Liebster Award

My sweet IRL friend, fellow scrapbooker, SLP and blogger recently nominated me for the Liebster Award. Christy, over at The Modern SLP, has an adorable blog with lots of great language activities for students. Head over and check out her blog. Thank you for the nomination Christy!

The Liebster Award was created to recognize and/or discover new bloggers and welcome them to the blogosphere. It is meant for new bloggers who have less than 200 bloggers. Today I have 65 followers.

When you accept the Liebster Award, you get to answer 11 questions about yourself.  Here's a little about me:

1. Why did you start blogging?


I started blogging in February 2013. I started my blog in hopes of finding other Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing out there that were also blogging. Many days I feel really isolated in my job. I know there are plenty of people out there doing the same job as me.... I just haven't found their blogs yet!


2. What is your work experience?

Right after graduating from college I moved back "home" to California and got hired right away as a Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing in a full-inclusion preschool class. It was a challenging position since my D/HH kiddos needed more than what was being presented in the regular preschool classroom. The following year we moved to a tiny corner in another classroom. Then a position opened up teaching 4th-6th grade and I jumped at having my own SDC classroom. I've been in that same classroom for 15 years now. I wish it was only 4th-6th grade, but now I actually teach in a one room school house for grades 1st-6th. I'm pretty sure I will retire in this classroom. That's how much I love my job.

3. What is your favorite social media outlet?

Sadly, I have neglected this blog this school year. A slow computer and super slow internet kills the little spare time I have. For the same reason, my personal blog has also been neglected. Now I find I am an Instagram girl. I have a personal account that I post on but I should probably add a teacher profile as well.

4. What is your favorite pastime other than blogging?

Free time? What is that?! When I do get some free time I really enjoy scrapbooking. I am a traditional scrapbooker as well as a Project Lifer. I have done the "photo a day" method for the last four years. This year I am doing Project 52 through Project Life. I have a group of friends that I scrapbook with. We get together once a month and try and go for a little retreat twice a year.

5. How many hours per week do you dedicate to TpT? To your blog?

Not enough! I have been avoiding blogging because I feel like I am too far behind and where do I start to catch up? I am just jumping right back in starting now. As for TpT, I spend at least an hour or two each week creating materials. Right now I am working on my summer school super hero unit! So fun!

6. What grade is your favorite to work with? 


I have taught everything from preschool to 6th grade. I really enjoy 1st grade the most. The kids are adorable at that age. They are eager to learn and love school. Learning to read (without phonics) is a challenge at this age. But all those fun craftivities!?! First grade for sure.

7. Who are your favorite bloggers you follow?

On Bloglovin' I follow 95 different blogs. I have found some great Special Education blogs but also follow lots of general education bloggers. There are so many fun blogs out there! Here are a few favorites:

Regular Ed.
Clutter-Free Classroom - Her and I share a love of classroom organization and planning!
Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons - Her activities are so fresh and fun!

Special Ed.
Tales of a Carolina Girl - Her post today really hit home to me!
Creating & Teaching - She has great activities and ideas!

8. What post have you written that you are most proud of?
 
This post on Student Progress Notebooks is constantly being repinned on Pinterest. Paperwork, IEP data tracking and keeping work samples is not easy in Special Education. It makes me happy to know that people find my data tracking forms helpful. 

9. Is there any post that you have been planning to do but keep postponing? 

All of them! ha. I am so far behind and have a million ideas swirling around in my head. I have taken pictures of how I organize my center materials for grades K-6 and have started that post several times! Some day it will get done!

10. What is your favorite aspect of blogging?

I love the way blogging brings people together! What did we do before education blogs and Pinterest? I get so many ideas from my fellow educators on blogs. I have "met" lots of other educators from around the US via blogs and even one in real life! Last summer I had the opportunity to meet sweet Alison from Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin' while she was out here in California. She motivated me to get more into creating materials for TpT.

11. What are 11 facts about me? 

1. I am the mom to two little girls, age 7 and 5. They would be the reason I have no spare time! 

 2.  I crave organization and my classroom reflects that.

   3. I also have a thing for black & white and polka-dots.

  4. I got into Deaf Education after volunteering at Camp Hapitok when I was in High School. After 45 years they are close to canceling this summer due to lack of funding. I am really hoping that their crowd funding campaign is successful so they can continue to improve the lives of children with speech/language issues.



  5.  In my next life I would love to be a party planner. I love planning parties for my daughters and our Classified Staff Appreciation week at school!

 6. In my spare time I enjoy traditional scrapbooking. It's one of my only creative outlets and I consider it therapy.

7. My dad, my half sister, half brother and myself all share the same birth date.

8. I've never traveled out of the United States. In fact, when I went to college in IL, that was the first time I had been out of California! Sheltered, huh?

9.  I'm not busy enough at school or at home, so I volunteer as the Website Administrator for the California Educators of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing organization.

10. I pretend to sew. But only Halloween costumes.

11. I'm completely addicted to Diet Pepsi. I'm not a coffee drinker. Give me an iced cold Diet Pepsi and I am a happy camper!

