we came up with names for various landmarks, I took video of Jack telling me the names so we would remember them later when he created his map.

This was such a fun exercise and it was a great way to get Jack thinking creatively, and it paired really well with a book we have been reading called, "The Once Upon a Time Map Book."

Check back on Tuesdays to see where our nature studies have taken us...
Previous Nature Hikes with Jack: 

September: Green Gorge, Althaus Park, and Mabbit Springs

October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Nature Day with friends) ⎮ Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Among Trees (hike we did as a family) ⎮ Greenway Farms Nature Day (family archery lesson and hike)
November: Glen Falls ⎮ Mushroom Rock (with Mommy and Daddy) ⎮ Raccoon Mountain

December: The Boulders ⎮ Toccoa River (family hike)⎮ Amnicalola Falls (family hike)

January: Green Gorge ⎮ Rainbow Lake
February: Stringers Ridge ⎮ Green Gorge ⎮ Mushroom Rock ⎮ Family Hike to Mushroom Rock ⎮ Family Hike to Possum Creek ⎮ Greenway Farms

Outdoor Adventures | 2016 edition

In terms of spending time outdoors together, 2016 was a good year for our family. We were more intentional about spending time outside with our kids and made more of an effort to adventure. Our adventures are different from what we would do pre-kids, but I think it is the effort that counts. We are getting to a point where we can see the future activities with our kids getting bigger and that is encouraging! Also, Daniel changed jobs last year and his more normal work week has made a big difference in our efforts to do the things we love as a family. We are looking forward to all of the adventures in store for us in 2017.

January

First Hike of the New Year at Sunset Rock | Lookout Mountain, TN

Hike to Mushroom Rock | Signal Mountain, TN

February

Mountain Bike Date in Prentice Cooper State Forest | Signal Mountain, TN

Hiking/Trail Running to Mushroom Rock | Signal Mountain, TN

Caving with Kids at Florida Caverns State Park | Marianna, FL

March

Our First Tri (Rock & Row Triathlon) | Rock Island, TN

Hiking at Rock Island Gorge | Rock Island, TN

Hiking at Fall Creek Falls | Fall Creek Falls, TN

May

Strawberry Picking with Friends at Sims Farm | Ft. Olgethorpe, GA

Day Hike in Prentice Cooper | Signal Mountain, TN

Mother's Day Paddling Excursion (a first for Isaac) | Lookout Creek at base of Lookout Mountain, TN 

Camping with Kids at Chester Frost State Park (a first for Isaac) | Chattanooga, TN 

Day Hikes to Huckleberry Knob and Bald River Falls | Cherohala Skyway, NC 

McCoy Farm Memorial Day Picnic | Signal Mountain, TN

June

Blue Hole | Soddy Daisy, TN

July

Cousins Trip to the Beach | St. George Island, FL

August

Biking the Oro-Medonte Rail Trail | Orillia, Ontario
Paddling on Lake Simcoe | Orillia, Ontario

Cliff Jumping (Muskoka River) | Gravenhurst, Ontario 

Niagara Falls | Niagara Falls, Ontario

Day Hike at Point Park | Lookout Mountain, TN

September

Paddling with (4) Kids at Chester Frost | Chattanooga, TN

Day Hike to Glen Falls | Lookout Mountain, TN  

Tractor Day at Hidden Hills Farm and Saddle Club | Ooltewah, TN 

October

Three Sisters Blue Grass Festival | Chattanooga, TN

Ocoee White Water Center | Cherokee National Forest, TN 

Old McDonald's Farm | Sale Creek, TN 

Family Camping at High Falls State Park (camping, hiking, paddling, biking) | High Falls State Park, GA

November

ATVs to Edwards Point | Signal Mountain, TN 

Touring the Nina and Pinta | Chattanooga, TN

Hiking with kids to Edwards Point via Rainbow Lake (hiking, climbing) | Signal Mountain, TN

December

New Year's Eve Day Hike to Snooper's Rock | Signal Mountain, TN

Also this year Daniel went on quite a few undocumented (by me) trail runs and dirt bike rides. He enjoys running on various trails in Prentice Cooper State Forest here on Signal Mountain including Edwards Point, Mushroom Rock, down the mountain to Suck Creek and also around Rainbow Lake. Other places he runs include Stringers Ridge and in Green Gorge behind our house. For riding, he prefers the off road trails around Edwards Point.

Father-Son Hike: Mushroom Rock

Part of our homeschool experience is taking Jack for one-on-one hikes on trails that are in close proximity to our home.

Typically I am the one taking him on these hikes, but with homeschool everything is flexible.

So, when I had a doctor's appointment that I scheduled, Daniel took time off work and took the opportunity to go on the Thursday hike in my stead.

I am so grateful for the time I have with our first-born in the woods, but I am also glad that occasionally Daniel gets these same opportunities. These photos and videos in this post are from their hike.

Mushroom Rock is Jack's all-time favorite hike. It is about 2.5 miles round trip and he loves to run on the trails, and will run most of the way. He also likes to attempt to climb Mushroom Rock, and walk on every fallen log he comes across. He really has amazing balance!

I do want to note that they took a turn and got lost for a bit (not in a scary way). I have never gotten lost on our hikes ;) Knock on wood!

Notes from the hike:
Location: Mushroom Rock Hike with Daddy
Date: Oct. 26, 2017
Time: 9:30-11:30am
Weather: Mid-50s, sunny
Comments from Jack: "This morning was good because we got to see Mushroom rock. It was so awesome!"

Previous Nature Hikes with Jack:
September: Green Gorge, Althaus Park, and Mabbit Springs
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Nature Day with friends),  Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Among Trees (hike we did as a family), Greenway Farms Nature Day (family archery lesson and hike)

Nature Day: Mushroom Rock with Mommy and Daddy

Fall is in full swing, can you spot our dog, Sophie, on the trail?

I think I am going to have to devote an entire section of this blog to our hikes to Mushroom Rock. I typically try to steer Jack to new places, but if he gets a say, he will always say Mushroom Rock!

Last month Jack had the opportunity to make this hike with just Daniel. This month, Daniel had a day off and the three of us headed to this favorite spot.

Our nature study had us looking for moss, mushrooms and lichen. We also discussed cardinal directions and how that relates to what side of a tree the moss grows on.

There is always so much to take away from our walks in the woods!

And if nothing else, walking in silence among trees is just plain good for the soul.

Notes from the hike:
Location: Mushroom Rock in Prentice Cooper on Signal Mountain
Date: Nov. 9, 2017
Time: 10:30-12:30pm
Weather: 50F, cool and overcast
Comments from Jack: "We looked for mushrooms and moss."

This was my first time back to Mushroom Rock since falling and injuring myself on this trail two months ago. 

Check back on Thursdays to see where our nature studies have taken us...
Previous Nature Hikes with Jack:
September: Green Gorge, Althaus Park, and Mabbit Springs
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Nature Day with friends),  Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Among Trees (hike we did as a family), Greenway Farms Nature Day (family archery lesson and hike)
November: Glen Falls