Melissa's Idea Garden

Last night the children participated in their end of the year piano recital. It is a big deal and we were there for about two hours. I am disappointed because while there, my digital camera slid off of my lap and the batteries popped out. I put them in and took several photos. What I didn't realize is the memory card popped out, so they were taken on the internal memory of the camera. So I have a few pictures (all of Katrina), and the ones of Jack are trapped on my camera. I tried to download and install the driver today, but was unsuccessful. I will try again so you can see the rest of the pictures.

Before we left, my neighbor was visiting and she did a wonderful job with Katrina's hair.

Here she is from the front. And if you look closely, you will see Jack at the piano practicing and talking with their music teacher, Mrs. Booth.

Continue reading "Piano Recital: Awards and Photos" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Wow! It is amazing to me that over two years ago, Janine and Henry at Why Homeschool had the idea to create a Carnival of Homeschooling. And here it is, still going strong! Each week, there are wonderful articles by homeschoolers from around the globe sharing what works for them. That is one of the great strengths of the homeschooling community...we all are more than happy to share our experiences and knowledge with other homeschoolers!

Many homeschools are run by moms. Dads participate as they can, but usually they are the ones working to support the family so the children can be homeschooled. Since Mother's Day is just around the corner, the theme for this week's carnival will center around that.

So grab a cup of coffee, send the kids out to play, sit back and enjoy!

History

Anna began to lobby prominent businessmen like John Wannamaker, and politicians including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt to support her campaign to create a special day to honor mothers. At one of the first services organized to celebrate Anna's mother in 1908, at her church in West Virginia, Anna handed out her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation. Five years later, the House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for officials of the federal government to wear white carnations on Mother's Day. In 1914 Anna's hard work paid off when Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.

Continue reading "Carnival of Homeschooling: Week 123" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

I will be hosting next week's Carnival of Homeschooling! Be sure to submit your posts to be included before Monday, May 5th at 6 p.m.

If you are not sure what the Carnival of Homeschooling is, you can peruse these past carnivals.

If you want to submit, but aren't sure how, then visit this link.

And be sure to come back on Tuesday. I have already received several great posts and I am sure there will be more to come!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been thinking a lot lately about what type of work I would like to do. I would like to help DH support our family financially. But what to do. DH thinks I should work more on my HTML skills and get work helping people design their websites. While I can muddle through HTML, I am not sure it is the best use of my talents. And while I can write and figure out the code, I am very weak in the 'designing area'. I mean, having someone come to me and say, build me a website, I just feel a bit overwhelmed by such a prospect considering how much I struggled to get my webstie working (and there are still things I would like to change).

A job I have recently thought of. The last couple of days I have been trying to help my sister-in-law do some trouble shooting with her computer. I needed some advice from DH, but I think with a class or two in this, I could do a good job of it and this type of work suits my personality more. I love a good puzzle and that's what this would be. Someone's computer not working? Well, I could figure out the pieces and get it working again. And I like working with computers and with people. I have been working with computers for 18 years, so I have experience. I could get certification, then start up my own business and work according to my hours, so I would still be able to homeschool, then work in the afternoons and evenings. This has a lot of appeal to me.

I have friends who have tried the positions of day trader or futures broker. While I am sure these are good positions for some, I am clueless in that arena and will leave that work to the people who know what the heck they are doing (or at least they do a good job of pretending that they know what they are doing).

Other things that interest me are library work, book store work, office manager work, writing (anything to do with writing), and people oriented activities. I am organized, great at multi-tasking, a quick learner and reasonably good with entertaining and teaching children. I am still thinking on this. My main criteria is that it is something that I can work around homeschooling.

