What I'm Loving Wednesday & Liebster Answers

I am linking up with Covered in Glitter and Glue for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

1.  First of all, my daughter got married this past weekend. It was so beautiful and fun- and I just loved these pictures of my husband dancing with Ellie.

 

2.   I was looking at my pictures this morning and realized that I look at this sweet, sweet picture of my friend's daughter EVERY DAY- and it just gives me such joy every single time.

My friends adopted  5 precious children and have one of their own.  Four of the children have Down's Syndrome.   My other friend- her sister- adopted 3 children- two with DS.  They are the SWEETEST children in the world and just make me happy- so I had to include them in the love today!  The children's classroom is at the end of the hall in my school, so they are going back and forth lots during the day for hugs- well not really just for hugs -PROBABLY the teacher would say for other things... , but I get LOTS of hugs, so I feel like they go back and forth all day just for me! :) How is that for love?!  LOVE. 

3.  I also LOVE  Rachel Macy Stafford's blog Hand Free Mama. 

These posts The Day I Stopped Saying Hurry Up and Notice the Good are so beautiful.  Everything she writes is, really.  It just makes you cry think.   ;)



4.  Another post I loved this week was  Dan Pearce's Tired of Running.  I also LOVE You Just Broke Your Child. Congratulations . I love his blog, Single Dad Laughing. (Have I used "LOVE" an appropriate number of times?! )

 

5.  I also love that I reached 100 Bloglovin Followers!  :)  SO HAPPY.  Stop over and enter my Giveaway!  :) THANK YOU SO MUCH.  XOX

 

 

Now for some-

LIEBSTER ANSWERS!

I want to thank Ms. Lindle at Lindle's Little Learners and  my wonderful blogging friend Serena at Magic Mistakes and Mayhem for nominating me for the Liebster Award.  You are both so very sweet and I am so honored that you nominated me. :) I already nominated some blogs, but I will answer some questions about me.  :)

First- from Lindle Little Learners:

1. If you could teach any grade level, which grade level would it be and why?
I love, love, love Kindergarten because they are so sweet and eager to learn and love learning.

2. What is your favorite subject to teach and why?

I really enjoy teaching reading- and also science and health because the children are so excited to learn and remember new things.

3. Do you have a classroom theme? If so how often do you change themes?

My classroom is mainly primary colors. Our school was an old middle school so the rooms are NOT primary rooms (no space, no sink, no storage... haha) And we can't have fabric up at all - so I try to make it a happy, bright place for everyone.

4. What is your favorite thing about teaching?

Really listening to the children and getting to know them- and those moments when you "see" the learning happen!

5. How long have you been blogging?

Since last March!

6. What is your favorite school related app or computer program to use?

Prezis!!!

7. What is your favorite non-school related app or computer program to use?

Does Candy Crush count?  I am really not good at it... but oh so hopeful...

8. Do you have iPad's in your classroom?

Yes, we each have 5 iPads in the classroom.

9. What technology would you be lost without?

Probably my school computer.

10. Do you have a Promethean Board or Smart Board in your classroom?

Smartboard- love it!

11. What other types of technology do you have in your classroom?

We had 5 desktop computers last year, but I think they are being taken out this year and we will only be using the iPads. 

 

 

OK Serena... Here I go!!! :)

 

1. If you could only eat one type of food for the rest of your life what would it be?

I will probably say chicken or pizza- cause I could change them up a little.

 

2. What do you do when you're not teaching, reading about teaching, thinking about teaching, planning for teaching or shopping for teaching?

Walking, talking or texting  with my kids, parents, husband, or friends, taking a fabulous nap on weekends, shopping some.

3. Do you prefer cheese or chocolate?
Cheese- cause too much chocolate gives me canker sores. :(   And I do love my CHEESE!

