We went on a week long field trip!

In our History class we have been studying the nomads from our book: The Story of the World. The boys learned that a nomad wandered from place to place, looking for food {animals to hunt or berries to pick}. These families lived in tents or caves, they did not have the fancy houses we have today.

On our field trip we visited South Dakota. We learned about Indians and Mammoths.

The hut pictured above is a replica of a house in the plains of the Ukraine. More than 30 dwellings have been discovered in the area - preserved nicely do to a flood. This replica shown in the South Dakota Mammoth Site is made from 121 Mammoth bones, 8 bison hides, a variety of poles and raw hides. Some researchers believe that these huts were semi permanent - they believe the individuals would of followed the animals migration patterns throughout the year.

We went to the Mammoth Site off season. Unfortunately, our kiddos did not get to participate in the Junior Paleontologist Program. We did managed to stay for 3 hours! The tour was 30 minutes and the exhibit room would be about 30-45 minutes to view, so we could of been out of there in an hour and a half. However, my kids were so excited to see, feel and touch things we lost track of time! Not a bad thing when you are learning...

The site has about 20 more years of excavating before it is complete. Some bones are left in the site so you can see how they were found. Paleontologist are also there working as you tour the area.

If you give a kid a Mammoth what about all the rest of the Dinosaurs? So, starts a mini study on Dinosaurs...We are reading The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible by Paul S. Taylor. I highly recommend this book. This book answers questions that children as well as adults have about dinosaurs, how fossils are made and the Bible.