Liebster Award

There's a special award going around the blog world right now called the "Liebster Award".  It's an award that bloggers give out to each other to help promote other blogs, especially new blogs. I was pleasantly surprised to find out yesterday that a fellow blogger & Twitter friend, Michele Knott (@knott_michele) from Mrs. Knott's Book Nook nominated my blog for a Liebster Award. Thank you, Michele! Here's what it is all about:

Here are The Liebster Award rules:

1.         List 11 Facts about yourself.

2.         Answer the 11 questions put forward by whoever nominated you.

3.         Ask 11 new questions to 5+ bloggers. They must have less than 200 followers on     Bloglovin’ (or their preferred method). You cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you.

4.         Go to their blogs and inform them that they have been nominated!

Here are 11 facts about me:

Facts about me:

1) I have always wanted to be a mom and a teacher, so I’m enjoying my life.

2) If I’m not at home or at school, it’s likely I’m at the pool watching my kids swim or compete for their club or school. Both my girls will be on the same high school team this fall, and I’m really looking forward to that after 7 years of dedication to the sport – (proud mom).

3) I enjoy swim meets better than track meets. This season was really cold & rainy.

4) I enjoy taking pictures and making scrapbooks. I need to catch up though!

5) I’m from the Midwest – grew up in Nebraska, went to school in Missouri, and now live in Iowa.

6) I started running last year and ran a 6K and two 5K’s. I never thought I could start running when I hadn’t run ever before.

7) I was a cheerleader in high school and that experience helped break me out of my “shy” shell.

8) I earned my Master’s Degree in Curriculum & Instruction with an Emphasis on Reading. It was an online program which worked really well for me as a busy mom.

9) I love chocolate.

10) My husband and I didn’t realize that we gave both of our daughters first names with the same amount of letters and first & middle names with opposite initials, until someone pointed it out after our second daughter was born.

11) I never realized how much I could learn from Twitter & all the connections I’ve made that will help me impact my love for learning and leading.

Now, here are the answer's to the 11 questions asked of me by Michele Knott:

How many library books do you currently have checked out?  How many books do you have on hold?

Both zero! I just checked back in a stack of books that I had checked out for my class, and that was about 6 books. I have a few books at home that are on my TBR (to be read) list so I haven’t browsed the library for a while.

How do you decide which books to buy?

Recommendations from others & authors of books I already own in addition to suggestions I see on blogs or Twitter.

Book judging.  How do you disagree with people who have major book love for something you don't like?

I’m okay with that. It doesn’t mean that I have to read it or like it. I just don’t read it myself.

Who are some of the new authors on your radar? 

Not new authors, but new to me – Todd Whitaker, Christopher Lehman, Eric Sheninger

What professional books have guided your practice?

Many over the years, but the one that stands out to me from this year is Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess. It has renewed my energy & passion for what I do, even on the hard days.

Kids say the darndest things.  Any stories you have?

I should write these down as they happen as it’s hard to remember! I had a student this year that “overshared” many personal things, which was awkward. I had another student that had funny and entertaining things to say constantly.

If you weren't teaching, what would you be doing?

I would probably do something where I wouldn’t have to “take work home!” Or, I would probably be selling something – it seems like I’m a sucker for buying all these items that my friends & family have in their home/catalog parties. I might as well sell it myself! J

Money isn't an object... what do you do???

Travel to places I would like to visit, and attend all the expensive conferences I only dream of going to!

It seems to be movie writers can't come up with anything new so they turn all good books into movies.  

What book do you think should be made into a movie next?

Not sure - most of the recent fiction books I've read already have been made into movies!

We just finished out a school year.  Looking back, what was the best thing you did?

One of the best things I did was try to incorporate more technology into my lessons. I hope to continue that next year and use new tools to help my students create, connect, and share what they’ve learned.

If you had an extra 3 hours in the day, and reading could only be dedicated to one of them, what would you do with the other two?

The other two hours I would be spending more time with my husband and kids, relaxing, and trying to do some things just for myself for a change!

And.....finally, here are my 5 nominees and 11 questions for them, if they choose to accept this award!

Nominees:

1) Elissa Thompson @mrstsmg from Mrs. T's Middle Grades

2) David Grossman @tkSciGuy from Connect, Create, Own

3) Deb Martin @dkmartin69 from One Room Schoolhouse

4) Jennifer Priddy @jnpriddy from The Power of Priddy

5) Bob Deneau @itechbob from Technology that "Actually" Works

I appreciate each one of  these blogs listed above for their relevant content & interesting ways of connecting to things that I care about and can relate to! Ok, one of these "may" have more than 200 followers, but their following #'s must have just exploded since it appears they just started blogging! So, I bent the rules. :)

Here are your questions - I look forward to seeing your answers!

11 Questions for New Bloggers:

1) What made you decide to become a teacher?

2) What children’s book is your favorite?

3) If you went back to school, what degree or endorsement would you persue?

4) If you wrote a book, what would it be about?

5) What website, app, or other technology tool could you not live without?

6) If you were given $500 to spend on your classroom, what would you buy?

7) What teacher was your favorite and why?

8) What is the name of a book you are currently reading?

9) Describe your ideal classroom space.

10) What would you be doing with your life if you weren’t teaching?

11) Why did you decide to start writing a blog?