4. What is one of your pet hates?
WOW- I kind of love this question- it sounds way more serious than pet peeves!  Hmm- my pet hates are mean people ( cliché  but OH SO TRUE), dull pencils, rough fingernails or when I break a fingernail in the middle of something and can't stop to fix it- and I obsess over it,  people not using grammar or spelling correctly, the fact that I can not see up close anymore without glasses, and when people call me Carol not Carolyn- ok- that last one isn't a "hate" that is a pet-dislike.  WOW- they just flowed right out of me. Kind of scary.
 

5. If you could live in another country for a year (and teach) where would you choose?
Maybe Australia- that sounds very pretty.
 

6. If you could choose any country to go to for a holiday where would you go?

I would settle for a holiday in the USA to start with... :) 

7. Do you sing loudly when no one is around to hear? (Or even better when people are around to hear) Yes!  And the only other time is in front of people who are 5 or 6. 

 

8. If you had to choose between not being able to smell anything or not being able to taste anything what would you choose?
OOO Good one!  WOW.   I would add them right to my pet HATES. They both would be so horrible. 
I guess not tasting. That drives me crazy even when I have a cold!

 

9. What is your all time favourite movie?
It seems to be whatever romantic comedy I have just seen.  I love those Nicholas Sparks movies.  OH- here you go- Anne of Green Gables and Cinderella.  BAM!  :)  Loved them both. 

 

10. What's your favourite music/ band or artist?
I love listening to Michael Henry and Justin Robinett.  They play piano and sing cover songs together and are SO good and easy to listen to.  (I know- ending with a preposition is incorrect grammar...  It does sort of drive me crazy but I am leaving it just to become more tolerant.)
 

11. When you were a little kid what did you want to be when you grew up?
I do remember wanting to be a maid and clean toilets when we would go on vacations.  I wanted to be a waitress, and did that and really enjoyed that after high school.  I always wanted to be a teacher and played school all the time with my stuffed animals. I remember pulling down the shade in my bedroom and showing my "class" movies with our View Master projector- so yeah- teacher!
 

My couple random points would be that

1. I write and eat with my left hand, but do practically everything else with my right hand.

 

2. Everything I seem love goes away- like Lipton Cherry Almond tea, Hollister Ryder perfume, Victoria Secret Sweet Cravings mood lotion,  Coffee mate Chocolate Raspberry creamer... I am like an "anti- marketing whiz!" If I like it- it is sure to go away- so ... beware!  (only material things, fortunately... NOT like people! haha That would sound so emo!)

 

Thank you again so much for thinking of me.  You made my day!  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Liebster Award Answers!

Thank you so much, Elyse, at Happily Teaching  and Tasha at A Tender Teacher for Special Needs for nominating me for the Liebster Award. Both of these blogs are wonderful- very thoughtful and fun to spend time reading!  I appreciate your nomination so much.    I already did nominate some other blogs, so I will answer the questions!  You probably already know too many random things about me! :)
 
(from Elyse)

1.  What is your favorite thing to use in your classroom?

I love, love, love sharp, Ticonderoga pencils, my great Exacto pencil sharpener, and my great read alouds.  I know I should say iPads, the Smartboard, or something smart  like that but... oh well.

2.  If you had one extra hour in every day, what would you do?

I should say exercise and I shouldn't say take a nap with my soft, soft blanket. 

3.  If you could pick one song to describe you, which would it be?

I like The Joy of the Lord is my Strength by Twila Paris. 

4.  If you had to pick another career, what would you pick?

I would probably be a nurse.  I love helping people.

5.  Where did you go to college?

I went to the State University of NY at Cortland, which is about an hour from where I live. 

6.  What food could you never live without?

I should say some sort of fruit and should NOT say Wavy Lays potato chips and CHEESE.  I love those darn things for some reason. Hmmm.  Why do I have high cholesterol? I can never seem to figure that out?! 

7.  What is your guilty pleasure TV show?

Well, I love Biggest Loser, Long Island Medium, Swamp People, Chopped, House Hunters, and - no- they aren't the guilty pleasure ones- probably my guilty pleasure show would be The Real Housewives of NY or OC.  I don't see them regularly but sometimes on a Sunday afternoon if there is a marathon- I sort of get hooked. They are so messed up, they always make my life seem so drama free and easy.

