Liebster Award!

I am so excited to receive my first blogger award! I was nominated for the Liebster Award by Miss, Hey Miss, a first year special education teacher from San Antonio, Texas. Check out her blog!

Liebster is German and means “dearest,” “lovely,” “cute,” “beloved,” and “welcome”. I've been asked by the person who nominated me to answer a few questions and to share 11 random facts about myself, so here they are:

1.What grade/subject do you teach? - I teach K-5th grade students with severe and profound disabilities

2.What is your favorite school supply? - My favorite school supply would have to be Velcro dots! Velcro is a necessity in my classroom! We use many visual supports around the classroom and Velcro allows me to attach things to any surface.

3.Why did decide to blog? - I decided to blog because I saw so many great blogs and websites from a variety of teachers, but there is not a lot out there for teachers of students with significant disabilities. I enjoy exchanging ideas with other educators.

4.How do you decide on blog topics? - Well, to be honest, I haven't kept up with my blog as much as I would like to at the moment. When I do post, I choose my topics based on what's happening in my classroom (or my life) at the moment.

5.If you could go back and share one piece of advice with yourself before you began teaching, what would it be? - One piece of advice I would give myself before beginning this career would have been: Don't sweat the small stuff. Sometimes I can overanalyze everything! Not only with teaching, but in my personal life.

6.Describe your family. - My family is amazing! My hubby is the most supportive man. He supports me in everything I do. We don't have children yet. We have been married for 2.5 years. We love spending time with our families. He loves my family and I love his! We were blessed with great in-laws. :)

7. Where/What is your dream vacation? - There are so many places that I would love to vacation, it is hard to choose just one! Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Africa, Tahiti are all places I would love to visit!

8. What food do you eat most often? - We eat a lot of potatoes around this house... baked potatoes mostly, but also fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.

9. What is your favorite social media site? Why? (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, G+, Flickr, other, etc.) - It would have to be Facebook because I love keeping up with my friends and family

10. If you had all the money and all the time in the world, what would you do? - That's easy!... I would travel the world!

Here are 11 random facts about myself:
1. I played trumpet in high school marching band and in college jazz band.
2. I love animals and can't wait to bring another dog into my life.
3. I volunteered for a summer at an orphanage in Peru and loved it! I can't wait to go back!
4. I'm addicted to reality shows... I'll watch ANYTHING reality (Biggest Loser, Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother, Top Chef, Real World, Real Housewives... yeah, I watch those! Don't judge me! 5. I love to travel. This summer my husband and I visited 4 National Parks, including one in Canada, in 9 days. It was a whirlwind, but SO much fun!
6. I have a metal plate and screws in my ankle! I broke my ankle in 2 places after slipping on water in my classroom!
7. I love taking pictures! I have a gazillion pictures and albums on Facebook.
8. I'm not a very good cook. My husband does most of the cooking for us. He enjoys it.
9. My favorite class at the gym is kickboxing... my favorite machine is elliptical.
10. My husband loves college football and we have season tickets for Auburn Football! War Eagle! 11. I love children's books! I can spend hours at a thrift store, sifting through the books to add to my classroom library.

Now it is my turn to nominate other blogs I enjoy for the Liebster Award. Today, I nominate:
Sped-Ventures: A special educator that shares ideas from her classroom. I love following her because she often blogs about extension activities she uses with the Unique Learning System curriculum.
Adventures in Tutoring and Special Education
Autism Tank
Autism Classroom News
An Exceptional Education

10 Questions for my nominees:
1. What is the best piece of advice you can give to first year teachers?
2. What is your favorite book to read on the first day of school?
3. What is the least favorite part of the teaching profession?
4. Why did you decide to blog?
5. What and where was the last professional conference you attended?
6. Describe your dream vacation.
7. How do you spend your summers off?
8. What is your favorite non-teacher related book?
9. What is one book you would recommend for teachers?
10. What is your favorite holiday in the classroom?
11. What is your favorite inspirational quote?

AND GO!... :)

Here are the rules of Liebster Award:
 1. Link back to the blog that nominated you.
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 by commenting on their blog or sending them an email to communicate the nomination.