ZONES Party of 5... Meet Christi

It's time for me to take over this #ZONESpartyof5 which means summer is quickly coming to an end! Are you ready for an awesome school year?

 Here are 10 fun facts about me:

1. I love all things water sports: waterskiing, tubing, wake boarding, and next up to master, wake surfing! I grew up spending summers on an inland lake in Michigan, and continue to do that now. It's just not summer without water!

2. I also love to snowboard. The best part is, my mom taught me. I am the oldest of four kids, so my ever-frugal mom decided that the most economic way to get all of her kids on a snowboard was to take lessons herself and then teach the rest of us.  We all love snowboarding together, and now I get to teach my kiddos!

3. Speaking of kiddos, my daughter just turned 5, my son is 2, and my little baby boy is 7 weeks. Makes for a fun, full household!

4. As a kid, I hated math. When I took algebra in high school my teacher told me I would be a great math teacher and I told her "no way!" Look where I am now...

5. My husband and I grew up in opposite ends of California. We met in Chicago, and then moved to Michigan. We would love to move back to CA, but we can't come to an agreement on which part of Cali is tbe "better half" - ha!

6. When we were first married, my husband did all the cooking. I was seriously horrible at it. Then, shortly after my daughter was born, I decided to try to cook one new recipe a week to start teaching myself the ways of the kitchen.  A couple of years later I did the Whole30 program, which really forces you to cook, and now I'm *kinda* a master chef ;)

7. I'm not crafty, artistic, or cutesy, and I have absolutely no visual-spacial abilities. However, I am very organized and love spreadsheets (that's more useful anyway, right?)

​8. I love to travel! I've been to many Caribbean countries, South Africa, Austria, and even lived in South Korea for a year to teach English. Many of these travels were because of my grandpa; he loved to travel and take his family with him. I'm hoping to dust off my passport again sometime soon!

9.  I love to read.  I learn best through reading - articles, blogs, books, anything! My favorite genre is historical fiction. In fact, I just finished a 400 page book called Sisi, about the famous Austrian empress. I also love "brain candy." You know, it's those books that require very little thinking and have a sweet storyline.

10. Just call me the grammar police. By the time I publish this blog post, I have probably read it at least ten times looking for mistakes. And, yes, I've read everyone else's posts too!

My Favorite Resources
Oh so many to choose from! Here are my top go-to resources:
1. k-5mathteachingresources.com - All organized by Common Core standard, and most resources are free! Great for Play with Someone and Explore
​2. Illustrative Mathematics - great problem solving probes
3. NCTM Illuminations - great for Explore with ideas for hands-on manipulatives as well as virtual games and manipulatives
4. My colleagues! I get so many great ideas from the people I work with, as well as teachers all around the globe on Twitter.