Thank you for the Liebster Award!



I am truly grateful to be nominated for the Liebster Award by Natalie from Teaching with a Touch of Honey when I was so new to blogging that I didn’t even know how to accept the award and pay it forward. More recently, I was nominated by Brynn Allison from The Literary Maven, Suzy of Student Savvy, Angie from Fun, Food, and Figurative Language, and Lorraine of MrsLRyan’s Teaching Resources. Thank you all for the nominations! I’m over-the-moon to have my blog recognized!

Unless very new to blogging, most bloggers have either heard of or received the Liebster Award at some point. Here’s a bit of background on this award:

• The Liebster Award is an internet award given to new-ish bloggers by other bloggers as a way of recognizing new blogs and welcoming writers to the blogosphere. 
• “Liebster” is German in origin and means dearest, sweetest, or nicest . . . it also means “welcome”
• This is a “Pay It Forward” award . . . those who accept the award answer 11 questions to help readers get to know them a bit better, then nominate 11 other bloggers in return.

The digital world can sometimes feel very impersonal and isolating . . . new bloggers can feel as if they are writing to no one in particular and wonder if ‘anyone out there’ ever reads their posts . . . so the Liebster Award is a super-fun way to make connections with other bloggers (and hopefully readers, as well) . . . so, for anyone and everyone out there who may be reading this, here are my answers to the Liebster questions:

 

Question 1: Why and how long ago did you start blogging?

I was introduced to the world of teacher blogs through Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT). I’ve enjoyed reading and learning from others’ blogs so much that I decided to give it a go just over 6 months ago!
 

Question 2: What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?

Literacy. I believe that people who function at high levels of literacy have doors of opportunity opened to them that would not be available otherwise, which is why I am passionate about empowering students to become skilled readers and writers! I really started my blog so I could share tips, tools, and strategies from a Literacy Specialists’ toolbox with the world! I hope teachers and parents find both inspiration and practical help for teaching literacy skills right here on my blog!

 

 

Question 3: Is there something you learned late in your blog journey you wished you knew before?

Since my blog is fairly new, I’m still learning! I’d love ideas and strategies for connecting with other bloggers and with readers! I still feel that I pretty much write only to myself! (Is anyone out there? Anyone?!?)

 

Question 4: What is your favorite past-time other than blogging?

I’m at the point in life where I realize there are more great books out there than I will ever have time to read in one lifetime . . . I read voraciously and I still love discovering new authors and engaging books!

 

I also spend quite a bit of my free time creating resources for my TpT shop, which I love!

 

Question 5: How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?

Not nearly as much as I’d like! Some weeks I can devote an hour or two every few days; other weeks, time flies and I’m so busy with other responsibilities that my blog (sadly!) falls to the bottom of the priority list. Actually, it’s not the writing that I don’t have time for – it’s the picture-taking! I have ten thousand GREAT ideas for blog posts, but I rarely have the extra time to take the pictures that would make the posts worth reading. One of my goals for 2015 is to be more consistent with blog posts!

 

Question 6: What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?

I adore innovative organization ideas, so those posts always catch my eye! And of course, I love all posts related to books and book reviews!

Question 7: Where does your blog inspiration come from?

Students, other teachers, other bloggers, and the many fabulous Teacher-Authors on TpT!

 

Question 8: Which of your posts are you most proud of?

I’m pretty proud of my “Extras” page because it provides teachers with so many go-to resources!

I also love blog posts with practical, easy-to-implement ideas that are also super-effective, so I’m also proud of my post on using cups as silent signals. This is a very versatile strategy that works!

 

 

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

Oh.My.Gosh. SO many ideas . . . SO little time! I’m postponing dozens of posts until I can take the photos to go with them! Otherwise, this post! I was so kindly nominated by others, followed by a series of both fortunate and unfortunate events that prevented me from really taking the time to do this post justice (surgery . . . 10-day road trip to be with siblings for the first time in decades . . . 2-week bout of bronchitis). Discovering 11 other bloggers with fewer than 200 followers who have not already been nominated is quite a time-consuming challenge . . . and this is pretty much the longest blog post ever!

Question 10: What is your favorite aspect of blogging?

Definitely connecting with other readers, other writers, other teachers, and other TpT teacher-authors!

 

Question 11: Which recipe, project, or idea on your nominators’ blogs would you most like to try yourself?

Teaching with a Touch of Honey: I love the idea of Graffiti Walls . . . because I know students will love them!

 

The Literary Maven: Because wall space is always at a premium in classrooms, I adore Brynn Allison’s Word Tree!
 

Student Savvy: Suzy’s 15 Strategies to Help Students with ADHD look amazing!

 

Fun, Food, and Figurative Language: I adore Angie’s idea for Table Tournaments – effective and engaging teaching and learning at their best!
 

MrsLRyan’s Teaching Resources: Lorraine’s Using Blogging in the Classroom looks like a perfect tool for integrating both literacy and technology in class!

 

Click on the links below to visit my Liebster Award nominations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’d like to accept the coveted Liebster Award, here are the “official rules” . . .
 

1. Follow the blogger who nominated you and give her (or him) a shout-out with a link back to his or her post in your own Liebster post.

2. Answer the 11 questions above.

3. Nominate 11 blogs of your choice that each have fewer than 200 followers.

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!)

 

 

If you've read this far, thank you . . . you definitely deserve some sort of award for reading this very lengthy post! I officially nominate you for the Favorite Fan Award!

 

Happy December!