Make Your Masterpiece!

Once again, a little late to the #tptsellerchallenge party, but I am so excited to share my latest product with you! It is the perfect companion to my Primary Performance Tasks {Operations & Algebraic Thinking} pack that I posted this past winter.

Introducing:

I thought that these tasks were the perfect way to promote higher-order thinking in my first grade classroom. Additionally, they are great for preparing students for those rigorous performance-based tasks that we are seeing on district/state assessments. I plan on using these both in small groups and as independent work during my math workshop block. The product comes with 15 different tasks for a low prince of $2.50 over at my TPT store :)

This then led to the bundle! In case you are interested in having tasks for both OA and NBT standards, this is the perfect resource for you.

I'd love it if you'd check out my performance tasks and let me know what you think! They were designed with first graders in mind but would also work well for beginning of the year second graders. Oh, and don't forget to click here to complete this week's teacher challenge!

Dare to Dream

If you're going to dream, why not dream big?

This is the question that week two of the #tptsellerchallenge poses to us all.  What are some things we hope to accomplish through our businesses as TPT sellers?

When I initially started making things for Teachers Pay Teachers, I didn't really expect many people to buy them. My interest stemmed from the fact that I wanted to buy everything I saw on TPT but of course could not afford to do that.  So I decided to try making my own resources for my classroom.  It's been an ever-changing journey but I am so glad I started!  TPT has brought so many opportunities to create, inspire, and be inspired by others.

Of course, TPT has also blessed me with the added bonus of some extra income. Here are some things I hope to accomplish through selling:

GRAD SCHOOL: I am less than a year away from my Masters degree and am hoping to graduate without any debt! I was very, very fortunate to have parents who paid for my undergrad but for grad school I was on my own. Recently I have been using some of the money earned through Teachers Pay Teachers to pay my tuition.

HOUSE-BUYING: Extra money means extra savings. Next summer, I am looking at buying a house with my man and could definitely use the extra to go towards a solid down payment. This is a huge "grown-up step" for me and I am

EXTRA CASH: Who doesn't love having a bit of extra spending money? While I try my best to be as responsible as possible with my funds, it is nice knowing that I have a bit of extra income so that I can go out to dinner if I want or buy those shoes that were calling my name.

What are your big hopes and dreams? It's not too late to join in on the #tptsellerchallenge fun. Click here to start dreaming!

Makeover Madness!

Although I am a bit late in the game, I am beyond excited to join in on the #tptsellerchallenge fun.  The first week's theme was something I definitely needed, as there have been a few products in my TPT store that made me cringe every time someone bought them. I think a couple of times I might have actually exclaimed aloud Why on Earth would you buy that?! 

Some of the products I ended up deleting but some I have taken the time to update throughout the past six months or so. For this challenge, I decided to focus on what was formerly called "Fantastic Fun with Nouns and Verbs".  It's almost too embarrassing to post pictures, but I guess that's half the fun :)

Okay. I don't think some of the activities in my old product were too terrible. In fact, I have used some of them with a lot of success in my past two years teaching. However, it was just an eyesore. Just look at it. It screams "outdated" and definitely did not match the other products found in my TPT store. Some of the fonts I used were not first-grade-friendly, the graphics were very, very basic (think shapes created on Microsoft word), and it just did not look like a product I would like to buy. Yikes.

So, out with the old and in with...

This past week I have been scrambling to finish this product and I am so excited that it is finally done! One of the most important things about the complete overhaul I did was that this looks like a product I would buy, which is definitely a step in the right direction when you are wanting to pique other teachers' interest!

In addition to a complete face lift (fonts, graphics, formatting, etc.), this product also includes adjectives and has a multitude of engaging resources and printables for use in the primary classroom. The product nearly tripled in size and has a larger variety of activities to engage little learners.  You can check it out in my TPT store.

Thank goodness for the #tptsellerchallenge Makeover Madness!  I am glad it gave me the kick in the behind that I needed to overhaul this product. I am so excited to print it out and use it in the fall with my first graders.