My First Blogiversary and Giveaway!

It's official!  I've been a blogger for one year now.  My first post was June 21st, 2012.  It was a post about implementing the 40 Book Challenge into my language arts classroom.  It's still my most often viewed post at 551 views.  I started blogging during Kate Messner's summer professional development initiative, Teachers Write (click on that link to sign up for this year - you won't be sorry!).  Since then, I've published 169 posts - this will be my 170th.  I have 40 blog followers and 15 e-mail subscribers.  As of today, there have been 19,785 pageviews.  I've joined fun memes like "It's Monday! What Are You Reading?" started by Teach Mentor Texts and Book Journey, "It's THIRSTday!" started by {Eat the Book}, and "Nonfiction Wednesday" started by Kid Lit Frenzy. I've participated in reading challenges.  Currently, I'm participating in Donalyn Miller's Fifth Annual Bookaday Challenge and Gathering Books' Award-Winning Books Challenge.  Thank you to all the bloggers, readers, and teachers out there who challenge us to more and better reading, teaching strategies, and better blogging!  I'm still a novice and have lots to learn from long-time and popular bloggers.  Here are the reasons I blog:

- It's a place to record your thinking, reading, and ideas.  If you don't record them, they get lost and forgotten.
- It's an amazing community to which to belong - it's positive, smart, inspiring, and fun.
- Blogging connects you to passionate writers, readers, and educators.
- Blogging challenges my thinking - I have to think of new ways to connect to readers.
- It improves my teaching.  I haven't had to pay for a whole lot of PD lately - SO MANY ideas are on blogs!  The ones I did pay for were so worth it because I knew the people involved from blogging - they never disappoint!
- Blogging expands your virtual world - it opened me up more to Twitter and Facebook - I followed and friended authors, educators, and readers.  It's amazing how it has changed how I teach.
- Writing a personal/professional blog inspired me to write a classroom blog which my students love.  It has connected me to students and parents in ways that have made our learning community wider, smarter, and more fun.  It has inspired students to write their own blogs!
- It's fun to share ideas.  I've certainly gained a lot of ideas from others in the blogging community, so I hope I've given people ideas, too.

To celebrate my blogiversary, I'd like to give away a $10 gift certificate to Amazon.  Load up your e-reader or order an actual copy of an awesome book for the summer!  Can I recommend a few?  Here are some 2013 favorites (picture book, adult, young adult, and children's lit):

PICURE BOOKS

ADULT BOOKS







YOUNG ADULT

(Be sure to read Cinder first!)

Be sure to read Hattie Big Sky first!

MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS

(Be sure to read The False Prince first!)



If you're interested in entering the giveaway, just join my blog or subscribe by e-mail (right hand side of my blog), and leave a comment.  Make sure you're following me on Twitter (@muellerholly) so I can ask you to DM your e-mail address if you win.  I'll pick a name out of a hat and will announce the winner on Tuesday, June 25th!  For those of you who are already following, just let me know.  Thanks so much for reading my blog!  I look forward to blogging for many years to come!