Survey Says... Linky Party

There is a relatively new blogger over at 5th Grade Rocks, 5th Grade Rules who has organized her first Linky Party to become better acquainted with people in BlogLand. She invited me to link up and share a few details in her Survey Says... Linky. You're invited to join in too!

1.  Are you married, do you have a bf, or are you flying free as a single lady/man?
You can see the answer to this question and a retro picture by clicking right HERE and scrolling to the bottom of the post.

2.  Where did you grow up?
I lived in four states before I was six, but we finally settled in California, and I grew up in Orange County.

3.  Do you have any pets?  If so, what kind and what is his/her name?

I used to have one of those fish tanks as my screen saver.  That's as close as I have come to having a pet. Some days, I can barely take care of myself!

4. What is a favorite TV show you are embarrassed to admit to watching?
I've admitted this before, but I check into Hoarders now and then (but not the ones with sad animals).  As a multi-decade teacher, I have far too many books, materials, etc. That show makes  me want to get up and organize--and throw things away!

5.  Are you a saver or a spender?
I spend money on BOOKS. And paper. And office supplies. And more teaching materials. I don't buy much else (like clothes), but I have contributed mightily to the success of Starbucks.

6.  What is your favorite children's book?
Hmmmm. Tough one. It's probably a tie between Island of the Blue Dolphin, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, and The Cay.

7.  Were you the class clown, teacher's pet, or neither?
I was a good student, but I was fairly reserved. I guess neither of those two titles would apply.

8.  Who is your favorite athletic team?
I'm always cheering for whatever team my students have asked me to come and watch.

9.  Where did you go on your last REALLY fun vacation?
I always love visiting my nieces in Washington. We enjoyed a fun road trip/camping adventure back from Washington to Southern California.

10.  Who is your favorite actor?  Actress?
I'll watch George Clooney in almost anything. I don't think I have a favorite actress.

11.  Tell about the last time you cried because you were happy.
A few weeks ago, I held my second round of parent-teacher-student conferences. I had 32 out of 33 families attend a conference. I was talking about how much one student had TRULY grown and changed and become a more successful student... and I just fell apart.

12.  What is your favorite season?
I love fall. September is one of my favorite months (I love the feeling of "newness" and that "do over" sense that I can do things better than the previous year...).  I love Thanksgiving too!

13.  What is your biggest regret?

My biggest regret is ongoing.  My life is hectic and busy. I rarely slow down enough to appreciate all that is wonderful and precious. I need to SLOW DOWN and enjoy the many people and experiences and blessings in my life each day.

14.  What food do you just NOT like at all?
Oh dear. I'm afraid this list is fairly lengthy.  I am a peculiar eater. And a picky eater. I don't like my food to touch. I only like four or five vegetables. I don't like things with cilantro or tarragon. Or dill. Or sage. Or curry. Or anything spicy. I think I may not like food with taste. My friend always tells me I only like beige food: bread, potatoes, chicken, cream puffs, cheesecake, etc. This is not completely true, however, since I LOVE coffee and chocolate (although vanilla would have fit in better with the beige theme!)

LAST BUT NOT LEAST FOR MY [her] TEACHER BLOG....

15. Who was your most memorable teacher, and why?
I adored my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Moore. She made every child feel loved and appreciated. She got married the summer after we finished the school year... and she invited us all to her wedding! She gave me a chance to choose my own books and to LOVE reading. Although I have taught fourth, fifth and sixth grades, sixth is my favorite. I think that sentiment comes, in part, from my year with Mrs. Moore.

I bet Mimi would love it if you linked up to her survey too. 
Survey Says: Just click on her button to get back to 5th Grade Rocks, 5th Grade Rules.

Looky in My Lunchbox Linky

My dear friend, Tara, at 4th Grade Frolics is having a Linky Party. I'm a big fan of Linky Parties (even though I always seem to arrive late!). This might be the Linky with the CUTEST button I have ever seen! Michelle, the 3AM Teacher, made it just for this occasion!

This Linky Party (and that sweet button) inspires you to link up.
It calls to you.
It's saying YOUR name now.

Shhhh. Listen? Yep, that's your name.
Come joooooiiiiiin us.
It says that too.

Tara is a BlogSweetie. She's kind to children and animals alike.
No, I wasn't calling the children, animals. I was letting you know that Tara likes children. AND she likes animals.
And she makes cute stuff.
And she's just... nice.

So... link up!
Besides, I want to see YOUR lunch bag.
And your lunch too.

