Awww, I got a Liebster/Back to School Meet the Teacher Linky

(I started this post almost a week ago. My apologies for it's late arrival on the blog...since it is so late, I'm going to have it pull double duty as my Liebster post AND ""Back to School Week" (thank goodness that is 2 weeks from today for me) "Meet the Teacher" linky post. If you haven't linked up to that, you totally should!

Sorry to have been MIA all week...as I mentioned in my last post, my little sister's wedding is this week...like...TOMORROW. Yeah. It's been wedding craze, except for the one day I tried to go out and work on my classroom...that ended well...if, by well, you mean a two-year-old sprinkled half a container of that REALLY fine craft glitter ALL over my classroom floor, well, then, yes, it went fine. I am trying to be philosophical about it and say that she just wanted my room to SPARKLE for my new students...and it will ,because that glitter will NEVER come up.

Anyway...I started this post the other day, and just didn't finish, despite my excitement, so we will join my previously scheduled post, already in progress...

I was really excited to stop by my bloggie today and find that Melissa, from Teacher Abroad, had nominated me for a Liebster Award! So sweet of her to choose me! Thanks, Melissa!

I had not visited her blog before, but I will be back again--sounds like she has some great adventures happening in life and teaching! If you have not visited her blog, you should definitely stop by and get to know her a little bit better!

For those who don't know, the Liebster Award is given to blogs with less than 200 followers (which would, most definitely, be me!). There are some specific things I need to do to accept this award...

1. Link back to the blog that nominated me
2. Nominate 5 - 11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers
3. Answer the questions posted by my nominator
4. Share 11 random facts about myself
5. Create 11 questions for my nominees
6. Contact my nominees to let them know I nominated them

So, this is going to be a busy evening of posting and blogging for me!  I have already linked back to Melissa blog, so #1--check!

#2  Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers. Today, I am nominating:

1. Roxy at First Grade Fancies

2. Keri at Enchanted Kinder Garden

3. Bobbi at Bitty Bilinguals

4. Pam at Diary of a Second Grade Teacher

and

5. Rachel at A Little Bird in Third

One thing I do feel the need to say is that I tried to pick bloggers who are blogging for the love of blogging, and the desire to make connections with other educators, not just those who are blogging to sell their product. Some are experienced teachers, some are new to the profession, but all of them are working to make the teaching community better. Yay!

Anyway...I am supposed to do #3 and answer the questions posed to me by Melissa...

1. Who has inspired you in your career?
 Unlike many others, I didn't have a teacher of my own who inspired me to teach. I grew up in a family full of educators. My great-grandmother was a teacher. My grandmother and two of my aunts worked as school secretaries. My uncle was a teacher/high school principal. Another aunt teaches secondary special education. My mom is an elementary librarian. They each inspired me in their own ways. Otherwise...I am inspired by the many amazing teachers I work with every day, and, most of all, by my students.

2. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go? 
There are so many places I have not been...I think I would love to take a trip to Hawaii. It's cliche, but I've never been, and I'd love to go. Of course, I'd also love to take my girls to Disney World.

3. What’s one piece of advice you would give to a new teacher?
Keep learning. You don't want to just get in a routine and then have it become a rut. Be willing to experiment!

4. What inspired you to start your blog?
I have tried to create quite a few blogs in the past...it's almost comical, how I start them, then abandon them. What I really want to do with my blog is make connections and friendship, exchange thoughts and ideas with other educators, to build my "digital professional learning community", and just to share. :)

5. What’s the most embarrassing/funny thing that’s happened to you in the classroom?
I think the thing that cracks me up the most is the time we were walking down the hallway, I was walking backwards (which we know we are never supposed to do, because that is not the safe way to do things!), and I tripped and landed (behind first) right in our lost and found bucket! My kids thought it was hilarious! I turned it into one of those teachable moments...and we sure had a lesson on cause and effect! 