So, what kinds of jobs do you and/or your homeschooling friends do?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

If you are not familiar with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine or if you have heard of it, but have been putting off purchasing a subscription, now is a great time to subscribe.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's popular subscription promo is back this Spring and in full bloom! It's their 25 for $25 Spring Promo and you don't want to wait. Their Winter gift promo sold out early, so subscribe NOW to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine before these fantastic gifts are gone. From preschool to college, they have it all. You'll not only receive four terrific issues packed with encouragement, resources, and ideas, you'll receive over $550 in BONUS gifts from these popular homeschool companies:

• Hand of a Child - 6 month super membership
• Schola / PHONICS Road to Spelling and Reading - A Brief History of English Spelling E-Pamphlet
• God's World/World Magazine - 4 free issues of WORLD Magazine and 2 month's worth of WORLD Magazine
• Kinderbach - Discover Music Package, five lessons on DVD & activity e-book included
• Adorned With Modesty - Proverbs Paperdolls Books I and II, 16 Short Sermons and a $3.00 coupon.
• KT Graphics - Free month subscription to Helpme2teach.com
• Knowledge Box Central - Declaration of Independence CopyWork Notebook and a Human Heart Lapbook
• Homestead Originals - Homestead Simplicity e-book
• Clark Health – Educational Health Audio
• Vintage Remedies – Kitchen Herbal e-book
• Knowledge Quest - What Really Happened: A Collection of Historical Biographies
• Remembrance Press / The Gift of Writing - The Girlhood Home Companion E-sampler and The Pebbly Brook Farm Stories mp3 download
• Systematic Math - DVD Math sample lessons for 6th grade and up
• Deeper Roots Publications - Encouragement for Home School Moms book
• LGS Services, Inc./Little Giant Steps - Auditory booklet, Heroes DVD, plus, a free Auditory Processing Test Kit
• Motherboard Books - Silly Animations e-lesson
• New Harvest Homestead - 5 Free issues of their newsletter
• Internet Safety Editorial - Free 12 month subscription to Safe Eyes
• American Heritage Education Foundation, Inc. - K-12 Social Studies lesson plans America's Heritage, Adventure & Liberty
• Paws N Tales - Free MP3 Download of Paws & Tales Episode
• Math Facts Now - Math Facts Now! computer program
• ALEKS Corporation - Free 1-Month of ALEKS Math (for new users)
• Teach Magazine - A free e-newsletter and e-book "Organizing Happiness"
• Write Shop - Free e-gifts! 224 StoryBuilder Cards, WriteShop I sample lesson, and coupon.
• Homeschool in the Woods – Artists Activity Pack

Subscribe NOW to reserve your set of these INCREDIBLE 25 BONUS gifts, before they're gone, again!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

This morning we were reading about minerals and I found out something I didn't know before, so I thought I would share. I knew that people have always treasured salt. I remember it being a more expensive and rare commodity in the pioneer days.

What I didn't know was this:

Roman soldiers were paid partly with a salarium: a quantity of salt. Salarium became salary, the money you earn by working...

I love homeschooling..I learn something new most every day!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday our 4-H group had a Science Fair. The kids have been working on their projects over the last month.

I thought you might enjoy seeing them.

Katrina made a homemade volcano. We had so much fun building the volcano and it was the hit yesterday...all the kids wanted to see her explode it again and again! The judges gave her an average score of 90.5 out of 100.

Continue reading "Science Fair Fun" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Miss Amanda at The Daily Planet is hosting this weeks Homeschool Carnival. It has a Presidential theme. Sorry I forgot to post this yesterday. Be sure to drop by and enjoy some interesting homeschooling ideas!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday afternoon, our 4-H Homeschool Nature Group met. The crafts for the day were musical instruments. My son decided not to come. The class is really geared towards younger children at this point. Here is what we did.

First we made banjos. You take two sturdy, deep paper plates. One you paint on the back with your beautiful design. The other you cut a whole out of the center, and then you paint the back of that plate with a beautiful design. Once these masterpieces are dry, you glue a paint stirring stick to the back of the plate for the neck of the banjo, then you glue the plates together(back parts facing outward), then you make strings with rubber bands. Of course pictures are worth a thousand words, so check these out:

Continue reading "A Musical Afternoon" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Back in December I won this shirt for being a participant in Tiany's Holiday Open House. This shirt was provided as a prie by the Homeschool Boutique. It arrived just last week and I love it!