8.  Who is your celebrity crush?

 I would say I always kind of loved every single movie Kevin Costner was in. (Do you youngsters even know who he is?! Ha!)  He was my celebrity crush.  Then he left his wife for some young thing and...  not so much my crush anymore.  I like Robert Downy Jr. and Mark Ruffalo in movies. 

9.  What is your most memorable birthday?

I remember my 8th birthday so plainly. We were on our way to visit my aunt and uncle in Virginia and my mom planned a surprise party for me at a rest stop along the way. I got one of those bubble wands that blows huge bubbles.  :) 

10.  If you had to switch grades, what grade would you teach?

I taught 2nd grade for a while and really enjoyed that age.  Or Pre-K.

11. What was the last song you listened to?

One Headlight by the Wallflowers- it was the last song I heard on my iPod. 

 

( from Tasha)

 1. What is your favorite thing to do during the summer?

relax, walk,  spend time with my family, actually make school things for the next year- with no pressure

 

2. What's your favorite holiday? Why?

I like Thanksgiving and Easter a lot.  There isn't any pressure of gifts, it is just fun, food, and family.

3. What would you want to do if you weren't a teacher?

I would be a nurse maybe with children or in a nursing home.

 

4. Do you live in the country or in the city? Do you like it?

We live in a small town- actually our town won ,"The Coolest Small Town in America" one year. That is our claim to fame I think.  I love our town.

 

5. Does blogging help you to be a better teacher? 

Yes, yes, yes- I love all the great ideas- and I love thinking of sharing ideas I come up with, too. 

 

6. What are your hobbies, when you aren't working on teacher stuff?

I like playing tennis and walking. 

 

7. Do you have any pets? 

one sweet, spoiled 12 year old cat named Peanut

 

8. What's your favorite place to eat?

We like going out to eat at comfortable places. My parents, sister and her husband, and Jeff and I meet every Sunday morning at Wegmans for breakfast.  LOVE that.  We have a Spedie and Rib pit we love to go to, and a favorite Chinese Buffet.

 

9. What's your style? (preppy, beach bum, sporty, etc.)

My pretend Pinterest style is FABULOUS.  My real style- not so much.  Is "regular" a style?  Ha..  I would say sporty, casual.

 

10. What's your favorite thing to watch? (something on TV, rodeos, sports, etc.)

I love cooking shows, house shows, romantic comedy movies, comedians.

 

11. Are you an Android or Apple person? 

I don't have an iPhone... We have all the kids on our cell phone account- so for now we are so happy to have the texting and calling and the bill that goes with NOT having us all on Smartphones.   I have an iPad from our school district, a Kindle Fire that I love and my iPod. 

 

 

I am not writing the 11 Random Facts- but here is one random story because today is my 26th wedding anniversary and I was thinking of this story:

 

Years ago I went to a meeting to learn about homeschooling. The room was packed and I knew no one. We did an icebreaker where we wrote a fact about ourselves and folded it up. When the leader read it, we had to guess who it was. Sounds fun. And easy. So I wrote, "I got married on the beach." BUT when she opened mine and read it, she read, "I got raped on the beach." WHAT?! So I raised my hand... Oh my gosh... and tried to explain. I don't even remember anybody laughing. I think they just pitied me for getting raped on the beach.  How's that for random! 

 

Thank you again, Elyse and Tasha, for the nomination. That means so much to me.

:) Carolyn

Liebster Award Nomination!

