Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Conference Goodie Bag


As you know, I have been preparing items to participate in a teaching conference this summer. In my last post I discussed the long list of things to accomplish, and wondered what item I could contribute to the teacher goodie bags. Jennifer of 4MulaFun looked through my store and gave me a terrific idea that fit my personality perfectly.

Jennifer noticed that I have a LOT of task cards in my TpT store, Carol’s Garden, so she suggested that I include seeds of some kind. (I have a “garden” of task cards, get it?) ;D

I tried to think about what type of seeds to give teachers. Whatever I chose would need to appeal to as many teachers as possible, be easy to grow in all or most areas of the United States, and be inexpensive. My first thought was vegetable seeds, but not everybody likes their veggies! Second, I thought of herbs, but those die after one season, and I wanted something that would grow both this year and the next.

Finally, I decided on wildflowers. They would be easy to grow, native to the U.S., and would readily re-seed and come back for years of enjoyment! Plus, birds love the seeds, and the flowers could be a feature in a school’s garden, or planted along the edges of the property for beautiful colors.

www.americanmeadows.com
A check of the Internet led me to a seed company which specialized in wildflowers. They even had a bird and butterfly-attracting seed mix on sale! I wasn’t sure how much seed I would need, so I bookmarked the page for later purchase. I was still working out details in my head, and I needed to check the quantity of goodie bags I would need to fill.

I hope you’ll check back for my next post about creating items for a teaching conference. Please click one of the icons below to “like” or “share,” or leave a comment.

Thank you and have a fabulous week! “See” you next time!
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Monday, June 2, 2014

June Currently! on Carol's Teaching Garden


Woo-hoo! It’s finally June! That means it’s time for Farley’s Currently! I was cracking up inside as I read her post today, as my life has some things in common with hers. 



Both our sons like to play with their Star Wars light sabers in the house. Unfortunately, my Michael terrorizes the dog (although he doesn’t mean to) with his light saber battles. It’s probably because nobody else will let my son pretend to skewer them.

It can be difficult to get Michael to calm down for bed at night, but right now he’s quiet. It’s the middle of the afternoon and I don’t hear a sound except for the whir of the air conditioning. It’s supposed to be 86 degrees today, and I don’t “do” temperatures above 75 degrees. They make me turn purple (no, seriously, they do) and I just don’t like that. Unless I’m at a water park with my kids (Splash Country, anyone?), I stay inside on hot humid days.

Since the kids are out of school, I get the joy of relaxing and cuddling with them on the couch. There’s no nagging about homework, no assignments to grade, and no observations for which to plan. Ahhhh!

Last night I was scrolling through Facebook when I noticed that an old friend I haven’t seen in years had moved back to California with his kids. He’d been out of the state for years, but life events had taken a bad turn, so he had moved back. I got some bad news when I messaged him, so I’m feeling badly and praying for him now.

My son must have seen the look on my face, because suddenly he came over to where I was typing on my computer, exclaimed, “Hello, Mom-oh!” and proceeded to crawl over my legs to get into the space between the couch and side table, before scrunching himself down into the space between.  When I asked him what he was doing, he replied, “Just being weird, to make you smile!” I have to admit, it worked. :D

I’m itching for a snack, and the one I really want is even (somewhat) healthy. Lately I’ve really been craving strawberry shortcake, without the shortcake. I take strawberries, cut them/mash them up, add some sugar, put the mixture into a small bowl, cover it with whipped cream, and devour. Unfortunately, my kids loved the whipped cream all by itself, and I wasn’t able to keep it in the house for very long. When the two large containers I bought disappeared in two days (without ANY being consumed by moi) I decided to send up the white flag and (try to) forget it.

Instead, my attention turned to my feet. After a long, cold winter they have finally come out of hibernation, and although I’ve taken a pumice stone to them several times since they came out of their boots, they still need a nice pedicure with a pretty polish, including a delicate flower on each big toe.

What are you doing on this lovely June day? I’d love to hear about it! Please tell me in the comments! Have a lovely day!
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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Why Preparing (My Products) for a Teaching Conference Is Like Taking a College Class (Part Two)


Once I saw the quality of work submitted by the other TpT sellers signed up for each teaching conference, I realized I was in trouble! Professional quality work was expected, and I did not have a clue where to begin!



Thankfully, Jennifer had a list in the files section of the group Facebook page, which explains what needs to be done to get ready for each conference. (It kinda reminded me of a course syllabus.) Then I noticed that it was a full page! Yikes! I knew I had to get to work!


I had already completed the Google Doc and submitted my payment. Check. Check. Next was completing the “Marketing Materials” section. Since this seemed like a HUGE undertaking, I naturally put it off until later. Like any good student, I decided to check out the social scene instead of do my homework. In this case, I started browsing through the photos on the group Facebook page. Hmm, there were some really cute things there!

At this point I noticed the goodie bag items the other sellers were putting together. Each goodie bag included a freebie item to help teachers remember the seller’s store. Some had cute small jewelry items, classroom supply items with a store logo, or a teacher pen. All were adorable, and I felt a twinge of anxiety. What could I contribute that hadn’t already been submitted? I definitely didn’t want to copy any other seller! (Plagiarism will get you in deep trouble anywhere!)


Gulping down my nervousness, I replied to a post, expressing my admiration for the other sellers’ freebie items, and confusion as to what I could give to the collection. Luckily, this is a fantastic group of teacher-sellers, and I was quickly given an answer that fits my personality PERFECTLY. Can you guess what it is? Leave your best guess in the comments below.