If you are looking for neat Homeschool items, there are plenty of things at the Homeschool Boutique that can tickle your fancy!

For instance, every homeschooled child should have one of these shirts to head off those common questions!

Or maybe a Principal Dad shirt would be to your liking! Go over to Homeschool Boutiqueand take a look when you get a chance. There is a little something for everyone in your homeschool family!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I know this is a busy week for many of us, but I still encourage you to take some time and visit this week's Homeschool Carnival hosted by Life on the Road.

The theme of this week's carnival is "Leaving a Legacy", and let me tell you, there are several gems in this week's carnival. Be sure to go take a look see!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We had another fun group meeting yesterday with some fun projects.

We made an air pressure gauge, a rain gauge and a bird feeder.

The rain gauge was straight forward, a plastic tube, which we marked at 1 inch intervals, then we taped on a popsicle stick to help hold it upright in the ground.

The air pressure gauge was a wide mouth jar with a balloon wrapped tightly over the top (tight enough to bounce a penny on), then wrap a rubber band around it to help hold it in place. To get the balloon to wrap over the top, cut off the neck of the balloon. We did some other stuff with a straw and then you put a board behind it to mark when pressure was up and down (the straw moves up and down), but it was a bit complicated and we were told to use crazy glue and it stuck mostly to our fingers. I think, just putting the balloon over the top is enough. It was neat to see it go up when we were inside a nice warm room and be sucked into the jar when it was cold out.

My most favorite was the bird feeders. Take a toilet paper holder. Use a hole punch to punch two holes on one end that you can run a string through to hang the hanger from. Then take a knife and pierce both sides of the tube on the other end. Later on you can push a popsicle holder through and it will act like a perch. Pour honey onto a plate (or you can use peanut butter), roll the tube into the honey, getting it nice and sticky. Then roll the tube into bird seed...let it get cold so the honey crystallizes. Insert string and popsicle stick, hang up and watch the birds come in flocks!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It's winter and we all may be a bit cranky. Long days spent inside when it is too cold to go out. All of us in constant close contact and maybe getting on each other's nerves just a little. But then we get a break, a glorious day where we get to go out and play and enjoy this beautiful world and all it has to offer. What can mar such a splendid occasion? The confrontation of others. You may have seen this rant before. It ran in Secular Homeschooling Magazine some time back, and then it was reprinted at the Family Hack Blog in November. My husband found it yesterday in his web meanderings and sent the link to me.

I thought I would share it here for my homeschool readers. Keep these fun responses in mind for the next time a 'concerned citizen' approaches you!

Continue reading "A Homeschooler's Rant" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Katrina is a big worksheet gal and she does well with math. So we started with a second grade workbook for her math back in August. She finished it in the first week of January. This was a 300 page book, so it wasn't tiny or anything. We decided to let her go on to grade 3 math. We had Saxon 3 math from when Jack used it a few years ago. I like the Saxon math Jack is currently using, but found the repetition of Saxon 3 a bit tedious. So we tend to do the meeting time part only until the child has it down pat. Anyway...this math is set up for homeschoolers, but then they have things like the 'class birthday graph'. Well, we have a class of three, my kids and me. Hard to make much of a graph with that. So in the two previous lessons, we just used our whole family to work out a birthday graph.

Today, Katrina and I reviewed her lesson, then I left her to do the worksheet.

She asks, "Mommy, how many days are in a year?"

"365," her brother answers helpfully. He often answers to Mommy and Daddy;)

Continue reading "The Things Children Say" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Grab a cup of coffee and go check out this week's Homeschool Carnival. Judy has done an awesome job setting it up and celebrating Martin Luther King at the same time! Go dip in or dive in, you are sure to find something interesting there!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday our nature group met. The topic of the day was the moon. One mom brought some crafts for the kids to do. These included making an earth and moon with stryofoam balls and then attaching the moon to the earth so that it could spin around the earth. The kids had a lot of fun with that. For the earth we started with a green styrofoam ball and then painted on the oceans and clouds and ice caps. Here is what Jack and Katrina's looked like:

Katrina's earth had quite a bit more cloud cover. Jack's earth had some lovely continents that actually resembled real ones! The kids really enjoyed this activity.