Here's mine. It's from 31. I just got it. I am particularly fond of the pink bow. And the long handles.

                 Wanna see what's in it?


                                                                       Ready?
                                                      
  
                                                                                                       Here goes...

No... that's not really my lunch. In fact, that's not even my lunch bag. My lunch bag is much cuter than that--as you will see in a minute.

Oreos?

Am I the only one who overestimated how many Oreos we would need when we celebrated Oreo's Hundredth Birthday? With information and motivation from a post by Jen at Runde's Room and Stephanie at Teaching in Room 6, we did an experiment with stacking Oreos. First we did some estimating and then we made Oreo "towers" to find the mean, median, mode, range and outliers. We had a lot of cookies left over after that project, so the next day we did Oreo descriptive writing... sort of a "sensory essay." The students used some pretty impressive vocabulary. They got to eat a cookie before, during and after--I guess the treat was more motivating than I had expected.

And I still have two boxes of Oreos left over.

I've brought them to every staff meeting. And to a few SSC meetings. People see me and say, "No, I don't want any Oreos." Actually, they don't really say that.
But I'm pretty sure that's what they're thinking.

Back to my lunch.

I have a really expensive and-oh-so-exclusive lunch bag.

It looks like this.

Really.

And what's inside?

This day it held my soup, bowl, and spoon.
And an apple.
That same apple has been back and forth to and from school SEVERAL times.
I know I'm not going to eat it.
I like people to think I eat a healthy lunch. One with an apple.

We have a thirty minute lunch at our school. And this year, my lunch is at LUNCH time. Amazing.
We eat from 12:00 to 12:30--just like in the basal reading stories.

Four days a week, there is an opportunity to eat with other grown-ups. Half the time on half the days (Whoa. A real-world example of multiplying fractions), I am in the office or in my room, preparing for an afternoon lesson, making copies,checking e-mails, returning phone calls, or just trying to catch my breath. The rest of the time I am with my buddies talking about how hard it is to get every thing done--especially if you don't spend your lunch trying to take care of those little things.

Wednesday is our minimum day. We eat with the kids. The majority of my students eat a cafeteria lunch. Watching sixth graders eat can do a lot to mute your appetite. Today I saw a lot of straws in grapes. And there seemed to be two groups of kids: Those who gave away the "chicken" patty and those who gave away the bun. It was more confusing than the math we did before lunch.

What about the plastic baggie in my lunch bag?

Yep, those are more Oreos.

I didn't eat the apple that day.
But the bag from the cookies was empty.

It's not too late.
Tara is waiting for you. I am too.
There's a giveaway involved too.
You wouldn't want to miss out on that, would you?

Head on over to Tara's at 4th Grade Frolics.
It's your chance to  share your lunch with some BloggyFriends!

P.S. Want an Oreo?

Anchor Chart Link-Up

So, I bet you came over here expecting to see a long list of buttons and thank you notes, but... NOPE! I am D-O-N-E ... Done with that assignment. (That doesn't make me less grateful, it just makes me glad that I completed SOMETHING!)

Today I am linking up with my sweet friend, Kristen, of Ladybug's Teaching Files, who has a Linky Party going on that invites you to share an anchor chart or two (or several!)

If you haven't been by to visit Kristin lately, you have GOT to see how she has revolutionized the teaching of CAFE and Daily 5.  That girl is a GENIUS!  And she is generous with her sharing too. I could look at those cute little circle cut-outs all day long!

At the moment, the anchor charts in my room focus mostly on reviewing for The Test.  I will post some of those later this week.  Today I am sharing two strategy charts that we have just revisited.

My students often distance themselves from their reading.  They seem to be more intent on turning pages and proclaiming (to my dismay) "DONE!" I feel like I am constantly asking them to engage with the text (and the characters when we are reading a narrative) and to think more deeply about what they are reading.

I urged them to go back to their September strategies: Ask Questions, Visualize, Determine Importance, Make Connections, etc. We had just read a story and were were making connections to the text.  Soon the whole discussion seemed to devolve into who had done the same thing as the author. They struggled, however, to make their connections support meaning-making in their reading.

We had been talking about a text which included the character's affection for her dog. One person had shared a connection--and then that connection inspired more "connections," and we moved further and further away from the text. Five minutes into the "discussion" and it was hard to remember what the TEXT was about. They weren't making connections that helped them make sense of the text!

