Teaching Heart Mom

Just a Mom With a Teaching Heart. Find fun activities to do with your kiddos and students (infant to age 10). www.teachingheart.net blog

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Changes & Need a Design Service


Over the next few months (actually in the process of now) we will be moving this blog from blogger to where it belongs on www.teachingheart.net.  I am learning a great deal in the process thanks to my very helpful web hosting provider at www.arborhosting,com .  It still is quiet a process making sure all my feeds direct followers to the new wordpress site. 

QUESTION:  I am currently looking for a design service that uploads the design to the wordpress blog.  Any great design services out there from any bloggers???  

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

How to Blog and Why Blog???

Tip Junkie wants to know why you blog and so do I, go post why you blog on Tip Junkie! and here too. Here is my story reposted and added to...


Seems like whenever someone finds out that I started blogging the typical question is, "why?"

I know why I started blogging... I own a website called Teaching Heart and it has been around about 10 plus years and is well liked and read by k-3 teachers around the world. Through Teaching Heart I noticed that a few teachers were blogging and I checked it out and thought about setting up a blog for teachers. I kept telling myself, "Self, why do that when I already have a website for teachers?" So, I thought it would be neat to make a more personal blog. I share resources with my moms group already and I like helping moms in my area and I like talking the mommy talk... IDEA: I should share online in a special place!! I learn by doing. Why not learn about the blogging world by setting up a blog myself??? So here I am!! I am here to learn about blogging, get the word out about Teaching Heart in the blogging world, win some cool blog prizes from all those wonderful blogs out there, and to vent and share my mommy stuff!

Let's get serious and honest... I am a business women and I see the benefit of getting Teaching Heart the website out to the blogging world. A world filled with a new community of moms and teachers who may like the activities I create, who may want to purchase a CDROM some day... I wonder someday if most website will all include a blog. I am hoping to get a head start on this... As with Teaching Heart I have always wanted to share my skills too and not make it all for profit. Hopefully, I have shared some things on this blog that you have used. I am grateful to God for my gifts and I do think blogging is a way I can share some of those gifts.

I am still a little leery about this blogging world. I want to share about my family, but not so much that one day my son or daughter's future boyfriend will Google their name and see what their mommy had to say about them. So I am trying to mention them, but I am careful what I say. I read many blogs where women talk candidly about their husbands and how wonderful or even how awful they are. I know I want to stay away from the awful and reserve that for my closest friends (not that my husband is ever awful - maybe stubborn, but not awful). I even read a blog the other day where a mom was talking about her neighbors negatively. What if that neighbor finds the blog? I don't like conflict: and as a result, I will try to keep positive about the people in my life when I blog... still it would be tempting to tell you a few inlaw stories -- only kidding!

It's so easy to be a snoop out in the Internet world... just Google a name and you can find out details about people. If you Google my name for instance the first few links will show you:
Teaching Heart
My Amazon Reviews

Luckily, I haven't been in too much trouble so you won't see anything bad! Hee-hee! Google your name and see what you find. Anyhow, point is some people (my husband) feel I have always shared too much online. So I am trying to be somewhat private in my posts.

Cool thing about blogging is that so far it has been free for me. Set-up was free and I am amazed at the amount I can upload onto a blogging server without having to pay. Still, I wonder if paying will come into the picture. When I first started my website years ago; it was free and then ended up costing me $700+ a month until I figured out that I needed to switch hosting services and now cost me a much more reasonable amount. So does blogging get expensive??? I will have to find that out!

I give a high five to those moms that blog very candidly about their life. I don't look down upon them. Actually, I probably read their blog more because of it. I just don't think I will ever be able to truly treat blogging as a real diary.

Another thing I would love to try is a blogging conference, like Blogher... I think going to NY with a favorite blogger friend would be fun. Now to convince her and convince both our husbands. I think we would learn lots and have fun!

With all that... Wanted to share some links about blogging that I found interesting:

How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)
http://w2.eff.org/Privacy/Anonymity/blog-anonymously.php
"Blogs are like personal telephone calls crossed with newspapers. They're the perfect tool for sharing your favorite chocolate mousse recipe with friends--or for upholding the basic tenets of democracy by letting the public know that a corrupt government official has been paying off your boss. "

Learning About Blogging
http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2005/08/29/learning-about-blogging-and-how-to-blog/
"The evolution from website to blog changes how people communicate. Let’s look at some of the development of blogs and help you learn more about blogging and how to blog."

If you look to the right of this blog you will see my blog list. It is basically a list of cool blogs that are mommy friendly and fun to read and learn from. You can visit them and learn more about blogging there.

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

First Blogging Award!


Wow, it feels so good to get an award for my blog. My first blogging award. It is from Super Fun Mama! I enjoy that blog very much. She has super great ideas and makes me wish she was my mom!!! Thank you very much!

After being in the Website Word for 10 plus years with http://www.teachingheart.net/ and getting many awards for that website... this is my first blogging award and it is good to feel that excitement again!!! This week has given me lots of bad news and this is the first good news I have gotten this week. Thanks for the smile.

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Sunday, November 2, 2008

Christmas of Dreams Blog Party

You want to win prizes??? I do, I do!!! Read this news:

The ladies over at MomDot are getting ready to have one great big Christmas of Dreams Blog Party ! If you head on over to THIS POST, you can read all about the contest.


There will be lots of great prizes and many blogs to visit! The party officially starts on November 12 and runs until the 27th.

Hope to see you there.

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Saturday, October 25, 2008

A Hodge Podge Found Out in The Blogging World


A few months ago I ventured out of my familiar Internet website world and entered the world of blogging… I was looking for birthday party ideas for my sons Star Wars party. I found that if I searched “Star Wars Party Ideas” + blogs that many great blogging websites with awesome ideas appeared. Then became my quest of learning about the blogging world and come 8:30 when the kids are in bed – I grab my tea & my laptop and start exploring all these great places! Thought I would share a Hodge podge of what I have found & want to do.

I want to do these Ghosties on Parade with my kids.

O, look 2 Writing Teachers mention http://www.teachingheart.net/ list serve on their blog!

I think I may try making cake in a mug!

We are going to try this craft today. This is from No Time For Flashcards which I made site of the month at http://www.teachingheart.net/ !

Here is a 50 minute alternative running mix I need to try and use some day. Jackpot... more playlists!

Check out these Halloween Tables!

Check out the Newbie Guide to Blogging - I am hoping that someday everyone will have a blog.
O my, check out these amazing Christmas Cards.
Point is... it's a crazy blogging world out there and I love being a part of it!

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