Then the first group came to me while another group started on making their earths and moons. My group learned a bit about the Geology of the moon. I had a book with some great photos that were taken by astronauts and it really gave them an idea of what the moon looked like.

Continue reading "Having Fun While Learning About the Moon" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After we took down the Christmas decorations, my daugther commented on how bare the walls looked. I had taken down a few wall hangings to put up Christmas stuff and since I hope to get a cabinet to put in that spot sometime this year, I just left the wall hangings off. So of course, we needed to fill that spot. And since it is the middle of January and we have had a total of .5 inches of snow, we figured we best just make some of our own snowment. In case you would like some fun snowmen for your house, here's what you will need.

Supplies:

White posterboard
Black construction paper
glitter glue
sequins
glue stick
tape
scissors
pencil

First you make circles of three different sizes on the poster board. Make as many as you want to make snowmen. We made 9 snowmen, so we had 9 very big circles, 9 big circles and 9 small circles.

Then using the smallest circle we drew 9 hats on black construction paper. Basically a thin rectangle with a square on top.

Here's what the pieces look like.

Continue reading "Snowman Craft and Gravity" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Math is not my strong suit. Really. I mean, I do well enough with it. I can add, subtract, multiply and divide. I can even do this in my head with up to three digit numbers. I can double recipes. I can figure out tips. But I have forgotten a lot of the terminology. I don't go around spouting things like 'whole numbers' and 'communicative propertry...if I even spelled that one right. And I have forgotten how some of these things work. Add to that the fact that math is laid out differently for children these days (different rules and steps). Math is not my subject. Fortunately, my children are great readers and they basically teach themselves math. They read the lesson, do the problem, I check it and we move on.

But sometimes...Jack gets well...stubborn. He knows math isn't my subject. He also must harbor doubts about my ability to use the solutions manual to check his school work. Yesterday he had a problem and he put down the answer was 200. I checked the answer book...wrong answer. I don't look at the problems to see why he got wrong. Part of his next day's math is to go back and correct the wrong problems. If he can't figure it out, then I wade in and do my best to help. So he is redoing the problem and he says, but Mommy, 20 x 20 is 200. I looked at him (hey, I don't need an answer book for this) and said, no it's not. So he very patiently started doing the problem step by step so he could show me how confused I was....Meanwhile, I turned to his sister (2nd grade) and asked her what 2 x 2 is. She answered with 4. Turned back to Jack...his cheeks reddened, he blustered a bit and then does his spiel...about "Mom, the answer is 400, I don't know why you were trying to say it was 200. What's wrong with you?" And we all laugh as he tries not to be too red faced with his very simple mistake.

Don't get me started on how yesterday when I was reviewing prime numbers with him, that I forgot 2 is a prime number...hmph! Now, just ask me some questions about Sparta and Athens and the ancient Greeks...I'll keep talking for hours!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The Carnival of Homeschooling was begun by the Cates at Why Homeschool two years ago! Time sure does fly when you are having fun!

In honor of the longevity and sheer numbers of participants and visitors that check out the Carnival of Homeschooling each week, Henry and Janine are sponsoring a Graphics Contest. They are looking for a graphic for the Homeschool Carnival and they want you to give them some options. This contest has a couple of stages to it and by clicking the Graphics Contest link you can find out exactly how it is laid out.

Just think - your inspired artwork could be seen by hundreds each week! Is that cool or what?

Good luck!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The vast majority of computer users have Microsoft products on their computer. And every couple of years, Microsoft comes out with a new and improved product, but this also means there is a new and improved price tag. Because Daniel is a computer consultant, we always have the latest Microsoft products. It is necessary for his job and a business expense for us. But there are many others who would like to update, but find the cost prohibitive.

Well, I have found a solution for you! Check out www.CostCaptain.com! This website has a section that is dedicated to educators. If you are a qualified educator, you are eligible for tremendous discounts on several Microsoft 2007 products.

