steppin' up to first grade

*Liebster Award Nomination*

Guess What?? I just got nominated for the Liebster Award! Wow! What can I say?? I am so surprised and honored to be nominated for this awesome award.

This award is for new bloggers who have less than 200 followers but who have great content and potential.

A big shout out and THANK YOU to Katie at Living the First Grade Dream and Martinique at Ms. Perry’s Peaches.

So the way it works is you answer a list of questions then nominate 11 other awesome bloggers.

Here we go:

Why and how long ago did you start blogging?

Well, I actually started my blog back in 2012, but to be honest I only posted a few blog posts and it wasn’t until last year that I actually started blogging regularly (It took me awhile to learn about blogging and how to do it successfully- I’m not very good with technology).

I originally started my blog because I absolutely LOVE teaching and I wanted to share the ideas I’ve had (and been inspired by) with other teachers. I have to say I’ve fallen in love with this teaching/blogging community. Everyone is so inspiring, helpful, funny and kind. I love being apart of this larger community!

What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?

I would have to say INSPIRATION. It is something that keeps me moving from one exciting project to the next. It’s one of the major reasons I am so addicted to pinterest. I love feeling inspired to create, whether its in the classroom, the kitchen, my home or elsewhere. I get so excited when I find or create an idea that works and I always have a strong desire to tell everyone I know what I just learned and why its so fun and amazing! I find so much joy in discovering a wonderful teaching tip, trick, strategy or TPT product that make learning more enjoyable and interactive in my classroom and I get just as much joy out of sharing my discoveries with others.

Is there something you learned late in your blog journey you wished you knew before?

I recently discovered the beauty of blogging link ups. I seriously can’t believe it took me so long to figure out how to do these!!!

This year I started linking up with Doodlebugs teaching for Five for Friday, Farley over at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for Currently and Miss DeCarbo over at Second Grade Sugar and Spice for Wordless Wednesday. Since I started linking up, I’ve connected with other bloggers and felt some amazing support from the blogging community. It feels good to know you aren’t alone and that other teachers appreciate your blog posts as much as you love and appreciate theirs! This mutual appreciation thing is pretty amazing!

What is your favorite past time other than blogging?

I absolutely love trying new recipes. Creating delish comfort food is one of my favorite things to do. I love finding DIY projects on Pinterest that I can create for my little home. I love singing (on my church’s worship team)on Sundays, and although I don’t do it as much as I would like, I REALLY love going antiquing. There is something absolutely amazing about old stuff with a story. I am obsessed with old houses and old furniture.

How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?

I would say 2 hours give or take. Some weeks I blog more than others. I feel like its either feast or famine. I either have to resist the urge to post every day OR I try really hard to come up with enough material to share on my Five for Friday post.

What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?

To be honest I think my favorite thing to see on blog posts are craftivities and anchor charts. I always teach units using themes and both craftivities and anchor charts add more meaning and depth to my students learning (not to mention color and peak student interest). I love when I see other teachers posting their ideas and I always try to find ways to incorporate them into my own classroom.

Where does your blog inspiration come from?

When I was first interested in blogging (long before I started my own blog) I was inspired by Cara Carroll at The First Grade Parade and Abby Mullens at The Inspired Apple. Their passion for teaching was evident in the projects they did with their students, the units they created and their amazing positivity and humor. After following them for a few years, I finally mustered up the courage to start my own blog and begin sharing my own ideas.

Which post that you’ve written are you the most proud of?

Well, that's hard to answer for different reasons. I like a lot of my posts mostly because they reflect where I'm at each week and I like looking back on them later, but I think if I had to pick one it would probably be

Apple Week which I posted last month. To be honest I do not know where I found the energy to do that many baking projects, but I'm sure glad I did! The kids LOVED it!

Is there any post you’ve been planning to do but have been postponing it for awhile now?

I’m planning on posting all about zero the hero soon but want to get all of my materials together before I do. :)

What is your favorite aspect of blogging?

I think my favorite aspect of blogging is the accountability factor.

I have discovered it is a great way to keep myself motivated to continue thinking about and creating new ways to make learning more engaging for my students as well as keep a record of all the fun things we do in the classroom.

Which recipe, project, or idea on my blog would you be most likely to try yourself?

Ms. Perry’s Peaches: I loved the post you shared about donor’s choice. It was so precious to see the looks on your students faces when you showed them the books that were funded by donor’s choice. Such a great idea! I totally want to try that!

Living the First Grade Dream:

I love what you shared about data folders. I haven’t heard of them but I love the idea of keeping all of the students assessment data in one place and encouraging them to take charge of their own learning and tracking their progress.

Blogs I’d like to nominate:

Thank you again Martinique and Katie for nominating me!

Now its your turn (nominated bloggers) to participate :)

Here are the official "rules" for accepting:

1. In your post link back to the blogger who nominated you as a thank you and "shout out".

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you (the ones I answered above)

3. Nominate 11 blogs that have less than 200 followers each. Provide them with 11 questions (listed above) to have them answer.

4. Let your nominees know they've been nominated and provide them with a link back to your post so they can accept.

5. Send your nominator a link to your post so s/he can learn more about you as well. (you can just put your post link in the comments below)

Have Fun! :)

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