The last three graphics are from DJ Inkers clipart

So we made two charts. First, we talked about the different kinds of connections we can make when we are reading.  This sparked the need to add Text-to-Media connections because that comes up a lot when sixth graders participate in a discussion. Then we discussed how the BEST connections bring you back to the text and help you make meaning. I simplified the concept so that all of my kids can understand the idea--even those with limited English skills.

I recopied the charts at home (because my on-the-spot printing is atrocious). You can't tell because of the poor lighting in our room, but the connections chart has little plastic "connecting" chain links--and the link back to the text has a glittered pathway. I never added sparkle to an anchor chart before.  I think I might like it!

This morning things went a little better. As our discussion was about to get sidetracked (again), one student suggested we were "getting off topic." Another added that we were "moving away from the text."

Suddenly sunshine flooded the room and I could hear angels singing... Okay, that didn't really happen. But I did point to the chart and ask them, "How does your connection help you understand the text?"

It's hard to get 'tweenagers to invest in their reading.  Maybe this strategy review will help draw them back into the text.

The Last of the Late Homework... and a Hunny

So I have a few more thank yous to add and some overdue link-ups to share. And there's a great anchor chart Linky Party with Kristen at Ladybug Teacher Files that I want to join this weekend... you should stop by too!

And, speaking of linking up, there's another opportunity to connect at Math Coach's Corner.  Donna has recently added a sixth grade section to her Blog Hop.  Sometimes sixth grade classes get left out of the loop--especially if we are at an elementary school. I really wanted to participate, so I asked Donna if she would add a section for sixth grade blogs and... POOF! In minutes, it was done! THANKS DONNA.  So, if you teach math, kindergarten and beyond, head on over...

Here's (another) confession: I have a "Completion Anxiety" problem.  It's the same reason I cannot eat just one Pepperidge Farm cookie.  I have to eat ALL of the cookies in the little paper cup, because if I don't, it's not complete. And don't get me started on Pringles. Why isn't one serving equal to one can?  They all fit together so neatly. Why break up a set?

ANYWAY, I already told you that I still lament the fact that I didn't finish those college thank you notes. So I just HAVE TO finish these last few assignments. I really DO have other things to share.  But I can't until I'm D-O-N-E.

So, here's the last of it...

Pink Tiara Book Blog Tour

One of my favorite opportunities since coming to Blogland was the opportunity to interview Maria Dismondy, author of Pink Tiara Cookies for Three and Spaghetti on a Hot Dog Bun (you can read the interview HERE). The "Spaghetti book" was one of my favorites before I met Maria and I didn't even know that she was the same author when I joined up on her Pink Tiara Book Blog Tour. It was a wonderful experience (I've likened it to meeting a movie star!) and I loved having a chance to hold a giveaway.  But I never told  you who won!

Thankfully, gentle prompting from my always-gracious buddy, Barbara, at The Corner on Character, kept this omission in my "Get This Done File" and now I am finally typing: The winner of the book and tiara cookie cutter was "Delighted" at First Grade Delight. Congratulations, Delighted! I have forwarded your name and e-mail to Maria. (You just have to believe me on the Random Number Generator. I did use it. Since my comments are still numbered twice and alternate between ascending and descending order on any given day, I had to write down the names and "Delighted" was number 9--which matched the RNG. I promise that this accounting is true and correct. After all, who would lie about a book and a cookie cutter? That would just be awful. I wouldn't and I didn't. Honest.)

I also missed some thank you messages (even after the treatise I posted a few days ago). I scrolled waaaaaaay back so I hope I didn't leave anyone out. And if I have missed someone, I'm already worried I haven't thanked you. So please leave me a comment or e-mail me. I know I'll probably need to catch up again. In July. {sheepish grin}

Thanks for the Liebster Blog Award
My appreciation for recognizing my blog with the Liebster Award for "new" blogs is sent with gratitude to... Casey at Cardigans and Curriculum, Kelly at Fabulous in Fourth, Jana at Thinking Out Loud, Miss P at Diary of a Fifth Grade Teacher and Ms. L at Life with Mrs. L. Thank you for celebrating my blog and sending readers over to visit.

Thanks also to...
I was touched to receive the Versatile Blogger Award from three wonderful BloggyFriends. Thanks so much for your kindness and support, Elizabeth from Fun in 4B, Heather from Loose Shoelaces and Marcia from Learning Ideas--Grades K-8.

More thanks to...
It was an honor to also be recognized by Heather (Loose Shoelaces) for the Top 10 Blog Award and by Tammy from Confessions of a Fourth Grade Teacher for the Lovely Blog Award. Thanks for considering Joy in Sixth worthy of such sweet accolades.