You may be eligible if you fall in one of these categories:

- Accredited Educational Institutions
- Administrative Offices & Boards of Education
- Faculty and Staff of eligible educational institutions
- Enrolled Students of eligible educational institutions
- Public Libraries
- Public Museums
- Home-School Programs

I have found Microsoft Office 2007 to be a vast improvement over previous Microsoft Office products. The layout is more user friendly and I am able to navigate through the Office Programs with ease. There are many features that I have found useful in my day to day activities. If you are in the field of education, you know how useful programs like Excel, Word, and Publisher are. I also really like the new Microsoft Photo Editor. So, if you have been wanting to upgrade, but funds have been low, then check out www.CostCaptain.com. Your budget will thank you!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, you are wondering where I am going with this after reading that bizarre title...well, follow along and you will see.

Actually, a busy afternoon isn't correct. It was a busy day. I spent my morning blogging, reading emails and RSS feeds and teaching the children. We are reading about Greek Gods and Goddesses right now. For science, Katrina and Jack spent some time with their rabbits. We continue to try and get them to like us! Then they worked on alphabetizing and defining this week's spelling words. Followed by learning more about verbs and how they work in sentences. Then this was followed by math. Jack is learning about decimals and Katrina is learning about adding and subtracting three digit numbers (she doesn't like this section very much).

After lunch, we headed to town for our Tuesday errands. We stopped at the dump first. While Jack was unloading our trash, I popped the hood and tried to get a better handle on why my car has smoke coming out from under the hood when I stop. Well, there have been two problems. One is that a hose that goes into the valve cover had popped loose. My dad fixed that a couple of weeks ago, but I was still steaming and couldn't figure out why. Then I realized I wasn't steaming all the time. Turns out that there must be a leak involving my air condition thingy. When my AC or defrost is on, fluid drips onto the manifold and burns. Since we can't spend money on repairs, I simply turned off the defrost and viola....no more smoke! COOL! Now I know that there are times when I will have to use the defrost, but at least, I know my car isn't going to burst into flames...

Continue reading "A Busy Afternoon And Information on the Twenty Worst Foods" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Can you believe that this week marks the 100th homeschool carnival? That is amazing! The Cates at Why Homeschool really started a wonderful thing when they created this carnival and we all owe them a debt of gratitude! I have found so much helpful information from this carnival over the last couple of years and I hope I have contributed some useful information as well.

This week's carnival is being hosted by Mom Is Teaching As well as sharing homeschooling posts, she is sharing information on Oklahoma which recently celebrated its centennial.

Grab a cup of coffee, tea or hot cocoa and settle in for some great tips and stories!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You will find a very grateful blog host over at Nerd Family. She shares what she is thankful about during this Thanksgiving season along with wonderful posts that you will be thankful to read!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am sitting here minding my own business, blogging away when Katrina comes up and says,

"I have a question"

"Um hmm..."type, type, type

"Why do bug bites swell up?"

"Well, I think it is because of the body fighting off the infection"

"Why do they itch?"

"umm...uh same reason, I think"

"Why do they hurt when I touch them?"

"Okay, that's enough questions. I am not sure of the answers, so let me look them up."

Open new tab...type, 'Why do bug Bites itch?'

Get 64,400 possible answers. Go with the first one...hey, I was pretty much right! PHEW! Thank goodness for the Internet!

Now if Google could only help me answer the question "What's for dinner tonight?"

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My children never cease to amaze me. I love it when they come and say...I want to learn 'yada yada'. It just knocks my socks off.

Jack is now learning HTML at some prodding from his father, but he is really enjoying the whole idea and practice of creating his own web page. Katrina wants him to finish reading the HTML for Dummies book so she can get a crack at it.

Last week, Jack told me he wanted to learn Latin. WHAT!!!!???? So this week, we were at the library, he hopped over to the card catalog, found a beginner's Latin book, asked me for directions to the adult non fiction section (someplace he hasn't visited before), then found the book and started reading.

Katrina has about 40 more pages to go in her 2nd grade math book and it is only November! Look out 3rd grade math, here we come!

