The Liebster Award!!

I'm excited to have been nominated for The Liebster Award by Amanda at  www.oddsandevans.com.   However, I have to admit that I first had to look up  information on the Liebster Award!  The Liebster award is  an award given by bloggers to new bloggers with less than 200 email followers to help them get their  blog started and welcome  them to the blogosphere.  I often feel that I'm navigating a strange new world, with blogging, so I am appreciative of any and all support!  Everyone who gets nominated for a Liebster Award, is then  asked to nominate 11 others.  To accept the award, the blogger must answer 11 questions posed by the  blogger who  nominated them.   So, thanks again, Amanda and read on!

1.  Why and how long ago did you start blogging?
I started blogging in July of 2014.  I've been a practicing  Speech-Language Pathologist  for many years and have always  enjoyed making my own products for my students.  I  love to write and to create and I wanted a  place to call my own where I could showcase some of my products from  teachers pay teachers and speechtivities and collaborate with other Speech Pathologists.  So far, the collaboration piece is in it's infant stages!

2.  What one word sums  up the  heart of the blog and why?
Communication.  All of my blog posts are in some  way about enhancing communication skills of children with speech and language delays.  It's a topic that I have devoted my career to and it's very near and dear to my heart.

3.  Is there something you learned late in your blog journey that you wished you had known before?
I learn something  new  daily and I'm quite new to the blogosphere.  I  do wish I hadn't been so intimidated at the thought of starting a blog.  There are talented people who can design your blog at a minimal fee or you can do it  yourself!

4.  What is your favorite pastime other than  blogging?
Creating!!!!  I devote many hours per week at home to designing and creating  new digital products for my students and for other Speech Language Pathologists.  I also work a full-time job  as a Speech Pathologist in a public school and I'm navigating the world of  parenting two teenage girls.

5.  How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?
Hmmm.  I should answer that by hours per month since I don't blog  weekly.  I'd say I  spend 10 hours a month on blogging and 20  hours per week creating digital Speech Therapy products.

6.  What category of blog posts do  you enjoy  the most?
I  love and admire bloggers  that blog  about personal journeys.  I read a refreshingly honest post in a blog written by the parent of a special needs child,about a mother who shared her innermost feelings about raising  her son, called "The ghost  of  the child you expected yours to be."   It takes a brave person to open up about their feelings on the internet.  I hope someday to be as brave as the writer of that blog,  "Max's  mom."    Baby steps!   .

7.  Where does your blog inspiration  come from?
The first blog I every started following is written by Speech Pathologist, Jill Kuzma's website.  She write about all things speech and language and I love her ideas regarding working on social language with students with autism.

8.  What post have you written that you are most proud of?
It's funny.  I'm my toughest critic, constantly revising some of my blog posts and frankly, I'm never completely thrilled with them.  I'd have to choose a blog I did about halloween because I opened up and told a personal story in it:  Halloween: helping young children cope with their fears.

9.  Is there any post that you have been planning to do but  keep postponing?
Yes!  So many but the first one that comes to mind is that I've been wanting to do a blog post on enhancing the social communication skills of  students with  autism.  This is a favorite area of mine!

10.  What is your favorite aspect of blogging?
It's a creative outlet for me.  I love to write and have written a book about working on functional skills  with  adults  with brain injuries.  I find blogging more freeing than the constant editing and revising involved in writing and publishing a book.

11.  What recipe, project or idea on my blog  would you most like to try yourself?
I loved Odds and Evan's post on homeade bug spray.homeade bug spray.   After reading it, I  made some of my own spray using essential oils and I'm taking it with me on a trip this weekend!

Thanks for reading  and stay tuned.  I'll be back to nominate some other fabulous blogs!
                                                     Donna

I'm so excited to  nominate the following blogs for the Liebster Award.  They are as follows:

1.  Mrs. Kindergarten Rocks, a blog about both kindergarten and 4k ideas and activities.
2.  Speech made Simple, a speech and language blog.
3. Figuratively Speeching SLP, a speech and language blog.
4.  Speech blog UK, two  brtish speech therapists speech and language blog.

Please check out these blogs and give them some love!  Happy Blogging!
                                               Donna