Dare to Dream

Today I'm linking up for Week 2 of the TPT Seller Challenge hosted by Third in Hollywood, Teach Create Motivate, Sparkling in Second and Peppy Zesty Teacherista.  The challenge for this week is to Dare To Dream.

I have to admit this challenge is well…. challenging for me!  I'm not really a big dreamer kind of gal.  I never joined TPT with dreams of becoming a top seller and making a ton of money (though it sure sounds nice!).  I just have always made a lot of my own resources for my class and on a whim decided to start a store and upload a few.

I definitely did not start out my TPT journey dreaming big. However, TPT has ended up being a big part of my life. Something that I started on a whim has truly been a dream come true for me already… and who knows where else it will lead!

Options:

One dream of mine is that TPT will give me more options.  I had always assumed I would be in the classroom as a teacher until I retired.  I am not saying that this is a bad thing and that I won't do exactly that but…. having the option to do something else (TPT full time?!) is an awesome possibility.

I already feel that TPT has fulfilled this dream to some degree because I have been on a leave from my teaching position for the past year due to health issues.  After struggling with constant respiratory infections for almost 2 years I knew I needed to get out of the school environment (aka. place with lots & lots of germs!) to try and get healthy again.  TPT made my decision to take a break from the classroom so much easier in many ways. Most importantly I have something to do… that I love!!  My children are school aged so the idea of being home all day by myself in our small remote community would have been a depressing reality.  Instead I have TPT to keep my mind and teaching spirit alive while my body heals.  The cha-chings come in handy too!
   
I am looking forward to getting back in the classroom a year from now but if my health doesn't allow it or if I choose to retire a little early or if we move and I can't find a job….having TPT there as an option sure would be reassuring.  

Opportunities: 

TPT is definitely a place of opportunities.  It still amazes me everyday that I have the opportunity to share my teaching resources with teachers all over the world!  It amazes me that I have the opportunity to do something I love and perhaps even make a living at it.  I never would have guessed I would run my own small business but TPT has given me the opportunity to do just that.  My dream is that I simply continue to take advantage of this opportunity and keep on learning and growing as a TPT seller.

Helping Others:

 I love that as a TPT seller I get to help other teachers.  Help them find quality resources at a reasonable price. Help them differentiate for the myriad of needs within their classrooms.  Help them have more time to spend with their families. Help them come up with a last minute lesson when their baby is up all night with a fever. Help them help their students.  Providing what teachers want and need to meet the needs of their students and make their lives a little easier is a definitely a goal to strive for.   

Makeover Madness

I am so excited to be part of the TPT Seller Challenge.  I have been a TPT seller for over three years now and have learned so much about making and improving my products.  There is one little (OK huge) area I have totally neglected…. Social Media!  This challenge is just what I needed to jump right into it.  I set up my Facebook page last night and am actually blogging.  So far so good!

Luckily for me the first challenge was right up my alley.  Makeover Madness!!

This past year I have spent A LOT of time updating my products!  I have a few big ones I still want to tackle this summer but for this challenge I thought I would update one of my first products that was still hanging out in my store in it's original state. This one was made in PowerPoint (thank goodness) but still needed a lot of help! Like most sellers I started out not owning much in the way of fonts and clipart and pulled my products together with what I could find for free.  Fast forward 3 years later and I have more clipart than I know what to do with (& still want need more).  A new border, fonts & clipart give this product a brand new look!

I didn't stop at the cover though… This baby needed a total facelift!  This product included an anchor chart, center activity and worksheets.  I was happy with these activities and was able to spruce them up again with new fonts and clipart.  

Here are the updated activities.  I also added some extra versions of the number cards for the center activity.  This allows more students to work on this activity at the same time and the variety is great for students who are working on this skill for awhile.  The center can be used again & again but just with a different set of cards.  

I also had a few activities that I had used with my class but had never made it into the original product.  There is a booklet all about counting by 5s that is great for introducing and practicing the concept.  The colour version works great as a class book that can be laminated and used from year to year.   I also added a set of number puzzles.  They are such a fun way to practice counting skills.  Both activities are included in colour and black & white.

To celebrate the new look this product will be on sale for 1/2 price for the rest of the week.  Click HERE to check it out!