Things you CAN'T and CAN control on Teachers Pay Teachers

Things you CAN’T control on Teacher’s Pay Teachers:

How much another individual earns in a month.

The forums are always buzzing about “this was my best/worst” month ever! It can be disheartening to see that people are having a great month, when you look at your graph and are disappointed.  Keep in mind; it’s all subjective!  No two stores are exactly alike, so sales won’t be alike either!  You also don’t know what someone’s definition of a good month is!

How much time other individuals have to work on TpT!

Maybe you do TpT full time, maybe you teach full time, maybe you’re in school, maybe you have kids, maybe you don’t, maybe you put all your “free” time into your store, maybe you work on it when you feel like it.  These are all variables that YOU can’t control about others. 

The NEWSLETTER

It can be so frustrating to submit week…after week….after week.   I submitted almost weekly for 10 months straight before I got a spot in May! Then I waited about 2 months and have been resubmitting each week.  YOU can’t control what TpT picks! All you can do it keep trying!  As Dory says “just keep swimming, just keep swimming”! 

Things you CAN control!

The quality of your products!

Spend the time making something your best!  The extra day, week, or month it will take you to “perfect” it will pay off in more positive feedback and pay off in the long run.

Update as needed!

One thing I’ve learned when I reached my 1^st anniversary on TpT is that my first products did have the same quality standard that my new ones had.  I had learned SOOOO much on the forums and my craft evolved into a high quality product.  I spent many house revamping some old products.  Some of my “oldies but goodies” are still in their original form….but many are improved. Here is a before and after product that I updated!  I definitely saw more sales with the updated cover!

Old Cover

New Cover

How much time you dedicate to marketing.

Some weeks I have hours to dedicate to marketing.  Some days I’m just too tired to think about it.   What you put into marketing is up to you!

Having interested followers!

The TpT forums are full of “follower snowballs”.  My advice- STAY AWAY!  All these groups do is inflate your follower number.   While it is a confidence booster to see your numbers go up; why have followers who don’t really care about your products?  I opened my store in July 2013 and have 383 followers! I am so thankful for these folks!  I am humbled every day that there are 383 people who feel MY store is worth following!   Along those same lines; don’t put a Q & A asking someone to check out your store and follow you back.  It’s tacky!

Tracking your data!

I track my store monthly.  I write down how much I’ve earned, how many followers I have, and how much feedback.  You can control what type of data you track....and it can give you a realistic view of your store.  My graph for sales is so much fun to watch! I have added a picture of my earnings so far (of course I took off the actual numbers……what to know why? see post 1 under “things you can’t control”).  Everyone always says TpT is a roller-coaster ride and you can tell from my graph that it will have it's up and it's downs but overall I'm headed in the right direction!

Feel Proud!

Every single seller should be feel proud of their accomplishments!  Whether you have 1 product of 1,000 products – GOOD  FOR YOU!  Teachers and students are benefiting all over the WORLD from your expertise!

School is in FULL swing! Fall Link Up

Happy Back to School! I hope everyone has had a smooth start to their school year!

I have begun a new journey at a new school and a new grade; 2nd grade! So far I love it.  It's always strange being the "new" teacher at a school- even when you almost have 10 years of experience.  I can't complain though, everyone has been super nice and helpful and I have a great class.  One of the coolest things I've learned about at my new school is a cool new app called Remind 101.
 

It creates a text-like feature so you can send updates and reminders to the parents of your students without giving out your person cell phone information.  Its a free app and installation and setting up an account was so easy!

FALL IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER

Looking for some great Fall resources?  Check our this link up!   Feel free to link up 2 (paid or free) items and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE away!

My newest Fall resource is full of Math Fun!  Play dough mats, handwriting practice, counting, adding, subtracting, patterns, and more!

An InLinkz Link-up

1 year TpT-iversary! $25 TpT Giveaway!

1st Grade Salt Life is celebrating it's 1st year on Teachers Pay Teachers!  This has been an amazing journey and I couldn't have done it without my fans, follows, and friends! THANK YOU! To celebrate you have a chance in win a $25 TpT Gift Card! Enter..Share...and WIN!  This giveaway ends at midnight on Wednesday!  This winner will be notified via e-mail! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer Bucket List!

I'm linking up with Mrs. Jump's Class top 10 things I will do this summer! 

Every summer seems to go buy like a blurr!  We all have great intentions of doing so many wonderful things!  My list is pretty basic but I know that it will go by too fast; just like every other year!  Here we go:

#1- Spend time with my Husband!
My husband and I both work VERY different schedules.  We both plan on slowing down and spending some time together.  No big travel plans this summer, but tons of STAY-cations!

