Liebster Award

I am so excited that I have been nominated for the Liebster award by a few different people!!!   

Ok, so there are some rules to follow when you receive the Liebster award.  They are:

1. Link back to the blog that nominated me 
2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers 
3. Answer the questions by the blogger that nominated you 
4. Share 11 random facts about yourself 
5. Create 11 questions for the bloggers whom you nominate 
6. Contact the bloggers you nominate and let them know how to proceed 

Beth at A Kindergarten Life for Me

Beth's Questions

1. How long have you been teaching?  This year will be my 15th year of teaching.  I am so excited. 

2. What is your favorite state to visit and why?  I haven't traveled to any states and I like all the ones that I have visited.  My favorite one has probably been South Dakota.  My boys loved Mount Rushmore, The Badlands, The Blackhills, Deadwood, and going to Devil's Tower.  They want to go back. There was so much to see and we had so much fun exploring.

3. Do you like cake or pie the best?  I like cake best (cupcakes to be more specific).

4. What is your favorite cereal?  Cheerios

5. What is the best advice you have ever been given...as a teacher...or in life?  When I first started teaching and was frustrated with a situation and had to contact a parent, a co-worker said, "Remember, this child is someone's baby".  After having my own kids, I totally understand that...each child in my class is someone's night and day.  When talking to parents, I need to remember that.

6. If you weren't a teacher, what would you want to be/do?  A photographer.

7. What is your favorite TV show? Criminal Minds

8. Do you like Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays the best? Why?  Saturdays are my favorite...lots of relaxing.

9. Facial or Pedicure?  I have never had a facial.  I am weird, but...pedicures freak me out.  I get so much anxiety going to them.  LOL!  The thought of someone scraping my feet with a cheese grader sends shivers up and down my spine. I got a pedicure soon after I had bunion surgery.  They clipped the big toe too short and it shot pain in the scar area.  It hurt so bad.   I get them...but have anxiety about them. 

10. What was your very first car?  Corolla

11. Are you the oldest, middle, or youngest?  I am kinda of in a "pack" of the oldest. I have a twin sister.  We were born first in our family, but when we were a month old, my sister who is 6 months older than us, joined our family.  She was in the grade above us...but we were raised like triplets.  How's that for confusing? :)

Sara at Polka Dot Kinders

Now, I get to ask 11 questions:
1.  How long have you been teaching and what do you teach?  This will be my 15 year.  I have taught half day and all day kindergarten and landed in first.  I love BOTH grades for so many different reasons. 

2.  What is your favorite thing about teaching? I  love watching kids learn and grow.  I love doing fun activities with them.

 3.  What is your favorite dessert?  Special K Bars.  Yummy!

 4.  What technology do you use in your classroom?  I use my computer (of course), doc camera, Smart Board and lap top to Skype.

5.  How long have you been blogging?  This will be the end of my first year really getting into blogging. I have been doing it on and off for 2 years.  I need to get better with doing more entries, but it's hard with 2 kids and a hubby that works at night.

 6.  Do you have a classroom theme?  What is it?  This year I will have my first theme.  It is owls.  My two colors are neon blue and neon green!  I am so excited!  So many of my blogger friends have motivated me to jump on the theme bandwagon.  

7.  What is the last good non-kids book you read?  So sad, but I can't even remember.  I read so many children's books.  I read one for our PLC meetings.  I can't remember the name right now.

 8.  What is your favorite children's book?  Why?  I LOVE the Goose Goofs Off because my mom read it to us when we were little.  I can still hear her reading it.  I tell me kids every year about it and read it to them.

 9.  What is your must-have school supply?  Why?  Smelly Markers.  It makes anchor charts and Morning Meeting messages more fun to write.

10.  If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?  Hawaii.  My mom lived there for 6 months and always said that she wanted to go back.  It sounds beautiful.

11.  Where is your favorite place to shop?  Up until this summer, it used to be Buckle.  After reading teacher blogs, I have become addicted to Hazel and Olive and The Mint Julep.  I was never a boutique shopper before.  Boy was I missing out.

Christine at Mrs. Preslars Class

My 11 Questions for My Nominees:

1.  What is your favorite grade to teach and why?  I love first grade.  The kids learn so much!  It's fun watching them grow.  I loved kindergarten just as much too.
2.  What do you feel are your strengths as a teacher?  I am creative and am always trying to do fun things for my kiddos.  If they are doing fun projects and learning at the same time, I've done my job.  ;)

3.  What are your weaknesses in the classroom?  Organization.  I am a pack rat/hoarder.  I came from a school with NOTHING. Because of that, I keep everything.  I know what's in my piles and where everything is...so that's a plus, right?

4.  What subject do you like teaching best? Why?  Writing.  We can link it to so many subjects and do really cool projects.  It's the one area where I feel you can really show evidence of "growth" in a child.  You can see where they started and where they ended.

5.  What "tool" do you rely on most in your classroom to help you teach? Doc Camera. It's my most used tool.

6.  If you could change anything about education today what would it be?  I would stop testing kids so much!  It seems like we are testing them all.the.time.  It's putting pressure and stress on kids.

