Learn about the courage of the reformers and meet some of the most talented artists of all time. Read biographies on famous personalities of the Renaissance and study the stars and planets with Galileo. Rejoice with the early hymn writers and see what these heroes of the faith had to say about God's love and protection in troubling times, as you study hymns of the church.

What are some highlights from the unit on The Renaissance and Reformation?

Studies and activities on: Johann Gutenberg and his world-changing invention of the movable-type printing press • Block and potato printing • Reading biographies of Renaissance and Reformation personalities • The European countries that played a major role in the Renaissance and Reformation - their histories, cultures, and geography • Note taking and writing summaries of daily reading • The different types of biographies • Songs in the Bible, and traditional hymns of our faith – their authors, composers, and scriptural background, how they came to be written, and how they still minister to our hearts after all these years • Memorizing Psalm 96 • The art and architecture of the Renaissance – the Baroqe and Rococo styles, and some of the artists • The basics of painting, and about the music and composers of the Renaissance • Touring an art museum • Learning how the scientists of the Renaissance period often came into conflict with the Roman church • Astronomy, galaxies, the solar system, the sun, moon, planets, and stars • The history of astronomy and space travel – and what instruments we use to observe space • Touring a planetarium • Reading poetry • Smooth transitions in writing, and editing your own work • Reviewing tricky spelling words and the ability to use them correctly in context • Interjections, adverbs, direct and indirect objects • Creating a game using astronomy facts • Using the library – learning the Dewey Decimal System, and finding out about author, title, and subject cards, and how to use the computer to find a book • Sampling foreign dishes such as Swiss fondue, Italian biscotti, French quiche and German puff pancakes • Throwing an "Out of This World" party to culminate the end of the study of astronomy.