To find out the answer, make sure to read my next blog post, where I will describe my freebie item. Pictures will be included!

Thanks and have a fabulous week!
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Sunday, May 25, 2014

Why Preparing (My Products) for a Teaching Conference Is Like Taking a College Class

I get bored easily. If I’m not learning something new, I will seek out the opportunity to stretch myself in another direction. Up until the last year, this entailed getting advanced degrees, or moving grade levels or districts. Last year it was becoming a seller on TpT, using Pinterest, starting a business Facebook page, and creating a blog (plus taking Charity Preston’s lessons on Teaching Blog Traffic School.)

A few months ago I saw a post by Jennifer Smith-Sloane (you may know her as 4mulaFun) in the forums on TpT. She was advertising open slots for the next few teaching conferences for which she and Michelle Martin-Luck would have booths. TpT sellers sign up for the slots, send Jennifer and Michelle their samples, and then these two ladies put up a fabulous display table, complete with product books, task card displays, freebie gift bags, and a raffle (where one teacher wins a free product from each participating seller.)



Since I had never done this before, I decided to sign up. You might say I dove into the deep end!

Michelle and Jennifer have a Facebook group dedicated to those of us sellers who signed up for the conferences. At first, I didn’t pay much attention. It was only as time progressed (and I started to see some of the posts made by the other sellers in the group) that I clicked on the “Receive Notifications” under the Facebook “Like” button for the group. That’s when I really sat up and began to take notice. :D



Read more about my experience with preparing my products for a teaching conference on my next blog post. Until then, thanks for reading and I hope to see you back here soon. Please leave a comment if you liked this post or have a question you would like answered.

Have a terrific day!
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Friday, May 9, 2014

Carol's May Currently!


Less than one month left of school! Testing is finished (except for make-ups), projects are almost complete, and it’s time to wrap up the school year! That can only mean…

It’s time for May Currently!

I love to read Farley’s blog at Oh Boy Fourth Grade! That lady has a terrific sense of humor, plus I enjoy reading about what other teachers are doing, both at home and at school right now. J



I love listening to the sounds of the birds outside my windows. Their call-and-response songs always make me smile. One inquisitive mockingbird seemed to watching me as much as I was watching it one day. Two curious creatures trying to learn about one another.

The weather has been gorgeous all week! In the mornings, when I walk our golden retriever, I can feel the warm rays of the sun soaking into my winter-chilled skin, slowly bringing me back to seasonal life. Ahhh!!!

The clear days seemed to have helped clear out some of the cobwebs from my mind, too! Lately I’ve been working on a new set of western-themed TpT products. (You can find them here: Western-Themed Items) Ironically, they’re designed for the beginning of the school year, LOL! It’s funny, but the closer I get to the end of one school year, the more I start thinking about the beginning of the next one! (I do have another one in mind for the end of the year, but more about that another time!)





However, all this hunching over the computer has left me in dire need of a back massage! If I could afford it, I’d definitely hire my own personal massage therapist to give me and my family members back massages every day!

Unfortunately, when I’m “in the zone,” creativity-wise, I tend to forget about other important things happening around me. That’s why my home has a smoky cast to it right now. Chocolate chip cookies aren’t meant to bake for 45 minutes. Ouch! What a waste of innocent chocolate! :( 

For my summer bucket list I want to relax somewhere next to a body of water. It could be a beach, a pool, or the closest water park. I just want to soak up the peace and tranquility of the sun, the water, and the gently lapping waves. Sounds blissful, doesn’t it?

Which reminds me of a freebie in my TpT store. If you’ve never picked it up, I hope you’ll click here: Summer "Time" Elapsed Time Sample Pack and download it for free now.



Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ll leave a comment and stop by again soon!


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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

TpT Loves Teachers Sale Plus a FREEBIE for My Followers!


Are you tired? I know I am! However, I have just the thing to perk you up! TpT is having a sale in appreciation of all the hard work teachers do! EVERYTHING on the TpT site is 10% off May 6 through 8 (extended 1 day due some technical glitches on the site, which made it difficult for buyers to complete their purchases on Wednesday night) as a way to say “Thank you!” to teachers around the world! Who doesn’t love a sale?


In addition, I have marked my ENTIRE store an additional 20% off! If you purchase any item in my store on May 6 through 8 (extended 1 day), and use the checkout code TPTXO, you will receive 28% off the original price.

I know it sounds weird that 10% + 20% equals 28%, but let me explain. Let’s say that you put something in your cart that was originally $10, but I’ve marked it down 20% to $8. Then at checkout you use the TPTXO code to save an additional 10%. That’s $8 - $0.80 = $7.20, which is 28% off the original store price of $10. You save $2.80 for every $10 worth of products in my store!

But don’t wait! The sale only lasts through midnight ET on May 8th. After that, all these fabulous deals go away until the next sale in August or September!

Plus, as a special freebie for my blog followers, purchase any item in my store during the sale and receive an item of equal or lesser price FREE!

Here’s how it works:
1.     Make your purchase from Carol's Garden on TpT on May 6 - 8.
2.     Post a comment here on my blog telling me your user name and what item you purchased, plus the title of the product (of equal or lesser price) that you would like from my store.
3.     Include your email so that I know where to send the FREE item! (If you do not feel comfortable posting your email address here, you may send it to me at my email address  here: My Email. Just make sure to still make a comment on my blog, and include the information listed above. J
4.     Once I have verified your purchase, I will send the free item to you! It’s my way of saying thank you for following me!

Hope to see you here again soon! Thanks for visiting!

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