Monday, January 30, 2012

Versatile Blogger Award!!!



I was chosen by Kayla from Primary Junction.  She makes the most adorable freebies with fantastic graphic art.  This is one blog you will need to check out DAILY! And this is my first blogging award!!! I'm very excited to be apart of this community of teachers nationwide!  I've seen so many great blogs and everyone has been so supportive of one another.  It's still mind-blowing to me that people are actually coming to my blog. You are all so wonderful!

There are some simple rules to follow after you give a big THANKS to the person who gave me the award.  
  • Thank the award-giver.
  • Ask 7 questions about yourself.
  • Pass this award to 15 newly discovered blogs.
  • Alert the bloggers and let them know about the award!
So here are 7 things about myself:

1.  I love to travel!  I just came back on a winter vacation from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan.  I was visiting my sister (Tiffany) in Japan for the first time (she's studying abroad for a year)!  Also, my sister and I visited our grandmas and relatives in Hong Kong.  Our grandma surprised us with a Christmas trip to Taiwan.  I enjoy visiting new (and old) places all over the world.  I love meeting new people and learning new cultures.  Next on my list of places to visit are: Egypt, South Africa, Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, Dubai (plus so many other places!!)

Visiting the Nagoya Palace in Japan!

2. My all-time TV show I've watched since season one is the Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad series! It's so addicting!!  Right now my favorites from Ben's season are Kacie B. and Jennifer. :)

3.  I was born in Chicago, Ill but I grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Go BUCKS!

4.  I love love love ice cream! I can eat it everyday. I have many favorite flavors, but my "go to" flavor is mint chocolate chip.

Shared a huge ice cream sundae with my sister and her friends in Japan! 
(note the silly, "asian peace sign" I did in both pictures! haha)

5.  My internet obsessions are Pinterest and Wikipedia.  There are just so many great ideas on Pinterest and it is easy to organize what you like!  Also, Wikipedia is just fascinating with a lot of cool facts about anything!  And yes, I confess...I use it on my iPhone a lot too.

6.  I love all sorts of games, from cards to board games!   So much fun but I can get a bit competitive! 
Board games: Monopoly, scrabble, and life.  
Cards: Euchre, apples to apples
Dominoes: mexican train
iPhone Apps: words with friends, hanging with friends, scramble with friends

7.  Since middle school, I knew I always wanted to be a teacher.  However, I did have many other dream jobs as well, which I almost went to college for.  I wanted to be a chef because I loved playing "restaurant" as a child and cooking with my play kitchen set.  A ballerina/dancer because I grew up dancing since the age of 3!  Another was a fashion designer/merchandiser because I love shopping for clothes, dressing up, and drawing/creating my own outfits.  

Here are the list of the 15 newly discovered blogs that I am passing the award to!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! It is the Year of the Dragon.  This year this holiday starts on January 23, 2012.  It is a 15 day celebration in China and other asian countries.  Here's a super old picture of my little sister and I in traditional Chinese outfits back in the 90's.

I'm the taller one!
Last year during my student teaching, I had the opportunity to share this holiday celebration with my first graders and they loved it.  We made Chinese lanterns (here's a link on how to create one), and read lots of books about it.  I also handed out chocolate gold coins to represent good fortune to the students.  To say "Happy New Year" in Chinese, is Gong Hay Fat Choy!  This is also a great time to teach students about the Chinese Zodiac, which has 12 animals.  Here's a cut and paste worksheet for students to understand which year each animal belongs.

Here are some of my favorite Chinese New Year books to read:
Hiss! Pop! Boom!
Celebrating Chinese New Year
Happy, Happy Chinese New Year
 I hope this week you would be able to share the Chinese culture to your students as well!