I worked several problems involving the volumes of pyramids and cones with Jaydn. I showed her how the volumes of cones could be estimated by using pi = 3.14 or exact using the symbol for pi as a multiplier. I emphasized that volume is measured in cubic units. There was no assignment.

Jaydn read, discussed, and analyzed chapters 9 and 10 of The Great Alone. She wrote a short essay describing the character of Cora. Jaydn discussed her strengths and weaknesses, as she sees them, citing text to support her analysis. She then reviewed SAT vocabulary being studied.

I worked with Jaydn on some problems using the Pythagorean Theorem. I then introduced the formulas for the volumes of pyramids and cones. I showed her how some of the problems did not supply required dimensions which we would have to calculate using the Pythagorean Theorem. After we had calculated the missing dimensions, we substituted them into the formulas for volumes of cones or pyramids. There was no assignment.

Today we looked at the causes & effects of the Cuban Revolution. This conflict saw the forces of Fidel Castro take on the government of Fulgencio Batista, the military dictator of Cuba.
With a small force, Castro used guerrilla tactics, waging war through ambushes, raids, and hit-and-run attacks. This proved fruitful, and soon Castro had amassed an army of thousands to whom he promised freedom. In 1958, Castro began an offensive. Traveling north, he won victories at the Battles of Yaguajay and Santa Clara. Hearing of this, Batista fled the country, and Castro was declared victorious. Sadly, Castro never made good on his promise of freedom. Instead, he allied with the Communist Party and the Soviet Union. With this, he created a long lasting regime of cruelty. Castro's successors have continued to keep Castro's government in power in Cuba to this day.

I worked with Jaydn to show her how volumes of complex solids can be calculated using combinations of formulas. One example was to find the amount of material required to form a pipe with given outer and inner diameters and a fixed length. Another problem required the number of inches for the diameter of a cylinder with fixed height which held a specified number of gallons. We also calculated volumes and surface areas for rectangular solids. There was no assignment.

Jaydn read, analyzed, and discussed chapter 9 of The Great Alone. She then found examples of onomatopoeia, anthropomorphism, and personification. She then discussed the impact these examples have on the reader. She then found examples of assonance and alliteration and discussed how these devices increase the tension in the story and the increasing anxiety and mindset of the father's behavior.

Today she did a practice test to continue practicing reflexive verbs.

Cold War tensions emerged in a number of Latin American countries in the second half of the 20th century. Today we focused on two case studies: Argentina and Chile. Not only were Cold War tensions obviously strong between the U.S. and Cuba but in a number of Central American countries, as well. We looked at "Peronism" in Argentina as well as the the Chilean Revolution and Augusto Pinochet. Augusto Pinochet (1915–2006) was dictator and president by decree of Chile from 1973-1990. In 1974 army general Pinochet consolidated a new government and declared himself Head Chief of the country and subsequently President of Chile, a post he held until 1990. Pinochet's term in power was characterized by violence against political adversaries.

Jaydn read, discussed, and analyzed chapter eight of The Great Alone. She then wrote to discribe the slowly changing character of Ernt. She also, citing text, analyzed the effect Ernt's changing traits are having on the other two protagonists. She also analyzed the effect the setting is having on the characters' devlopment in this chapter.

President Eisenhower entered office in 1953 and immediately implemented polices to combat communist expansion through diplomacy, containment and brinkmanship. Eisenhower stood firm against international communist expansion. He supported brinkmanship, which called for escalating tensions so that the opponent falters. He monitored communism in Egypt, Guatemala the Philippines and South Vietnam. In his farewell address, Eisenhower warned against the rise of the military-industrial complex in the US. John F. Kennedy became president when the US and USSR had become engaged in a nuclear arms race. The Soviets built the Berlin Wall in 1961 as a result of the Cold War, with the wall becoming a symbol of communism. JFK saw it as the perfect place to deliver an anti-communist speech and give support to those seeking freedom. The Bay of Pigs invasion, in which America attempted to overthrow the Cuban communist leader, Fidel Castro, was not successful. Tensions between the US and the USSR were further heightened when the Soviets placed nuclear weapons in Cuba, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which the Soviets had nuclear weapons within close range of America. Fortunately, Kennedy's negotiations were successful and an agreement was reached, which avoided nuclear war. Kennedy implemented new foreign policies that were referred to as the New Frontier. Kennedy worked to fight communism by creating international programs such as the Peace Corps.