I love homeschooling!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

A friend of mine, who is a secular unschooler, sent me this link to The Bitter Homeschoolers' Wish List. I don't like to think of myself as bitter, but I can identify with some of these. I may have to print it out and post it up at home or carry it with me for when someone gets ready to approach me with 'that look in their eye.'

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dana at Principled Discovery has put together a terrific Homeschool Carnival. You will find my entry listed in the catalog as C&I400.

Dana's description:

This week, we are attending classes at Homeschool U, our own virtual university for homeschooling families. Each class is worth three course credits. Like homeschooling itself, these courses are designed to be taken at your convenience, anywhere you have access to a computer and your children are welcome. Attending courses here at Homeschool U entitles you to the right to display the accompanying graphic on your own blog, should you so choose.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I take voting very seriously. I have never missed a major election and haven't missed many of the 'minor' ones. I have tried to instill the importance of voting in my children. So much so, in fact, that I spent an hour during the last presidential election getting my oldest stepson to vote(his car was broken) even though he was going to vote for 'the other guy.'

A dear friend of mine and I sit on the opposite sides of the political fence. We don't talk about politics too much because we don't want it to harm our friendship. But there are some things we agree on and that is that every single vote counts.

The other day she passed me a couple of articles that I want to share with you. There is still plenty of time for you to get out and vote today! If you aren't registered, make it a top priority this coming year. We are so blessed to live in a country where we can vote for candidates. It is appalling how many people throw that priviledge and right away. Other citizens around the world are dying to have what we take for granted.

Continue reading "Reasons to Vote" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Late last winter, the children and I joined in with a local homeschool nature group. We attended a couple of indoor classes, and then started meeting outdoors for hikes, water studies, flower identification, that sort of thing. Our fearless leader became pregnant with her fourth child and as the months have grown closer to the impending birth, we have seen and heard less from her. Two other moms decided to turn us into 4-H affiliated group. We were already doing 4-H type activities and this would look good on the kids transcripts. Today was our first meeting and the two leaders set up a map and compass exercise for us. All of the parents participated, but this was a nice guideline.

Since it went so well and the children had so much fun (except Jack who felt like this was old hat for him) I thought I would share the guidelines the two mom's set up for us. That way you can do it with your young'uns.

Continue reading "Map and Compass Exercises" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

How does one define the word 'veteran'?

Originally, the word veteran meant "a person of long experience" or skill. Derived from the Latin term veteranus. After the American Revolution the word veteran came to be associated specifically with former soldiers of old age who had fought for independence. As time went on, "veteran" was used to describe any former member of the armed forces or a person who had served in the military.

What is "Veteran's Day"?

World War I, also known as the "Great War" was officially concluded on the 11th hour of the 11th Day of November, at 11 A.M. in 1918. On November 11th of the following year, President Woodrow Wilson declared that day as "Armistice Day" in honor of the peace. (The term armistice means "truce" or the end of wartime hostilities.) This day was marked with public celebrations and a two minute halt to business at 11 AM. In 1921, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated in Arlington Cemetery with a ceremony on November 11th. After this dedication, Armistice Day was adopted in many states and at the federal level as a day to honor veterans. This was made official in 1938 when an act of Congress made Armistice Day a national holiday.

Continue reading "November 11th - Veteran's Day and a Book Giveaway" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (57) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, I have come up with what I think is going to be something fun, helpful and profitable...all in one!

One of the many reasons I blog is to try and make some extra money. As a single income family, the extra money definitely comes in handy. I have written three non-fiction books about animals and I have put together a Recipe CD.

So here is the deal....

Continue reading "It's a Contest! It's a Product Promotion! Help Katrina Survivors! Have fun!" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (2)

After careful consideration of my three ebooks: Life of the American Bison, Life of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, and Life of the Komodo Dragon have been accepted by The Old Schoolhouse Store for inclusion in their inventory. I am tickled to be a part of a store that is dedicated to provide wonderful products to anyone interested in education!

