I’d like to thank the academy for the Liebster Award!

Thank you Beth, aka Algebra’s Friend, for recognizing me with the Liebster Award! We’ve never met face to face, but we’ve often shared our ideas in cyberspace. I read EVERY ONE of her posts and this summer she hasn’t slept a wink—contributing to Dan Meyer’s weekly Monday Math Makeovers.

If you’re not familiar with the Liebster Award, it’s not really an award; it’s more of a way to express appreciation and gratitude to fellow bloggers who are just getting started or who have fewer than 200 followers. If you accept the “award” the promise is to pay it forward by nominating five other bloggers.

To accept the nomination I must:
1. Link back to the blog that nominated you
2. Nominate 5 blogs with fewer than 200 followers
3. Answer the questions posted 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

Great teachers are blogging about their experiences and are establishing a niche, creating a unique boutique stocked with engaging lessons, best practices, and teaching dilemmas. They pose questions, offer constructive feedback, and provide words of encouragement. It’s difficult to limit the nominations to five. There are one or two on my list who’ve been around for a while, but since I can’t confirm the 200 follower guideline but I can still nominate them!!!

Here are the blogs I’m nominating:

• Cheesemonkey Wonders
• Algebrainiac
• Borscht with Anna
• Crazedmummy
• Teaching Ahead of the Curve

Here’s what Beth wants to know about me:
1. What is your favorite aspect in teaching? I love lesson design. It’s an opportunity to get those creative juices flowing.

2. How do you re-energize? I love the outdoors. Walking my dog, bike riding in the forest preserves or on my indoor exercise bike brings me pleasure and gets my heart rate up. I’m also an avid movie goer plus I just bought season theater tickets to Broadway in Chicago.

3. What is your favorite day-trip?My husband’s family lives in South Bend, IN and I enjoy spending time with them. A few have different political views so it’s fun debating and learning their perspectives.

4. If you cook, what’s your favorite recipe? If don’t cook, what do you order out most often? I don’t have a favorite recipe, I have a favorite ingredient; it’s ground beef—meatloaf, spaghetti, tacos, burgers. That’s all I make. My favorite carry out is Lou Malnati’s deep dish, sausage pizza. 1-800-Lou-to-go. Yum!

5. What colors do you use in your classroom décor? Hmmm. I use maroon fabric on the bulletin boards. Maroon and white are our school colors.

6. If you could have dinner with a current famous person in our world, who would choose and why? If you consider Diane Ravitch famous, I would want to have dinner with her. She has been a relentless advocate for students and public education.

7. What is your favorite TV show? Two public television programs: Chicago Tonight and PBS Newshour. The local affiliates and network news can’t match public television’s in depth reporting. On a different note, I did catch the first two seasons of The Walking Dead on Netflix!

8. What is your favorite school supply? Pencils. Enough said.

9. What advice would you like to share with the parents of your students? “The focus is on the learning, not on the grade.” I HATE conversations about grades.

10. When you travel do you prefer a tent, a camper, or a hotel room? I used to do a lot of tent camping; now it’s queen or king-sized bed, away from the elevator.

11. What inspired you to blog? With so many great minds out there, I love the feedback. It sounds corny but have a terrific PLC in my building, yet a PLN (personal learning network) is another opportunity to grow as a teacher.

Eleven random facts about me:

1. In college my nickname was Error Mar. I played Purdue Tennis and made more than my share of unforced errors.
2. My dad owned a bakery.
3. The best way to describe my brother is, “No one likes to see him lose because he wins so well!”
4. Before my parents married my mom was a professional dancer.
5. I make a chocolate malt to die for.
6. My two grown children have made my husband and me empty nesters.
7. My husband is beyond genius in my book.
8. Mondays are four truck days (mail, trash, recycling, yard waste) so I have to crate my dog Tess.
9. I love the outdoors.
10. I prefer non-fiction.
11. If I had it to do all over again, I still wouldn’t get it right.

Questions for my nominees. Listen up Elizabeth, Jessica, Anna, Crazedmummy, and Gary. We want to know more about you!

1. What are you most proud of?
2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
3. What’s your favorite movie of all-time?
4. What song or artist is on your favorites play list?
5. What book is on your nightstand?
6. What’s next on your professional development list?
7. What’s your favorite vacation spot?
8. What’s for dinner tonight?
9. If you had an extra hour each day how would you use it?
10. What advice would you like to share with the parents of your students?
11. What inspired you to blog?