Liebster Award!

Thank you so much to Kirsten from HIP Hooray in K for recognizing my blog for the Liebster Award! What a fun way to connect with other bloggers!

I am actually so new to the blogosphere that I didn’t even know what the award meant when I found out about my nomination! I did a little research and found out that the Liebster Award is a way for new bloggers to support and encourage each other, while building a sense of community in the blog world. The word “liebster” has German origins and it has many meanings including welcome, valued, beloved, nicest, and lovely. I truly feel so honored to be included. 🙂

As a Liebster recipient, I am asked to share the answers to eleven questions. Then, I will spread the love by passing the award to some other fantastic blogs I follow. You can find those blogs listed at the bottom of this post, along with the Liebster Award rules. So, here goes!

1. Why and how long ago did you start blogging?
My blogging journey started about three months ago. I decided to start a blog as a form of journal writing. It is a way for me to relax, unwind, and reflect on my time in the classroom.

2. What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?
Passion is the heart of my blog. There are just certain things that I feel so passionate about and it is hard to hold back my feelings.

3. Is there something you learned late in your blogging journey that you wished you knew before?
My journey has really just started, and I am learning new things every single day. I still have so much to learn. One of the most useful things I have learned so far is how to participate and link up early to blog link ups. I was so proud of myself the first time I made that work. 🙂

4. What is your favorite pastime other than blogging?
I am a thrift store junky. I love finding old things and making them new again. I especially love an interesting piece of solid wood furniture that I can paint and distress. I am not embarrassed to admit that I will slam on my brakes to remove something awesome from a trash can.

5. How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog/TPT?
I *try my best* to work on my blog and TPT products when my own children are sleeping. I treat it like a second job with very late night hours. I usually work at least two hours per night, but have been known to work until sunrise if I am in the middle of something exciting. I would estimate that I spend about 20-30 hours per week on my blog and TPT. This is on top of my full time teaching job.  I love the time spent doing these things. Blogging and making products is a creative outlet for me.

6. What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?
I love reading practical blog posts and tutorials. It feels so good to walk away from a blog post with a realistic application that I can use in my own classroom.

7. Where does your blog inspiration come from?
My blog inspiration comes right from my own classroom. I have a running list of blog ideas that usually come to me right in the middle of a lesson. One of the things I love about teaching is that every day is so different. There will certainly never be a shortage of topics for blog posts as long as I am a classroom teacher.

8. Which post that you’ve written are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my blog post about opting out of the state test. It was a risky post about a controversial topic in education. That post received a lot of attention! I was so surprised to see the graphics I created for that post all over various forms of social media. It was exciting to see how many people were interested in that topic.

9. Is there a post that you are planning to do but have been postponing it for a while?
Not really. I am a “Type A” kind of person. If I get an idea in my head, look out! I tend to get tunnel vision and will work and work and work until the idea comes to fruition. I drive my own self crazy most of the time.

10. What is your favorite aspect of blogging?
Is it bad to admit that it is fun to have an audience? 🙂 I get so excited to check my blog stats each day and see the number of visitors and their locations. It gives me great satisfaction to know that other people are interested in the content of my blog. Some people even like it enough to return and that makes me so happy! Blogging makes me feel less isolated within my profession.

11. Which idea from a blog would you like to try yourself?
I am hoping to get my task cards organized this summer, using some of the tips in this blog post from Teaching With a Mountain View. I am hoping that my local Target has the double-decker bathroom organizers and $1 plastic file envelopes. Right now, my task cards are in some serious need of organization. In fact, I hope I can even find them all!

Now I would like to nominate the following blogs for the Liebster Award!

1. Mike at Inspired Young Minds
2. Pamela at Hedgehog Reader
3. Kelly at Glitter in Third
4. Suzanne at Kindergarten Planet
5. Hilda at M & M Bilingual

Here are the Liebster Award rules:

• Link back to the blog that nominated you
• Answer the 11 questions posted by the nominator
• Nominate 5-11 blogs (with less than 200 followers) and link to them in your post
• Contact the nominees and let them know they have been nominated