As 2012 prepares to come to a close, I am overwhelmed by how many blessings I have experienced this year. Many of those blessings are a direct result of this humble little blog, so when I saw that Christina from Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge was hosting a Best & Brightest of 2012 Linky (an opportunity to brag and share about blogging in 2012,) I knew I just HAD to link up!
The very BEST decision I made all year, was making the commitment to follow my heart and start a blog. If you can believe it, Kinder-Craze has only been in existence for about 9 months, but WOW, what a wild ride the past nine months have been. But I'm getting ahead of myself…
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| The original Kinder-Craze header from March 2012 |
My greatest Kinder-Craze accomplishment this year was having the INCREDIBLE honor of writing a guest post for the Pinterest blog in celebration of World Teacher Day on October 5. When I look back, I still can't quite believe that happened to me.
My top blog post for 2012 was Fancy Up Your Sterlite Drawers where I explained how to line Sterlite drawers with scrapbook paper. That single post has received nearly 200,000 page views.
The runner-up was my follow-up post that went a bit more in-depth and compared/contrasted using Mod Podge vs. clear tape. Apparently, people love themselves some fancy drawers.
The most suspenseful moment of 2012 was when my classroom was a finalist for The Schoolgirl Style Challenge. That week of watching the “online polls” was so intense but so much fun. As fate would have it, I didn't win the Challenge, but I am so proud to have come within 11 votes of the winner!
And my top product on Teachers Pay Teachers has been my Interactive Sight Word Readers. Teachers just LOVE that students unscramble letters to complete the missing word in each sentence. (I think they also love the affordable price of $1 each.)
And there you have it. What a year it has been!
I cannot wait to see what lies ahead in 2013!
Thanks for linking up! I LOVE your blog design and will be signing up to follow you!
🙂
Christina
*Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge*
Thank YOU Christina! I loved your Linky idea!
I remember that post on decorating those drawers. I probably gave you 100 hits on that post! Thanks for sharing your creativity on those!
Robynn
BusyBees
LOL, thanks Robynn! I was glad to have an audience to share with! Merry Christmas!
You are awesome Maria!!! I absolutely adore you and your blog!
Thanks Hadar! You are too sweet! I love your blog and all of your ideas as well!
Merry Christmas! I look forward to your inspiring posts and watching your classroom grow to new heights via your pictures! SMILES!
Thank you! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
Maria, those Interactive Sight Word Readers look terrific! When the hectic holiday whirlwind slows down a little, I’ll be sure to take a closer look. In the meantime, I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday and a delightful new year!
Sharon Dudley, NBCT
http://teachingwithsight.blogspot.com
Thank you Sharon! I hope the coming year is wonderful for you as well!
I am so glad that you followed your heart and started a blog because I totally adore you!! Merry Christmas sweet friend:)
The Moffatt Girls
Thank you Annie! Merry Christmas to the Moffat Girls (and the Moffatt Man too!)
I love those interactive readers too! Well, it is obvious cause I purchased them all. 🙂
Just stopping by to wish you a VERY Merry Christmas. Thanks for the inspiration.
Melissa
Thank you Melissa! I hope you had a WONDERFUL Christmas!
I too love the interactive readers.
I am curious to know what Reading and math series you use in the classroom?
I love your “style” and you have become my “go to” blog of choice.
Glad you had a good year..you have earned it!
You must be a wonderful teacher.
Merry Christmas and continue into 2013:)
Hi Barbara, I’m honored to be your “go to” blogger! We no longer use a reading or math series in Kindergarten at my school. I do the daily 5 (at this point in the year it’s still the daily 2), guided reading, and just follow the standards in the common core to guide instruction. It requires more planning and prep, but the activities are more meaningful to the students and we were always recycling SO many filler pages from our current math series. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you as well!
Well done on such a successful year! Such great resources and ideas. I’ve added your interactive sight word readers to my TPT wish list for when I am back on kindergarten!
Diana :)-(
Le@rning Out Loud