6. What’s your favourite chocolate bar?
Yikes. I think it's still Ghiradelli's caramel filled chocolate. Delish.

7. If you could teach any grade, which would you choose? Why? Still kindergarten. Why? Because I love helping little people learn to love school. I love watching how much they learn and grow throughout the school year. It's hard as all get out, but amazing, too.

8. If you weren’t a teacher, what job do you think you’d do instead?
I would probably work in retail somehow. Or in food services. I did that all through college, and I'd like to think I was pretty good at it (I was an assistant manager of first, a fast food restaurant, and then, of a small convenience store). I don't really know, though.

9. What has your best success in the classroom been? 
Oh, this is a tough one. In some ways, it has been helping those students who have so much difficulty separating from their parents in the first days (weeks) of school and helping them to feel at ease in the classroom setting. In other ways, it is that I have never given up trying new things in my classroom. There are things I do, and it's just how I do them, but I am always willing to try out something new, and see if it will help my students better. I think being willing to change is a huge classroom success!

10. In your opinion, what book should every teacher have on their shelves?
Again, YIKES. This is going to sound really random, but I think every teacher should read Elaine Wilmore's text, Teacher Leadership: Improving Teaching and Learning from Inside the Classroom. I, to be honest, read this text as assignments for one of my master's courses, but it has had a big impact on me, as a professional. It really is what has led me, over the past year, to strive to become a leader within my building, and to recognize the value of my point of view. I also really valued the message in the text about recognizing that, as important as our jobs as teachers are, we cannot do them well if we do not nurture ourselves as individuals, away from the school setting. Seriously. This is the only textbook that has ever brought me to tears. Great content, and really influenced my perspective as an educator.
I know there are countless other great texts out there...but this is the one that sprang to my mind.

11. What do you like to do outside of school (hobby, sport, etc.)
I digital scrapbook, when time allows. I am also a beginning gardener, and I spend lots of time with my family.

# 4--Eleven Random Facts about Me  (aka 10 facts for the Get to Know the Teacher Linky, plus one):

1. Some of my favorite shows are Doctor Who, Sherlock, Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, How I Met Your Mother, and Big Bang Theory. Oh, and So You Think You Can Dance.

2. Whenever I talk about how many times something has happened, or I've said something to my kids, it's always the number 47. "I've asked you 47 times to take care of your trash". Yep.

3. The first dance song at my wedding was Norah Jones' version of Love Me Tender. If you have never heard it, you should. Love.

4. My dad made up a lullaby type of song he used to sing to my sisters and I. He made up a second verse when my girls were born, and it is the go-to lullaby for my now-4-year old. When she was tiny, the song would immediately relax her when she started to get agitated. It still helps her to wind down.

5. I have a TARDIS case on my phone. My husband picked it out for me.  It's my favorite.

6. I love my mom's homemade macaroni and cheese.

7. I've only had two pedicures in my whole life, and one was last week. I'm planning #3 for right before school starts. It may be my new go-to pampering treat.

8. My husband and I love to play Trivial Pursuit. I think we have at least 10 different versions of the game! Yep, we're geeks.

9. I love warm weather, sunshine, no jacket, and flip flops...summer makes me happy.

10. I love taking pictures. I'm not at all great at it, but I love trying to catch those moments with my family.

11. My husband and I were married on my grandparents 64th wedding anniversary. It means a lot to me that we share our special day with them.

and #5-- 11 questions for my nominees:

1. Why did you want to become a teacher?

2. What story/activity do you love teaching with students, and why?

3.  Do you have a theme for your classroom? If so, what is it, and why? If not, why not?

4. Do you have any pets? What are they?

5. What is one piece of advice you wish you had been given about teaching?

6. Why do you blog?

7. What is your favorite non-education related book?

8. What do you love to do to unwind and "get away from it all"?

9. What is your least favorite household chore?

10. If you watch TV, what is your favorite TV show? 

11. What is your favorite snack food?


All righty...I'm off to let those I nominated KNOW I nominated them, and spend a bit of time learning some more about the other amazing teacher bloggers out there.  Don't forget, there will be link-ups ALL week! Here's the schedule--I'm going to try to stick with it!

--Becca