Almost Done, But Not Quite...
Those are the Thank You notes.
There were also some Linky Parties I promised to attend...

How You Met Your Hunny

Chrissy B. at Buzzing with Ms. B. had a Linky Party which asked bloggers to share how they met their hunny. Yes, it was February when she started the party, but good parties don't end quickly, right? Chrissy, I wanted you to know I hadn't forgotten.

So here's my "Hunny Story"...

When I went away to college, I lived in a high rise dorm.  Each two floors counted as a "house" with alternating genders on every other floor. It was the seventies and OP shorts (often corduroy, go figure!) and Izod ("Alligator") shirts were all the rage.  Women had their hair cut with Farrah Fawcett "wings." "Preppy" was in fashion, and sweater vests, oxford shirts and Sperry Topsiders were common--for both men and women!

Many of the students in our two-level-of-the-dorm-"house" hung out together and became friends. Mr. Cutie Pie lived upstairs, and I was attracted to his intellect, his sense of humor and his sweet face.  He was a BioChem and Cell Biology major.  I was majoring in trying to find a major. In fact, I kept a list of possible majors in my backpack and changed my major almost every quarter (Biology, Linguistics, Psychology, Physical Anthropology... I was confused!).  The people at the registrar knew me on sight.

Circa 1976

The following year, I shared an on-campus apartment with some of my friends from the dorm, and the rest of our friends often filled the living room for parties and casual get-togethers.  The large group often gathered in The Apartment to watch soap operas and eat lunch in between classes and to share dinners and adventures in the evenings. Mr. Cutie Pie was often in this group.

We spent more time together, discovered common interests, and learned to appreciate each others' quirkiness. He tutored me in microbiology (drawing little pictures to help me understand the concepts) and eventually we became an item. 


We were together for six years and plenty of changes (including three universities and four more majors for me!) Eventually we went our separate ways and that could have been the end of just another college love story...

But it didn't end there. TWENTY years later, we reconnected.

And here we are... ten years after that. We have now known each other almost thirty seven years--two thirds of our lives! He's my biggest advocate and cheerleader...and it still makes me chuckle when I hear him in a conversation, championing the rights of teachers or bemoaning the difficulties of our jobs. And that's in addition to grading papers, tutoring struggling readers at school, and helping out at sixth grade events. Yep, he's a keeper!

You Know You're  Teacher When...
Jeannie Partin of Kindergarten Lifestyle  had a fun Linky Party which actually found a home on Pinterest! It included a range of "confessions" about the ways we let people know that we are teachers--even when when we don't intend to...

In December, I bought a new red car. As I examined it, my mind was racing with images of filling it up--not with camping equipment or luggage for a road trip... Nope. In my mind, I pictured it filled with school stuff! How many boxes of books could I pile up in the "way back"? How many bags and boxes would fit in the back seat?  I still love my new car.. It's just right for a teacher like me.

And...

And I seem to ask this question with just enough overemphasis that people pause and look at me suspiciously.  Now I just concede, "Yes, I'm a teacher..." before they have a chance to speculate.

Kids Say the Darnedest Things
It didn't take long for Jeannie to start another Linky at Kindergarten Lifestyle.  This one generated plenty of funny stuff that teachers have heard kids say. And since it's been said, "Better late than never..." here is my contribution:

Whew! I think I have kept my promises to link up with your Linky Parties, to announce the giveaway winner and to thank those whom I had accidentally overlooked. Maria, please forgive me for the delay in contacting you with the necessary details. Barbara, anyone would be lucky to have a friend as wonderful as you!

And, Mom, thanks for the reminders. I hope this makes up for at least a few of those unfinished thank you notes. I miss you.

Celebrating Pi Day!

I am still finishing up my homework... one linky party today and then a thank you and three linky parties tomorrow and then I will be caught up (at least for a day!)

We have celebrated Pi Day in sixth grade for several years now, and each year, we add a little something more.

I didn't say anything to the students when the day started.  Even though I was wearing this shirt, only one student asked ("Does that have something to do with St. Patrick's Day?").  I can conclude two things: They don't know much about Greek symbols and they don't care what we wear (Thereby proving that Farley should be able to wear jeans and flip flops every day!)

I got my shirt at Cafe Press. Click the picture to link to the site.

When it was time for math, I put a box of materials at each table. Inside each box was an assortment of cans (coded for a part of the activity), a ruler for each partnership, and several pieces of (really cool) fluorescent string. They worked in partners and shared the materials among the six people seated at the table.