Here is the link to where you can purchase my books.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I ran across a very thought provoking article in my web ramblings

While the writer, Mark Morford, does not once mention home schooling, this article could be a 'poster child' for homeschooling. He sums up very nicely many points about the problems that our country is going to face in future years due to the education (or lack thereof) that our children are receiving. Combine that with the constant bombardment of television, video games, and other electronic gadgets, then stir in the fact that many children today have never gone for a walk in the woods or learned how to build a simple thing for themselves...and what you have is a recipe for disaster.

He shares insight that he has obtained from a teacher he knows. A teacher who says he gets high school students that don't know how to form a sentence. A teacher who is thinking about moving out of the country when he retires because he is afraid that the generations coming up aren't going to have a clue to manage the current infrastructure, much less change it for the better. As I was reading his post, I kept thinking about the movie Idiocracy that I did a movie review on recently. This movie could very well depict our future. It's scary!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was up with the chickens again this week. I didn't plan to get up quite as early, but I left my alarm set to wake me up at 5:00 (which is the time I got up for the yardsale last week). I didn't want to get up until 6:00, but that's just the way it goes. Since it was midnight when I went to sleep, I was a wee bit tired, but a shower woke me up. I did some work, then headed to town to help out with the 4-H bake sale we were doing today. I had made brownies and cookies. I was in charge of bringing tables and I brought signs with prices and I brought a chair to sit in. I didn't bring children, That was my one mistake. I was envisioning four hours of boredom and my daughter, in particular, moaning about when were we going to go home and couldn't I buy her something. I also wasn't sure any of the other moms were going to bring their kids (I should have asked, but it just didn't occur to me...too many other things on my mind right now).

So we went and got set up. We had brownies, peanut butter cookies, 1/2 a lemon pound cake, 4 loaves of bread, cupcakes, muffins, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter granola bars, and bags of popcorn. We started selling at approximately 9:00 a.m. and sold until 1 p.m. We had signs up that we were selling baked goods to raise money so we could send soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait care packages. We explained to people that we would be sending the care packages to unit leaders who would then pass out the items to those soldiers who didn't get much if anything from home. People opened their hearts and their wallets.

Continue reading "An Awesome Day" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I work from home because it fits with our lifestyle. Even during the last 'not working for myself position' I had, I had managed to maneuver it so that I could during the last couple of years there, I worked mostly from my home.

By working from my home, I have more freedom. I can be with my children (which is very important because I homeschool) and I am really only limited on how much I get done by how many hours there are in the day. I can do laundry in between jobs, I can watch TV while I work and I can work in my pajamas. The thing I like best about working at home (besides being with my children) is that I am in control. I can move up as far and as fast as I choose. If something is not working out for me, it is fairly easy to switch to something else. And I don't have to spend the time traveling to and from work (I live 30 minutes or more away from most job opportunities). I don't have to worry if I have the right clothes, the right hair do or drive the right car. I don't have to have a budget for lunches and clothing. And since my husband also works partially from home, I get to see more of him.

When I was in elementary school, we read a story about a mom and dad working from home on their computers and the child in the next room doing his schooling. I thought that was the craziest thing I had ever heard of...but here I am, living that story!

So why do you work from home or want to work from home? Super WAHM wants to know!

Super WAHM is having a cool contest where you can win a basket full of office goodies! You have between now and November 15th to participate. There are several ways you can enter to win, so be sure to read them all!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay...so we believed what we were told...when we purchased Billy and Tickles back in June, the seller and an assistant looked at the bunnies and pronounced them both males. We actually wanted two females, but she didn't have two females, so what can you do?

When Katrina and I were doing her 4-H book, I tried determining the gender, but I still wasn't sure. The parts are little and the description in the 4-H book was not the best.

We don't get the rabbits out a lot. They actually resist the procedure of leaving their hutch. But today we got them out so we could give the hutch a good cleaning. I was petting Billy when I realized that his... her chest had several protruding teats. Uh...oh....

So I did a quick web search and found a much better description than I had previously. You see, when you examine the genitals, they protrude whether it is a girl or a b