Hiking Trails near Huntsville, Alabama: Devil’s Racetrack at Wade Mountain Preserve

Like much of the country, the past few weeks have been a bit cooler than normal. Although, depending on where you live, you may disagree with me when I say it’s been cold here in Alabama. Thursday we got a break when the temperatures climbed nearly 15 degrees to the high 40’s. I decided the kids and I would take advantage of the beautiful weather by exploring one of the hiking trails near Huntsville, which led us to Wade Mountain Preserve.

The trailhead at Wade Mountain Preserve begins in the parking area, off Spraggins Hollow Road, minutes from Alabama A & M University. There is a small picnic area with two or three picnic tables but you won’t find any bathroom facilities so make sure you pee before you leave home- and be sure to pack plenty of water.

The trail is well marked and maintained, though a bit rocky at times. 

We’d decided that we’d follow the main trail just over a mile to the Devil’s Racetrack.  Periodically we’d encounter a tree with a diamond markers that assured us we were on the right path.

Along the way we enjoyed listening to the birds and viewing the rock outcroppings. I couldn’t help but think that we should have hiked this trail in the fall—I imagine it would be quite beautiful when the leaves were changing.

 

At one point I was really disappointed to see that much of the land that borders the preserve has been cleared and wondered if the land is planned to be developed for yet another subdivision. 

The trail gradually climbs to an elevation of 1100 feet. Though it isn’t particularly steep,  there are benches located along the trail so you can enjoy the scenery or rest a minute of two if needed.

The summit,  and the Devil’s Racetrack Trail,  opens to a rocky clearing with a Cedar glade. Like many other hiking trails near Huntsville, in the spring the landscape will be colored with beautiful wildflowers, a great excuse to plan another hike.

 

The climate of Wade Mountain is considered to be almost semi-arid. Since the soil is very sandy, it also drains very quickly leaving little water behind for plants. As a result, the plants found here are different from what is typically seen in the area. 

Devil’s Racetrack is an easy 1/2 mile trail that is not only popular to hikers, but to mountain bike riders as well. The trail leads to spectacular views of North Huntsville and on a clear day it’s said that you can see all the way to Tennessee.

This was a great hike—one that we’ll look forward to revisiting during various times of the year.  If you find yourself in the area and would like to venture out on one of the trails at Wade Mountain Preserve, you’ll find a map at this link to help you plan your own adventure.

Next time around I think we’ll hike the Rock Wall Trail—and hopefully we’ll see some of those wildflowers, too!

Huntsville

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal- Week 2

In my life this week…

I was surprised to find out that I won a trip to Tunica, Mississippi! The timing is perfect since my parents are planning a visit from Ohio, which means they can stay with our kids and my husband and I will slip away almost unnoticed! A mommy and daddy need that every now and then, ya know?

Anyway, maybe you can help me out. Tunica is famous for the casino’s but I’d like to break away from the norm here. I plan to visit the Mississippi River Museum, we’ll be staying at Harrah’s and have a gift certificate to eat at 37’s. I’m not saying that my husband won’t enjoy sticking a few pennies in the slot machines, but if you have any suggestions on things to do in the area that don’t include gambling, I’d love to hear them.    

Places we’re going & people we’re seeing…

I think I already let the cat out of the bag on that one.  As far as the kids and I, we’ll be heading out to check out a new Sculpture Trail that is around town. My kids are also super excited to attend a concert where they will see some of their favorite Christian bands like Thousand Foot Crutch and one of my favorites, Casting Crowns. I’ve not decided if I’ll go yet- normally I do go to the concerts with them but this time they think they may want to go with their friends. *sigh* My babies are growing up…*sniff* *sniff*  Actually, its all good with me because now that I’m getting older, I much prefer outdoor concerts.

My favorite thing this week…

Has nothing to do with school. We watched the movie Secretariat. Have you seen it? Oh my. I don’t even like horse shows and am not a fan of horse racing, but I thought that movie was excellent! When it was over we even looked up Secretariat online to learn more- though my kids probably won’t admit that to anyone.   

My favorite thing ,school wise, is that we actually had a couple really great school days. We’ve been reading I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris and discussing it. If you have teenagers and you don’t want to go the dating route, this is a great book. My kids are really enjoying it, though they probably won’t tell you that either. *smile*

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard my husband tell our children, “…that other than choosing to accept Jesus as your personal Savior, choosing a spouse is the most important decision you will ever make.”  We don’t want to encourage them to date, giving bits of their hearts away little by little or throwing them into temptation’s way when they aren’t ready. Unless they are ready, emotionally, spiritually and financially to get married, they aren’t ready to date.  Of course, that can’t just be our decision. Our children have to come to that realization themselves. Oh well, it seems that I’ve gotten off track… 

What’s working/not working for us…

Our YMCA membership is working beautifully for Phys. Ed. I think my kids will get all of their hours in for their high school credits this month if we keep up the pace! We are really serious about getting or staying in shape. 

This week I signed up for a Free class from Homeschoolblogger, The Greatest Hoax on Earth by Dr. Johnathan Safarti from Creation Ministries International. It was the first class that we’ve joined, but my oldest son really enjoyed it so we’ll be joining others in the future.   

My kids have excelled in their weekly ballroom dance classes and have now moved up from beginner status to intermediate. I guess you could say that’s working.

Homeschool questions/thoughts that I have…

This week has been a good week. I may not a perfect homeschool mom, but it’s not one of those weeks that I feel like a failure. It’s good to have a week like that. 