Before we began the project, I gave them a quick review lesson on centimeters and showed them how it was easy to measure the parts of a whole using this system... and that they would indicate tenths with decimals.

They had a worksheet that invited them to do the following:
Measure the distance around each can (in centimeters)

Measure the distance across the can (in centimeters)

Divide "around" by "across" and write the answer (in centimeters)

Even though they had to work cooperatively, there was very little grumbling (apparently my St. Patrick's Day shirt had put them in a good mood). They measured and laughed and measured again.  As I took pictures, I was surprised to discover who wore nail polish and who didn't and who was currently wearing a temporary (?) tattoo! (I decided it was best not to post the incriminating evidence.) The things you learn when you have a camera!

Most students had time to measure at least four of the six cans. At this point, I asked them to tell me the measure of the "around" divided by "across" for two of the cans (both of which were included in all of the boxes and identified as those needed to be measured--with the remaining cans completed in the remaining time).

Their answers were interesting: 2.9, 3.18. 3.25, 2.77, 3.08, 3.35, 3.09. 3.45, 3.28, 27, 2.89, 3,21, 3.22, 3.16 and 3.45. We talked about the measure of 27 being an "outlier" (also part of the math unit) until one member of the partnership shouted,"Oh, you want the amount after we DIVIDE? Oh! 3.1"

After a discussion of variables in experiments, we also decided that the measurement was hampered by stretching the string and how "it's really hard to divide..."

Then I asked "Why did you get answers that were so similar?" This sparked a lively discussion and a variety of interesting responses! I gave them a chance to see if this was coincidental or was there something behind the similar measurements.

Finally, they completed the last part of the experiment: This required them to measure the distance around the can and CUT the string. Then, they measured the distance across and cut that amount repeatedly until they couldn't  cut any more and taped the cut pieces and the remainder onto a piece of paper. The goal was to count how many whole measures and then to estimate how much of a whole piece (across) the little remainder piece was. Here I had some pretty accurate insight into what my students do NOT know... "It's about 23 tenths" and "It's a little more than half" were sadly amusing. Most students felt that "less than one fourth" was accurate and one brave soul ventured "One or two tenths..."

Note to self: Have plenty of tape on hand!  Some students used more tape than string to display their results...

I told them we had a quick math quiz to check their division skills.  I gave them 30 seconds to divide 22 by 7 as far as they could (As this is not an exact expression of pi, you will get a repeating decimal if you give them too long to work, so a limited amount of time is important.)

I had prepared a flip chart about measuring circles. We reviewed the correct vocabulary--and I had been pleased to hear some students saying "circumference" and "diameter" while they were measuring the cans. Once we got to the page where the distance around the our classroom trash can be divided by the distance across the can to produce a measurement of 3.14832 cm, someone said, "Hey! That's close to what I got when I measured one of the cans!" And so it went.

The next few flip chart pages explained a bit about pi and I told them we could simplify the whole process and help Velcro it into our memories by singing a little song. I explained that pi can't be resolved as a quantity and it can never be written down as an exact or complete number. Pi is non-terminating and non-repeating! (Oooo. Some of them LOVED those words!)

I've attached our song... Click on the song to get a better copy at google.docs.

Of course, you can't celebrate Pi day without PIE, so we completed our lesson with a not-quite-nutritious treat (although it does say REAL fruit filling!).  Student got to choose between apple and cherry--just a half--and they were quite content. Apple was the preferred choice (3 to 1)...Oh! Hey! I sense a lesson on ratio and proportions in our future!

It was a fun day!  I think they students learned a lot. And I learned a lot that will help guide my teaching over the next few weeks. However, I still seem to find myself thinking about cherry pie...

Update! OMGolly! Hurry!  Go to The Classy Teacher's blog! She found Pi Day earrings! Soooo cute!

Want to see how other teachers celebrated Pi Day? Come over to the Pi Day Linky at A Middle School Survival Guide.You don't even have to bring any pie!

Make Up Homework: Part 1

When I graduated from college (shortly after the reign of the dinosaurs), I didn't finish my thank you notes. That knowledge has haunted me for close to forty years--to the extent that I have often considered trying to find the unfinished pile to complete the task (And the fact that locating those notes is even a possibility makes it obvious why there is a "Clutter-free Classroom" button on my sidebar!) Now I have left some blog-tasks unfinished for far too long. So today is the day.  I will start finishing my homework and turning it all in.

