Castle, garden,triop

So, as decided it was back to some sort of HE shedule. I read to the boys after breakfast and they did their daily Quran. I also got them to do some ICT and some individual reading. On our last library visit I found a new book
"Castle Challenge, Help the king's army capture a castle", by Julia Bruce.
I do recommend this book for any children interested in castles as it is written in such an interesting style. Rather than just describing the features this book places the reader in the scenario, I quote "Remember, it is not just brute force that will secure success. There are other actions you can take before you attack that are equally effective. These include....."
Maybe it is the influence of computer games,forcing the publishers to be more creative with their presentation! All the usual facts are in there, with interesting illustrations.
You may wonder what the relevance of studying the history of British castles is. We are not studying any other part of British medieval history, although the boys do tend to look into these things themselves from time to time. The link for us comes with learning about the Crusades and the computer games the boys play linked with this type of castle history. When we read the history of Salahuddin Auybbi last year the background knowledge about castles, how they were used, defended and attacked was very helpful in understanding the historical events we were reading about.
Also today Ia was learning about trees, how we use them, what they give us,the importance of looking after them and so on. This is in connection with the theme of work based around learning that Allah is Al-Khaliq, The Creator.
In the afternoon we went into the garden. I finished clipping the hedge and digging over the new rockery area. This is to replace the old rockery, which I have not liked since a friend said it reminded her of graves in Pakistan.
Finally, the triop died today. It had lived out its expected lifespan, almost!