A photo to share…

I was disappointed when the hike we were going to take with friends at Bankhead National Forest was cancelled due to lack of interest- actually, I don’t think it was lack of interest, but threat of inclement weather that scared everyone off. When I woke up to a beautiful sunny day in the high 40’s I knew we had to get out of the house. We headed to nearby Wade Mountain Preserve to hike the Devil’s Racetrack trail. I didn’t read the directions quite right and actually told the kids that it was a mile and a half hike. Turned out it was 1 1/2 miles TO the Devil’s Racetrack trail. Our mile and a half hike turned in to nearly four miles!  Oh well, we survived, lived to tell about it and spent an hour at the museum afterwards! I’d say we got a workout, what do you think?

Want to share the thoughts floating around in your head? Why not head over to The Homeschool Chick website and join in the fun? 

TenMarks: A TOS Crew Review

As a member of the TOS Crew, I was selected to review TenMarks, an online math program for students in 3rd grade -- high school.  This quote from the website sums up what the program is all about:

“TenMarks is on a mission to build a stronger foundation and a stronger future for all children. TenMarks was founded by entrepreneurial parents searching for a better way to help students achieve their potential in math, and supplement and enrich their classroom learning.” 

Though I could explain how TenMarks works, this video does a better job than I ever could, so why don’t you take a look and then I’ll tell you a bit more about the program? 

 

After you take the first step and sign up your child,  you’ll receive a weekly email with your child’s assignments, a series of worksheets. (My children each had four to complete.)

Your child simply logs in to their homepage where they can see their progress, their assignments and any rewards that are available, and get started. Below is an example of a worksheet.

On the left of the screen, you will see the problem, which is multiple choice. Your child can work out the problem and give their answer. You’ll notice on the right of the screen, they can ask for a hint (limited to three) or watch a video lesson. For my children, this is perfect. If they don’t understand a concept, there is no need to dig through a textbook to figure out how to work the problem, the tools they need are right there, a click away. 

    

After they have completed their worksheet of ten short questions, they simply submit their assignment to be graded-- which takes seconds.  I can’t tell you how much I LOVE this feature. Despite my best intentions, grading my children’s papers has never been my strong point. With TenMarks, they have immediate feedback with the opportunity to view their mistakes and correct their answers right away, while the concept is still fresh in their minds.

Below, you see a Worksheet Summary. The first time your child corrects a worksheet, they immediately see what questions are correct or incorrect, much like the screen shot below.  The large red button on the right would allow them to correct their answers, or they could choose to go to the Home Page.

My child chose to correct their answers and this time around, you can see that my child got 8 out of 10 questions right. Again, they see what questions are incorrect, can view an explanation as to why they missed it, can review all their answers (but not correct them) and can return to the Home Page or simply Log Out.

From the Home Page, your child can select to complete another worksheet, see when one is due, play a game or go to their Reward Center (which we have not utilized).

Each week, you will receive an email showing your child’s progress or, if you prefer log in at any time to see how things are to make sure your child is staying on track.

As a mother of high school students, I’ve discovered that you really do lose what you don’t use. Personally, I haven’t used higher math for years and to be honest, at the detriment of my children, I’ve not been interested in learning it again. It was rough enough the first time. My children have all fallen behind in math while waiting for me to “catch up” and get my act together. Math just isn’t my strong point. I may as well be learning a foreign language. I’m lost. As a result, so are my kids. We need a program like TenMarks to walk us through, step by step. A program that can give my children the help they need without me. TenMarks fills that need for my family, specifically, for my children.

You can gain full access to the site for a free trial to see if you think it would be a good fit for your family as well.   

TenMarks works at your pace, on your time frame, and is affordable at a cost of $10 a month, $49 for six months or $89 a year. You can visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to see what the other crew members had to say about TenMarks. 

If your current program isn’t working as well as you’d hoped, you’re looking to try something new or you just need to supplement your current program, why not take a look at TenMarks and see if it would work for you?

*I received this program free of charge as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest review.

Music Week on the Company Front Porch

This week, the author’s at The Company Front Porch are writing about music. Not sure when my post will be up since I can’t seem to get my act together and turn in my posts at a reasonable time (so sorry, Kristen) but I did enjoy Michele’s post Music Soothes the Savage Beast as she explains what music instruction has looked like in her home over the years. Make sure you read to the end because she included an awesome link of clips to old cartoons that incorporate notes from classical composers in their tunes.  I think you’ll really enjoy it!     

Update: February Homeschool Days at Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island

A couple weeks ago I shared some information about Georgia’s 4-H Centers hosting Homeschool Days. Today I got an email stating that the Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island has just added a new date to the list. February 21st- 23rd they will be offering another Homeschool Days Program with special reduced rates, with classes appropriate for children between the ages of 5-16.  

The full program is $82 per person which includes lodging for 2 nights, 7 classes and 5 meals. Other options include a one night/one day program for $46, or a day program for $26 . Children 5 and under are half price, while those under 2 are free.  The program appears to be very flexible with options for families that chose to stay off-site as well as options which allow families to extend their stay by arriving a day early, or staying a day later.

The hands-on classes include Marsh Ecology, Beach Ecology, Games, Squid Dissection, Crabs and Critters and Wetland Monitoring. During your free time you may choose to discover Fort Pulaski, the Tybee Island Light House, the Tybee Pier, Historic Savannah or the Oatland Island Wildlife Center. Doesn’t this sound absolutely wonderful?

You can view the schedule and enrollment form here or call 912-786-5534 if you have any questions or for more information.

Do you plan to attend any of the homeschool days offered at any of the Georgia 4-H facilities?