7.  If you weren't a teacher, what career would you choose and why?  Photography.  I love taking picture of my kids. 

8.  How do you relax when you're not teaching?  Hmmm...good question.  I feel like I have undiagnosed ADHD and am never relaxing.  Can anyone relate to that?  If I have spare time, I am working on something for TPT or for my classroom.  I like to hang out in the pool with my boys.  

9.  What is your biggest pet peeve?  People who lie.

10.  Some say chocolate is a teacher's best friend.  What is your favorite
      "teacher treat"?  Cereal, weird right?  If I want to munch on something...that's my go to food.  I have a stash of chocolate in my room for other teachers, but rarely eat it.

11.  What school supply to you find most useful? Least useful?  Pencils and glue are the most useful.  Watercolor paints are the least useful...in my classroom.

Mary Kate at Windy City Learning

My questions are:

1. Have you always wanted to be a teacher? If yes, who influenced you?  If no, what other careers have you considered?  Yes!  My first grade teacher influenced me.

2. What was the first teacher blog you followed?  First Grader...At Last.  Loved it.  Loved her ideas.  

3. What was your first teaching "a ha" moment?  Wow...that's a hard one.  Probably getting a reading curriculum...for the first time...in 15 years of my teaching.  I have learned that I have been doing things right.  It's great to have it all laid out into a curriculum now.

4. What color nail polish is usually on your nails?  Why?  None on my fingers.  On my toes, coral because I am following the coral trend this summer.  It matches all my clothes.

5. What is your favorite song?  Wagon Wheel right now. It's catching.  I love the song I LOVE, by Tom T. Hall for my class.

6. If you were in a beauty contest, you'd be voted Miss ______ because... Smiley.  I am always happy and smiling. 

7. What is your favorite frozen yogurt topping?  If you don't like fro yo, what's your fave sweet treat?  I really don't like frozen things. I love Special K Bars.

8. What is your advice for someone who is considering starting a teaching blog?  Read your favorite followers blogs.  See what they are writing about.  Do Linky Parties.  You meet more people through them.  

9.  If you could only shop at one store for all of your teaching goodies, which would it be?  Why?  Wal-Mart.  They have everything.

10. What is your favorite clothing store? Up until this summer, it used to be Buckle.  After reading teacher blogs, I have become addicted to Hazel and Olive and The Mint Julep.  I was never a boutique shopper before.  Boy was I missing out.

11. What do you do to relax during the school year?  Hmmm...good question.  I feel like I have undiagnosed ADHD and am never relaxing.  Can anyone relate to that?  If I have spare time, I am working on something for TPT or for my classroom.  I like to hang out in the pool with my boys.  

11 Random Things About Me

1.  I don't know how to swim.

2.  I have to use a cookbook every time I boil eggs.  I am good at baking...no so good at cooking though.

3. I use exclamation points a lot.  I also use three dots (...) a lot when writing.  I don' t know why...but I do.

4. I am a night person.  

5.  I have 1000 things going on at once. I have diagnosed myself with ADHD.  I start something move to something else before finishing it.

6.  I am a last minute project completer.  I do things best 1 hour 10 minutes before the deadline.

7. It's hard for me to sit down and do weekly lesson plans. I follow my curriculum and my kids leads...and Pinterest and Blogger friends.  If I see something fun and it relates to what are standards are...I'll do that instead.  

8.  I will put a lot of time into a project for my class outside of the classroom.

9.  I don't like getting a massage.  The idea of someone I don't know touching me...freaks me out.  It's not relaxing at all.  When they point out that I am tense and ask if I have a lot of stress in my life...I just say I am nervous about my massage.

10.  Death scares me. I still have both of my parents...and I worry about losing them and how I handle it when it happens.

11.  I am almost never on time for anything.  See number 5.  I try so hard.  I purposely set my clocks ahead to be on time for things.  The clock in my car is 5 minutes ahead.  The clock in my bedroom is 30 minutes ahead.  My son will always ask, "What is the real time?"

Okay, now my turn for questions.  Here are my random questions for my nominees.  
1.  What grade do you teach?
2.  When does school start for you?
3.  Do you like to shop?  
4.  What social media sites do you follow for teaching?
5.  Who was your favorite teacher and why?
6.  What grade levels are in the building you teach in?
7.  What is your favorite clothing place to shop at?
8.  If you had 1000 to spend, what would you buy?
9.  Do you have any other family members that are teachers?
10.  How early do you go back into your classroom before school starts?
11.  What is your favorite children's book?  Why?

Okay now I am suppose to nominate 5-11 bloggers with fewer than 200 followers.  Here they are...

1.  Mrs. Jones Teaches
2.  I'm Not Your Grandpa
3.  You're So Sharp
4. Live, Love, Literacy
5.  The Cozy Classroom
6.  flipfloppinthrough
7. 85mile
8.  4321 Teach
9.  Georgia Grown Kiddos

I hope you all are having a great day! :)
Sara