Liebster Award Nomination!

A big thank you to Allie Bond over at The Positive Teacher for nominating me for this award!  When I saw Allie's nominations include "Colleen from Literacy Loving Gals", my heart smiled.  The Liebster Award is for bloggers who have less than 200 followers but have great content and potential! :)

1. Why and how long ago did you start blogging?  During the summer I attended a Blogging PD on July 1, 2014.  The PD was available in my school district to encourage teachers to share their teaching successes through the blogging platform.  Michelle Brezek over at BigTime Literacy was our blogging presenter.  If you aren't familiar with her, she's fabulous!  On that warm, sunny day in July, I became a blogger.  Starting on that day, I began (and was able to complete) a 31-day Blogging Challenge hosted by BigTime Literacy and became hooked.  After reading numerous blogs over the past few years to gain insight from others, I decided perhaps I have ideas to contribute as well.  I'm glad to pay it forward to those in the blogging world.  I love collaborating with others and have become very close with my school's reading team, but why not expand my horizons and meet fabulous teachers all over the world through blogging? :) 

  

2. What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why? Enlightenment.  I am constantly being enlightened when collaborating with teachers and reading various blog posts written by teachers.  There are some amazing bloggers out in the world sharing their knowledge for FREE!  Why not soak up as much knowledge as you can?  Bloglovin', Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook accounts held by teachers are my daily go-to places for enlightenment. 

   

     3. Is there something you learned late in your blogging journey you wished you knew before? Well, so far so good, I guess.  I don't know what I don't know, if you catch my drift.  So far, I feel everything is running smoothly.  The road on my blogging journey has been bump-free, thanks to Michelle Brezek over at BigTime Literacy and THE READING CREW group I belong to on Facebook.  They're all so talented and helpful.  They support me and answer my blogging questions whenever needed.  Thanks, Ladies! ;)

4. What is your favorite past time other than blogging?  Besides spending time with my family and friends, I enjoy exercising.  My favorite form of exercise is boxing.  It really gets my heart rate up and my stress-level down.  Keep in mind, I box purely for endorphins and don't hit any person, just a bag.  :)

5. How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?  I dedicate about three or four hours (give or take) to my blog each week.  Even if I haven't written and published a post in a week, I'm constantly updating my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts with happenings in my classroom, as well as researching ideas to share on my blog. :)

6. What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most? Organization!  I love when things are organized, so I'm all about tips on organization for school, home and life, in general.   

7. Where does your blog inspiration come from? My inspiration comes from my own teaching experiences over the past 19 years and from teachers I've met personally, as well as virtually through Twitter, Instagram, Blogs, Pinterest and Facebook.

8. Which post that you've written are you most proud of? Well, it's not necessarily one post, but I must say completing the 31-Day Blogging Challenge was a proud moment for me.  I managed to  post every single day and even stuck to the topics on the calendar.  Please remember, I was not in the routine of writing anything down on a daily basis!  It was quite challenging for me to come up with thoughts on most of the prompts.  However, what I loved most about the challenge was the opportunity it provided to become more reflective on my teaching practices and it started me on the road to becoming a blogger. :) 

  
9. Is there any post you have been planning to do, but have postponing it for a while now?

Yes!  I have been planning (only in my head so far) a post about using challenging texts during guided reading.  I learned much about it during my IRC 2014 experience while listening to Dr. Timothy Shanahan from Shanahan on Literacy.

10. What is your favorite aspect of blogging?  Blogging fosters self-reflection which supports my professional growth. 

11. Which recipe, project, or idea on my blog would you be most likely to try yourself? I recently joined Allie's Twitter account and have learned much from her already in regards to Readers Workshop and the writing process.  I'm quite sure I'll be putting her wonderful anchor charts to good use with my students. :)     

So here are my nominations for the Liebster Award:

1. Princess Netherly from Teaching, Love and Cupcakes

2. Pixie Ann from Growing Little Learners

3. Alyce Bartel from Mrs. Bartel's School Family

4. Adriana Caballero from Ventandeando: Bilingual Window

5. Jennie Bless from Jennie B Blog

6. Alison Mondrach from Science in Heels

7. Rachel Belkov from Social Justice Super Heroes

8. Carrie Horn from Education in Ms. Horn's World

9.  Kristin from Chalk & Apples

10. Brynn Allison from Brynn Allison's Blog

11. Mel and Gerdy from Getting Nerdy with Mel and Gerdy

To those who have been nominated, feel free to link up with Literacy Loving Gals on our Blog with Us tab, if you're not already linked up!  

Okay, onto 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 of your choice that each have less than 200 followers.  Provide them with 11 questions to answer or have them answer the questions above.

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

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