I woke up this morning to such a wonderful surprise!  Amber from School is a Happy Place nominated me for the Liebster Award, an award for new blogs.  :)  THANK YOU so much, Amber, for this honor, for your wonderful blog, and for being my blogging buddy!  Amber said that liebster means "dearest," "lovely," "cute," "beloved," and "welcome." I wish there were an English word that wrapped all of those adjectives into one like that!  I'll just have to start throwing around that German word and sounding so annoying smart as I give compliments!
Thank you, again, Amber, for making my day! :)
Here are my "rules" for accepting the nomination:

To accept the nomination I must:
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

 

Here are the blogs I would like to nominate for the Liebster Award.  I don't know if you can re-nominate a blog that someone else did- but I just have to with my friend Sandy at Kinder-Gardening.  I love her blog!  (But Sandy, you don't have to redo the questions or you will be blogging for weeks- cause you are so popular! :)   SO here we go:

 Kinder-Gardening

Teaching in the Tongass

Sara at School

Teaching With Sight

Adventures in Room 204

Always an Adventure in Kindergarten

Teacher at the Wheel

I'm Not Your Grandpa, I'm Your Teacher

Here are the answers to the questions Amber asked me:
1. Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging because I love sharing ideas with other teachers- and once I started it has become a sort of journal to help me remember my teaching moments and things I love.

2.  If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
I didn't want to think too hard on these answers and ruin the spontaneity- so the first thing that came to my mind here was ice skating!  I think that ever since I watched the Olympics when I was in 8th grade, I always wished that I were a  beautiful ice skater. Now, I can't stand being cold, and I am not very coordinated, so I don't think any upcoming Olympians need to worry much...

3.  What story does your family always tell about you?
One story I know my mother tells about me growing up is that I absolutely could NOT go to sleep without my stuffed dog, Floppy.  I got him when I was one- and he was soft, new, covered in brown fur, with floppy black ears.  Well, after I sucked on his ears during naps, my mother had to take them off.  One day I thought he would look cute without a mouth (?), so that was gone with one rip.  Once we left him home as we started off on vacation and my dear, dear Dad went back to get him for me.  (Yes- we had gone quite a long way already...)  I told that dog everything!  Year after year, patch after patch (made with my old clothes that I remember so well- like my Bicentennial shirt from 1976, and my 5th grade graduation dress,  for example, here he is today ( on our bed! - although now it is mainly for "decoration"...  ha!) He is my very own Velveteen Rabbit!
One year old...

Today...  

4.  What is your favorite song?
I am cheating here and naming several.  First, I love "You are my Sunshine."  My kids and I would always sing that and it makes me happy.  Next, I love Happy Together by the Turtles because I think of my husband.  Third, I have always loved God is in Control by Twila Paris.  Last, I love any cover by Michael Henry and Justin Robinett. They are amazing- and I always seem to like their version better than the original.  Go ahead, click on it and  listen to them!!! :) 

5.  What is your favorite outdoor activity?
I love walking with my husband, children, or friends- and hiking. 

6.  You have a ten minute speech to give at a high school, what is it about?
I would probably talk about remembering that 'nice matters.'   Everyone wants to know he/she is special and feel that way, because we all are special- so BE NICE and show people you care.  I love the quote, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  I see it all the time in school, when the children realize that I really love and care about them, they just try a little harder because they know it will make me happy. 
Hmmm- ten minutes... Be kind, be nice, pay it forward, do nice things for others, remember the golden rule...  :)   You will just never regret being kind to someone.  (That is a much more positive speech than, "Mean people suck."  ha ha!)

7.  Where do you like to vacation?Fort. Myers. Beach. Florida! 

We love, love, love it there!  My family started vacationing in Florida when I was in 3rd grade.  My husband and I were married on that beach 26 years ago Wednesday!  We have taken our children several times over the years and just love it every time.  It is one of those things I just wish we could have done more.

8.  What is one goal you have made for yourself this year?
Besides eating healthy and exercising... which is a constant, nagging, goal-  my goal is to have more family get-togethers this coming year, even though everybody is busy, busy, busy! 

9.  Do you have a pet?  If so, what type do you have?
We have a sweet cat named Peanut. He is twelve, and he is a great little cat!  We got him one day at a pet store actually when the kids and I were shopping, right before Vacation Bible School.  I don't think Jeff was actually WANTING a cat, so we put him in the laundry room with a nice little sign on the door introducing Peanut to Jeff-while we are at Bible School-  and they have been best buddies ever since.  Here is one of my favorite picture combos of Peanut.  He was all proud on his rock and then got cocky and rolled over in the sun and rolled off- and I actually captured the moment!