Awards... Awards are a funny thing.  As I mentioned before in one of those "revealing" posts about "Twenty-Three Things You'd Never Guess About Me" (or something close to that!), I generally shy away from recognition. I am much better at gift giving than receiving. So it is with Awards. I am just learning to be a Blogger, but I have had sweet, wonderful people recognize my efforts.

So, I had two choices: Be secretly delighted or be publicly thankful. Had I not waited so long, I would have just sent a nice note to the givers and gone on with life.  But now my tardiness seems to warrant a more outward recognition. Besides, I have a chance to post cute little buttons all in a row and say a GIANT thank you to those who found something they enjoyed on my blog. AND, it's a chance to ask my BlogPals to check out some new places.

I would also like to add: While I was having my "BlogStruggle," I was feeling like I didn't have enough to share with the blogging community.  In a rare moment of bravery, I chose to share my concerns in a post. Truth: I spent the next few days crying over the sweet responses. Your support REALLY did make a difference. Truly... Thank you.

(It is a strange feeling to have something happen at school and think to myself: Hey! I could write about that! I'm excited about blogging again).

The Liebster Award.

This award is given to blogs with less than 200 followers and passed from Blogger to Blogger to highlight up and coming awards.  Liebe is the German word for love, so this award has a special meaning for those just starting out. Guidelines for this award are as follows:1) Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog 2) Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you 3) Copy and paste the blog award on your blog 4) Present the Liebster Blog Award to blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and 5) Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment at their blog.

I was lucky enough to be awarded the Liebster Award...

by Cortney at Once Upon a Substitute

by Lauren at Life in Middle School

by CK at Learning Outside the Box

and by Misty at think Wonder and Teach

and by Ms D at A Superlative Six

These are all wonderful blogs. Click on the button and take a peek!

And here are some new blogs for you to check out as well... They are now recipients of the Liebster Award!


First up is a brand new blog: Teaching Living History. She's so new, she has only one follower--and that would be me.  Why now show her some Bloggy love and stop by...

Next up is a Teacher's Looking Glass.  Sam is also just starting out (She doesn't have a button yet either), and her most recent post has some great solar system ideas! Take a peek! 

Then there is Piece of Cupcake Life. Melissa also awarded me the Lovely Blog Award--which just shows how blogs link together! There is a lot of fun stuff going on on that site. You may recognize her from the mega-wedding contest...

Finally, Over-Caffeinated and Optimistic. This blogger is a consistent poster--yet, at last check, she only had 14 followers. I think you're going to like what you see and decide to follow her too!

The Top 10 Blog Award

I was also blessed to be awarded the Top Ten Blog Award. I really was secretly tickled about this one. It was a huge reassurance to receive this award when I was feeling so uncertain.
 

In the middle of my Blogging Meltdown, these sweet BlogFriends sent over an extra dose of kindness and it really did help me get back on track.  I want you to know your caring spirit rates a Top 10 in my book!

I was blessed to receive the Top 10 Award from:

Staci at Going Nutty

Elizabeth at Fun in 4B

Chrissy B at Buzzing with Ms. B.

Molly at Lessons with Laughter

Melissa at Piece of Cupcake Life

There are all great blogs... Click on over and check out what they are posting today...

The Lovely Blog Award

Isn't the Lovely Blog Award so precious? I just love those sweet pink flowers. To the sweet BlogFriends who recognized my blog with this treasure, I recognize YOUR loveliness to and return the award with a huge CyberHug!

I was so touched to receive this flowered treasure from:

Emmy at Daydreams of a Student Teacher

Mor at A Teacher's Treasure

Michelle at Apples and ABCs

and Tara at 4th Grade Frolics

The Versatile Blogger Award

Lisa at A Teacher's Bag of Tricks gave me the Versatile Blogger Award and I never thanked her formally. Thanks, Lisa for the honor!

And One More

If you don't know My Dear Sweet Buddy Barbara from Corner on Character, it's time you introduced yourself.

If you read Corner on Character, you know why I stop there each morning for a daily dose of inspiration.  Barbara awarded me the Favorite Follower award., but I think I should be awarding her a favorite FollowED award. So, Barbara, I award this award right back to you.

So there you have it. PLEASE don't think of this as a "Look at Me" post because it's not. I am, however, excited to express my gratitude and celebrate all of the bloggers that are "pictured."

Best of all,  I think my mom is looking down from Heaven with a smile because I got SOMETHING done! She was always reminding me about the importance of thank you notes...

One more make-up post tomorrow and I'm in the clear!

Until then, I wish you JOY!