Teachers Pay Teachers

So this post is going to have some shameless plugs for my TPT-store, but please bear with me for some thoughts on earning money from resources.

Whilst I'm never going to be earning on a scale where I can give up my day job and make resources full-time, the notifications from PayPal of my monthly payments are always a nice little bonus. