The lesson was virtual (no camera on). Using a small keyboard I worked on aural training, the recognition of major/minor chords and the singing of chordal sequences and arpeggios. We discussed lyrics topics for a planned song composition, and the appropriate major vs minor tonality depending on subject matter.

We talked about types of graphs as well as interpolation and extrapolation. We took some time to discuss the schedule for this week. We will do lab 1 on Thursday, and on Friday we will have a quiz on Chapter 2.

We finished reading a document on the Italian Renaissance and answered questions about it. We then read through a document about humanism and answered questions about it.

Today we found settings on the Internet and then drafted the setting in Google Docs. We focused on the structures we had previously examined in literary works and used similar strategies to bring the settings to life.

Today we focused on the art of writing setting. We looked at various chapter openers and analyzed how author's use verbs to bring their settings to life.

We reviewed how to identify significant figures. We also learned how to round answers to the correct number of significant figures.

Jayden listened to a brief overview of of the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Exploration and the Elizabethan eras. This was meant to give Jayden a rough timeline and to emphasize the fact that time periods flow together without definitive starts and stops. While learning the overview, we stopped to discuss and clarify certain points.

After I discussed the term "renaissance" and how the culture of Ancient Rome and Greece was revitalized in Western Europe after the Dark Ages, Jaydn looked up information about the Renaissance and answered in writing a series of questions. We discussed characteristics and values of the period including humanism and skepticism ,and in this regard, I discussed how Martin Luther and the creation of the Protestant religion were a result of Renaissance skepticism. We further made a list of and discussed some of the major artists of the period, and I explained the vital role of the Medici family in Florence,Italy as a patron of the arts. Jaydn has visited Florence and we discussed the continuing influence of Renaissance art on the city as well as some of the Renaissance sites she visited. We further examined and defined the concept of humanism and noted how the sculptures of the period reflect an interest in mankind as opposed to only biblical subjects. Last, Jaydn completed the questions by discussing the specific time period covered by the Renaissance as well as geographically where this cultural phenomenon occurred. I noted how the Renaissance Movement reached from Italy to England , as evidenced by the works of Shakespeare who wrote many plays set in ancient Rome.

Today we discussed why establishing setting is the most important thing to do in the beginning of a story. We looked at examples from Dean Koontz and discussed his strategies and why he has become one of the most successful Thriller writers in the world.

Jaydn read the next three chapters of The Glass Castle. I had her listen to the audio version so that she wasn't overwhelmed with the reading. She finds the audio version soothing. We stop often and discuss the effect of the author's tone on the development of the main character. We also discussed the father and the effect of his high IQ on his behavior and on the homeschooling of his children. Jaydn brought up and analyzed the juxtaposition between the father's high IQ and the resulting homelessness and nomad events of his family.