Alexa and I worked hard on completing her logarithms activity today. We only have one more to go until we finish the unit. She is doing well integrating the different rules and applying them to simplifying, expanding, and solving.
Since we had such a long session, and have been working so much on it, I decided to switch gears and do something different our last hour. I had a recipe for a favorite dessert at the University of Richmond. Students at the school rave about it. Since Alexa is college-bound, I thought it would be fun to have a "life skills" session. We went shopping at Publix for the ingredients. Alexa learned that there are two different kinds of pudding mix - instant and one that requires cooking. We needed the instant. We talked about different kinds of milk, as she is lactose intolerant. She learned that cream cheese is used in many desserts, and gets sweet when sugar is added. We quickly prepared the dessert at school. We discussed the difference between liquid and solid measuring cups, and talked about how to measure 3/4 teaspoon when there isn't a spoon that measures that exact amount. Alexa had fun and the dessert tasted good.

Alexa was absent today

Alexa was absent today

We evaluated Log equations and solved for the variable by expanding and contracting log equations as necessary. We used our knowledge of properties of logs to simplify and expand, where asked. Alexa did a great job of using the rules to work out the exercises as necessary.

Alexa continued to work on Properties of Logarithms by expanding and condensing logs. She referred to her notes on how to do them.
We moved into evaluating logs, where she was asked to determine, for example, the "log base 3 of 27 plus the log base 3 of 81". The log base 3 of 27 is 3, because 3 cubed is 27. The log base 3 of 81 is 4, because 3 to the 4th power is 27. So, 3 + 4 = 7. We were able to complete 6 exercises, and will do the remainder tomorrow.

Alexa and I continued working on condensing logarithmic expressions. We then extended her knowledge of this by solving logarithmic equations by expanding or condensing them. We used the following rules: Log a + Log b = Log ab, Log a - Log b = Log a/b, and nLog a = Log a^n. Alexa did a good job with these, and worked hard.

I intended to continue working on condensing logs with Alexa. Unfortunately, she came to school late. We only had 5 minutes in class, which was not enough time to get into the work.

Alexa had an interview with a Florida agent earlier this week, so she talked about signing with her, and the opportunities this may bring her. She was excited about seeing where this may take her. We ate lunch as she talked.

Alexa worked on her assignment that had her solving quadratic equations using the quadratic formula. She knows the procedure well, and knows how to plug the numbers into the formula. She occasionally put the wrong number into the formula and then would get the wrong answer. Her mistakes were easy to correct, though. She was able to stay focused for about an hour, but got frustrated when she made mistakes. I allowed her to work on memorizing her script lines for a little bit as a break.

Alexa was absent today