10.  Are you married?  Do you have children?

Yes- Jeff and I have been married 26 years this coming Wednesday!  We  met in 9th grade . :)  We have 3 children- Ellie will be 23  soon, Emily is 21, and Matt is 19.

( Jeff doesn't have the "No Shave November" look anymore... :)

11.  What do you "know now" that you wish you "knew then?"

Hmmm- I am still trying to know NOT to be such a people pleaser- but I guess what I do know is I wish that I had videotaped more of the small moments as my children grew up just so I could "re-live" a normal day with them being small.  I love the holidays and special things- but I really love those everyday moments.

 I also know now that "cheap" doesn't always cost less in the long run.  Sometimes cheap stuff that you buy is just... cheap.  :) 

11 Random Facts about Me:

1.  I am not really big- 5'4" and have size 9 feet.  That never seemed that odd, until my friend was describing someone the other day being REALLY big and she said, "She even has SIZE 9 feet!"  hmm.

2.  I hate, always kill, struggle with indoor house plants.

3. I played tennis in high school and loved it.

4. I hate have a pet peeve against dull pencils. My Kindergarteners will therefore grow up learning to love sharp pencils as much as I do. 

5. I homeschooled our children- Ellie all the way through high school, Emily until she went to school to swim in 9th grade, and Matt until he went to school for golf and swimming in 8th grade.  (Well, they actually did other things in school besides the sports!  :) 

 

6.  My husband and I love to put our groceries on the conveyer belt and look at the mess of stuff we buy and think , "What does that say about us?"  We like grocery shopping together.

7.  I clean when I am nervous or anxious about something- like before vacations or before something big.  I also like coming home to a clean house, so that works out ok!

 

8.  I started writing to TV stars for autographed pictures when I was young- maybe 3rd or 4th grade.  My first one was Brett Sommers from Match Game! That is so funny to me now- but she was so sweet and wrote me this wonderful letter- and I think that inspired me to keep going.   I had all of the cast from Mary Tyler Moore, Rhoda, Bob Newhart, Mash, One Day at a Time, all of the shows from that era...  some stars actually wrote to me back and forth for a while- like Melody Thomas Scott from Young and the Restless.  I had about 80 pictures althogether!

9. I also collected all sorts of Charlie's Angel's things-  I always loved Jaclyn Smith the most.  I always wanted to play her when my friends and I played. I always got stuck playing Kate Jackson. HA!  My daughter and I got to meet Jaclyn Smith a few years ago and she signed one of her books for me- so that made up for it.

10.  I love making breakfast foods and having get-togethers for breakfast more than dinners.

11.  I love grammar.  I loved 8th grade English when we learned all sorts of grammar.  We had to be able to recite all of the helping verbs in 4 seconds.  I did it in 2.   Yeah.... I did! I remember my teacher always saying that "nice" was a trite and overused word. She seemed to HATE that word!  But it stuck in my head.  (So... my message to high schoolers is to, "Be nice." oops.  Sorry, Miss Vianese!)   

Here are my questions for my nominees!

1.  How do you spend your free time?

2.  What is your favorite candy?

3.  What is a favorite childhood memory?

4.  If you had to live in a decade other than the current one, which would you choose?

5. Chinese, Mexican, or Italian for dinner?

6.  Your life is going to become a script for a movie. Who would you want to play you?

7.  Not counting family, what do you think your greatest accomplishment is so far in life?

8.  What is your favorite TV show?

9.  What was your favorite childhood toy?

10. You can have a half-hour conversation with anyone no longer living. Who do you choose? Why?

11. You can have a half-hour conversation with any fictional character. Who do you choose? Why?

Thank you again, Amber, for the nomination and for the fun answering these questions! 
I can't wait to see the answers my nominees write in their blogs!  :)

Carolyn