#2-Organize this house because it's MOVING TIME!
Moving might as well be a 4 letter word!  I dread the thought of packing and moving (about 2 hours away).  My goal is to spend the first half of summer really organizing our stuff to make this move as stress-free as possible!   Any suggestions?  Please leave me a comment with your best moving tips!

#3-Family time!
It's been over a year since my family has been together! We are planning a beach weekend in July and I'm really looking forward to it! No working allowed :)  (I'm even considering leaving my laptop at home so the temptation to work is not there)   In case you couldn't tell by my name, I LOVE the beach! 

#4-Update some of my TpT products!
There is always room for improvement!
I have lots of MATH ideas!  
All my math products are BUNDLED in the TpT store! Lock in the price now and receive updates with all new math products for FREE!

#5- Find a job!
I love my current school but with our upcoming move, I am in the market for a new job.  Most would say that this should be # 1 on my list; but I have faith that something will come about.  I do not plan on worrying all summer on finding a job. 

#6- Work on TpT products!
I have a notebook full of idea just waiting to be created! 

#7- RELAX and BE LAZY 
Who puts being lazy on a bucket list? ME!  Someone who doesn't have much time to be lazy.  I would love nothing more than to spend a worry free day hanging out on the couch! No work, no school, no housework.  After this crazy year of teacher; I think I've earned a few lazy days! 

Oh so true!

 #8- Read! 
I'm always reading blogs and educational textbooks...I want to get lost in a novel!  Any suggestions for some light reading this summer?

#9- Organize my classroom library
Having to move is going to force me to pack up my classroom (booooo).  What better time to go through and organize all my books.  I love children's books and have sooooo many books.  I would like to organize them by category!

#10- Last but not LEAST------- HAVE FUN!
What good is summer, if you don't stop to enjoy it every once in a while! 

Easter Fun! Link-Up!

Every"bunny" around here is looking forward to spring break and Easter! It seems disticts, in the US, have their spring breaks at different times in the spring. While many had a break in March, we don't have a break until next week. It has been a LONG winter and we are all ready for a break and some sunshine! What fun activities do you do with your kids? In 1st grade we traditionally dye Easter Eggs and do an Egg hunt! Many of my student come from low income families and do not get to experiance these things at home. I also love having fun morning work out for them! This week they have loved doing Easter Add and Color! Click Here for a FREE sample!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easter-Add-and-Color-1147068

 

 

 

 

March and St. Patrick's Day fun!

March is one of my favorite months!  It's the start of Spring and we finally see Winter disappear (hopefully)!  St. Patrick's Day also adds in a fun holiday celebration.  We don't have a major celebration but it's fun to add a St. Patrick's Day resource to our day!

This fun resource is available in my TpT shop! Want a sample to try?  A sample of 3 pages is available only on my blog! A Thank You to those of you who have taken the time to stop by.  St. Patrick's Day Sample Set!


Do you have a fun March related activity to share?  Link up your product here!

An InLinkz Link-up

What behavior managment system do you use?

This time of year I'm always looking at my classroom management and anticipating the "spring fever" that will hit my first graders pretty soon. I have been using class dojo since the 1st day of school, but have recently slacked off on it (snow days, testing, illness) and have decided to really focus on using it again!

What I love most about Class Dojo is that it is FREE! 

The website has a great tutorial and makes classroom management fun! There is also an APP for it for Apple and Android that is also free. If you're unfamiliar with it, it gives each student an avatar and you can award points (and take them away) for their behavior. Parent reports are available and it's a great way to track you student’s behavior.   I use the app, on my phone, when we are places outside of the classroom.  I then let my students “trade” in their points for classroom rewards (things like; extra computer time, no homework pass, sit next to a friend….etc).  I try to keep the rewards things that are FREE!   My students love it and I have nothing but positive feedback from parents.  If you haven’t looked at class dojo, I recommend checking it out!   Also, search for it on Pinterest and you will find a ton of resources!   

 

Until next time!

Welcome!

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Welcome to my blog! I am a teacher and have a shop on Teachers Pay Teachers and am really excited to share my products and ideas with you! I am a first grade teacher in Virginia! I have been teaching for several years and have been really fortunate to work at a wonderful school with some really awesome teachers! I started creating products this summer and have loved everything I've learned from fellow sellers on TpT!  I hope you will have a chance to check out my store and maybe find something that your students/class would find useful!!!  

Unit next time!