Whew! You made it to the end! Now I would like to nominate Jamie over at Tales of a Carolina Girl for the Liebster Award. She is a fellow Special Education teacher and has a super cute blog with lots of great ideas! Congratulations Jamie!

Here are your 11 questions:
1. Why did you start blogging?
2. What is your work experience?
3. What is your favorite social media outlet?
4. What is your favorite pastime other than blogging?
5. How many hours per week do you dedicate to TpT? To your blog?
6. What grade is your favorite to work with?
7. Who are your favorite bloggers you follow?
8. What post have you written that you are most proud of?
9. Is there any post that you have been planning to do but keep postponing?
10. What is your favorite aspect of blogging?
11. What are 11 facts about me?



 

Liebster Award: Discover New Blogs!

I was shocked to open my email tonight to find out that Alison over at Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin' has nominated my blog for the Liebster Award. I've seen a few blogs I follow receive this nomination, but never thought that anyone really reads my blog. So it was a pleasant surprise to see that other teachers are in fact reading my blog and finding it interesting. In fact, I'm now up to 17 followers. Who knew!?!

The Liebster Award is all about recognizing and getting to know newer bloggers and paying it forward.

So what exactly does this mean for me?

Here are my "rules" for accepting this nomination....
1) Link back to the blog that nominated me.
2) Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers
3) Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator
4) Share 11 random facts about yourself
5) Create 11 questions for your nominees
6) Contact your nominees and let them know you nominated them

These are the blogs I nominated...
1. Ashton at Special Education Station
2. Polka Dots and Teaching Tots
3. Katie at A Basket Full of Apples
4. Jessica at What I Have Learned
5. Shannon at The Teacher's Work Room

Here are the questions Alison asked me...
1) How long have you been teachin' and what is your absolute favorite grade to teach? (I know that's two questions, but they go together)

I've been teaching Deaf/Hard of Hearing students for 15 years. I started off as a part time preschool teacher and part time itinerant teacher those first two years. I moved over to Special Day Class and never looked back. So I've taught preschool through sixth grade. I'd say first grade is my favorite grade level to teach. I love that age group.

2) If you had an opportunity to change one county, state, or national law about teachin', would you change anything?

Tough question. I wish teaching was about teaching and not about paperwork. There should be less paperwork in Special Education and more time to teach!

3) Have you ever thought about teachin' abroad?  If so, where?

Never.

4) If you could go on a shoppin' spree for one day and buy anything you wanted(money would be no object), what would you buy?

Ummm... so many possibilities. I'd love a new professional Canon 7D camera and a Silhouette Cameo. Those are on my love list.

5) What is your favorite "me time" activity to do?

I'm a big scrapbooker. I enjoy scrapbooking with my sister and friends. We just got back from a weekend at the lake house with four full days of scrapping. That's my ideal "me time".

6) What is one food that you could eat every single day and not get sick of?

Mexican food hands down. I could eat it every night with no problem.

7) What is your all time favorite children's book title and why should I read this book?

Our shelves at home are full of children's books that I read with my two little girls. Otis the Tractor is a favorite around here. It's all about a little tractor that is different than the others, but that's okay.

8) What is one app or piece of technology that you could not live without?

Wifi. What on earth did we do before wireless internet??

9) If you were in charge of your school for one day, what would you plan for that day?

Sensitivity awareness. I think all teachers and students could benefit from learning about students with special needs. My students are no different than the general education students, they just cannot hear. I would love to have each class rotate through our classroom and see just what we do and how we learn. 

10) What made you decide to start bloggin'?

I started this little blog in Feb. 2013 as a way to connect with other teachers of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing. We are few and far in between and I'd love to get a peek into everyone's classroom. So figured if the things we do in my classroom could be helpful to others, why not put it out there?

11) Mac or PC?

PC. It's all I've ever known.

My 11 random facts:
1.) I started college when I was 17 years old. I couldn't even sign my own paperwork!

2.) Diet Pepsi is my "coffee". I drink it all day long. I'm addicted.

3.) My secret addiction is celebrity gossip. US magazine, TMZ, you name it.

4.) I've never been out of the country. In fact, the first time I had been out of California was when I went to Illinois for college!

5.) I come from a family of 5 girls. That's a lot of pink!

6.) I finally got rid of my "dumb phone" and got a smart phone last May. Seriously, I don't know how I lived without it!

7.) I've been to Maui three times and would love to go back!

8.) I am terrified of spiders and snakes!

9.) I learned sign language when I was young from my cousin who is deaf. I worked at a summer camp for kids with speech and language issues for four years in high school. This is where I found my passion for working with deaf children.

10.) My sister and I are 11 months apart.

11.) Dark chocolate is my weakness.

Questions for my nominee's...
1.) What is your favorite thing about teaching?
2.) When and why did you start blogging?
3.) How many blogs do you follow?
4.) What is your favorite grade to teach?
5.) What's your favorite thing to do on the weekend?
6.) What's something on your bucket list?
7.) Tell us about your dream vacation.
8.) Who's your celebrity crush?
9.) Do you have a classroom décor theme?
10.) What's your favorite read aloud story?
11.) Early bird or a night owl?

Thanks for the nomination! I'm looking forward to learning more about my nominee's.