We reviewed physical and chemical changes for his science class. He then took a short quiz on it and did really well.

Lesson 2 Properties of Matter: We reviewed the difference between physical and chemical properties of matter. Then we learned how substances have unique properties called characteristic properties which can be physical or chemical. These physical and chemical properties can be used to identify a substance. Next we compared the characteristic properties of iron pyrite and gold. We created a table of their differences and discovered that miners use density since gold is four times as dense as iron pyrite. Then we learned that the density of gold is 19.3 g/cm³ and we calculated the density of another object to see if could possibly be gold.
Then we took a Quiz on Lesson 2 Properties of Matter.
Assignment: Identify pictures and activities as either chemical or physical change.

We saw a video about the Day of the Dead "El dia de los muertos".

We did math exercises.

Today's lesson focused on Native Americans. Mercer reviewed information about Iroquois Confederacy. He answered questions about why native tribes could not work together to fight the Europeans. Mercer spent the remainder of class watching videos about events that detailed the aggression towards the Native Americans.

Did Mercer know there was an actual Golden Age of Piracy? While historians vary to some extent on their answer to this question, it is generally accepted that the Golden Age of Piracy lasted from approximately 1650 to 1730. The answer to the question ''when was the Pirate Era at its peak?'' is a little more specific: the decade of 1716-1726 was the height of piracy, particularly in and around the Caribbean region. Many of the pirates whose names have gone down in history were active in that decade or before. After 1726, piracy began to decline because of increased governmental oversight and a variety of other factors.
After some research, we found that Isla de Pinos near Cuba, which served as a supply base for pirates for about 300 years, is believed to have inspired the book, "Treasure Island". Norman Island in the British Virgin Islands was supposedly mentioned to Stevenson by a sailor uncle. We did some exploring of these locations in class today. Mercer seemed quite interested in learning how the Age of Exploration, colonization of and colonialism in the Americas and Caribbean enabled piracy to occur in the worlds new to Europeans in the 16th - 18th centuries.

We co-read an expository text from his language arts textbook, "When Is a Planet Not a Planet?" We paused to discuss the text and evaluate the photographs and diagrams. I remarked that NASA is launching a new telescope, the James Webb telescope, that will replace the Hubble telescope and greatly increase our knowledge of space. Mercer was interested, so we researched the topic and watched a short video on YouTube. We learned that the Webb telescope is about the size of an eighteen wheel truck, and will be launched 940,000 miles into space. The launch date is December 18, 2021.

We warmed up with various single and double stroke exercises, and then played through Solo #1 without stopping. We proceeded to Lesson 4 on combining eighth notes with eighth rests, and played all of the exercises and the combination study. The lessons and solos are from the Alfred's Snare Drum method book.

Today we reviewed chapters 6 & 7 in "Treasure Island." After, we discussed a possible location for the Island. Since the ship sails from England, where is it headed? Perhaps to the Caribbean? So, we looked at the geography of the Caribbean today in class. The Caribbean is made up of about 7,000 islands surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike the soils of the U.S., most of the Caribbean is volcanic in origin. Volcanoes aren't just a part of the Caribbean's past. Islands like St. Croix and St. Vincent still have active volcanoes. Although mainly made up of islands in the ocean, the Caribbean also has its fair share of lakes and rivers. Located on Hispaniola, Lake Enriquillo is the largest lake in the Caribbean. Located in Cuba, the Cauto River is the largest river in the Caribbean. Mercer located these on Google maps. Because the islands of the Caribbean are so varied, they are home to many different people groups. Some are of African/Caribbean descent, while some are of European/Caribbean descent. Some still are pure members of the native Arawak, Caribs, or Tainos tribes.

We worked on Solo 1 from Alfred’s Snare Drum Method book.