Holly Jolly Christmas Fun! and another Liebster Nomination!

 

I can't believe it's December already!!!   I've been trying to keep my cool because I still have three more weeks before Christmas break - the last three weeks of the second quarter.  We still have a fair share of work to do...but I will definitely be fitting in some fun holiday activities too!!!  Next week we are celebrating Holidays Around the World.  Each first grade teacher has a different country, and the students will rotate through our classes with their passports and suitcases!  I will share pictures next week!

To celebrate Christmas I have been working hard on my Holly Jolly Christmas Fun! Math and Literacy Activities.  I am so excited for my very first TPT product!  You can click on the picture below to check it out!

 

I have really been pushing even and odd numbers in the classroom so I included an even and odd number sort.

 I also included some fact family practice!

 

My common/proper noun freebie is included in this, as well as reindeer ABC order and a Christmas sentence scramble.

 

My evening has been spent laminating and cutting everything out to use on Monday!

 

 

I am also so honored to be nominated for another Liebster Award!  Thank you so much to Brittany from Lovely Literacy and More!  It was so much fun reading about other bloggers and finding more amazing blogs to follow!  The support in the blogging community is overwhelming, and I am so happy to be able to share it with 11 more bloggers! 

 

 

So the rules are:  

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the question that the nominator set for you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Choose 11 other blogs with under 200 followers to nominate and link them in your post.
5. You cannot "tag back" the other blog, but leave a comment on this post with the URL of your Liebster post so I can learn more about you and see who you nominate.

Here are 11 random things about me:
1. Yellow is my favorite color!
2. I didn't attend the University of Florida, but it was the closest big university to the college I actually attended.  I love to go to Gator games so I became a "Gator by association" and I will cheer for them even when I move out Florida.
3. Notice how I said "when" I move out of Florida.  I have been here for just over 6 years and I love it, but I would like to see what else is out there one day.  Although I don't see myself leaving anytime soon.
4. I have taught at 3 schools in the 3 years that I've been out of college, and I am so thankful for all the changes because it led me to the amazing school I teach out now.  And it taught me to be grateful for my job, even on the most challenging days.
5. I love rainy days when I can lay on my couch and read all day. 
6.The only song I never skip on my ipod (ever - no matter what music mood I'm in) is "Fire on the Mountain" by The Marshall Tucker Band.  I have no idea why I love it so much.
7. I love jewelry and am always buying something new because I just know it will match that shirt/dress/skirt perfectly.  But I keep the same pair of studs in my top hole in my ears and the same necklace on every day.  Never take them off.
8. When I adopted my sweet Sage from the pound, she had heartworm.  The treatment was just over $1000 and I spent another $300 on x-rays and medicines because she was so sick afterwards. But she is perfectly healthy now and she is the best investment I ever made!
9. I would probably eat at Panera everyday if I could!
10. I am always about 4 months behind the curve when it comes to what's "cool" in the music world.  If they don't play it on the country station I've probably never heard it.  By the time I first heard "Call Me Maybe" (in July) the rest of the world was sick of it!
11. I am horrible at teaching students proper pencil grip because I'm left handed.  I can never quite hold the pencil correctly with my right hand to model it for my students. 

Here are my answers to Brittany's questions:
1.  What is your favorite holiday?  I love them all!  Any cause for celebration is alright with me!  But Christmas is probably my favorite because I love snow and visiting my family in New Jersey!  And two weeks off doesn't hurt either!
2.  What type of music do you like to listen to?  Country music is my absolute favorite!
3.  Have you had an embarrassing moment while teaching this year?  I am happy to say that I have not! (Knock on wood!)
4.  Do you have a recipe that you would recommend?  My favorite thing to make is Sicilian Meatloaf.  I got the recipe from a Wise Guy Cookbook written by Henry Hill (Ray Liotta character in GoodFellas).  It has a layer of provolone cheese in the middle, which is my favorite part!
5.  Do you mostly have sweet dreams of nightmares, or do you even remember?  I usually have good dreams and I can remember them when I first wake up, but once I'm out of bed they're gone.  Every once in a while I have a nightmare, and of course those are the ones I remember.  I can still remember one I had as a little girl.
6. Who is a person that had a great impact in your life?  My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Leonard.  I always wanted to be a teacher, but she made school so much fun! I knew I wanted to be just like her!  When she would read our journals she would always write little notes back to us - I loved that so much that I decided I would do the same in my students' journals.  They love it as much as I did!
7. If you could be any Disney character who would you be?  I would be Ariel! But as a mermaid, not a human.  I would love to just swim all day!
8.  What flavor ice cream do you prefer most?  I love Mint Chocolate Chip and Rocky Road the best!
9.  When was the last time you were surprised?  I was pleasantly surprised this week when a struggling reader picked up a leveled reader and read fluently in Guided Reading!  The coolest part was I think he was as surprised as I was!  It was great to see that lightbulb click on!
10.  What can you not leave the house without?  My chapstick.  I would be lost without it.  I actually have one on the nightstand, one on the coffee table, one in my purse, one in my car, one in my desk at work....the list goes on!
11. If you could go anywhere, where you would you go?  I have always wanted to go out west to the Dakotas, Montana or Wyoming.  All the pictures I have seen always look so beautiful!

The blogs I'm nominating are:
1.  Closing the Gap
2.  The (mis)Adventures of First Grade
3.  You Might Be a First Grader...
4. First Grade Magic
5. Polka Dot Firsties
6. Crazy About First
7. First Grade Follies
8. The Happy Teacher
9. Miss Whimsy
10. Mara and Lauren
11. Kinderfriends

And here are my 11 questions for you!
1. What made you decide to start blogging?
2. What was your first job?
3. How did you meet your oldest friend?
4. Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you were meant to teach?
5. What is your favorite dish to cook?
6. Do you live near your hometown?
7. What is your favorite book to read to your students?
8. Where would your dream vacation be?
9. What is your favorite Christmas song?
10. Are you a cat or dog person?
11. What is at the top of your bucket list?

I hope you have fun answering the questions and finding new blogs to follow!!!
Don't forget to leave a comment with the URL for your post! :)