This was the first week of our new schedule.  Actually, that's not totally accurate.  I decided on this new schedule mid week and decided to implement it immediately.  We still do all of our school work-math, reading, spelling, grammer, etc-four days a week.  The fifth day is reserved for science and history.  This leaves plenty of time for projects to be completed without rushing through things.  The kids really enjoyed the day and so did I.

We started our plant unit for science.  We are using God's Design-Plants and it was very interesting.  We completed the first three chapters and activities quite easily.

Water is added to these pellets to make the dirt to plant the seeds in.

I was quite surprised that the kids didn't make a mess with this dirt.  They did quite well with it!

We planted carrots, radishes, and onions.  I'm hoping all goes well and we'll be able to view the roots soon.  We'll post pictures later of the plants-I hope!

:)

For history, we're continuing our study of westward expansion.  Trey's been very interested in this topic-actually he really seems to enjoy history alot.  We read the book "You Wouldn't Want to be an American Pioneer" by Jacqueline Morley and it was very enjoyable.  We got a kick out of them picking up buffalo dung for firewood.  Water in the creek taste funny?  Probably a little buffalo urine.  How about hunger?  No food to eat?  Boil your leather shoes and you'll get some nutrients from them.  Yum!

We sliced up apples and are hanging them to dry, just like the pioneers did.  We'll see how the kids like these treats!

Next week, we'll update on our root farm and discuss our new projects!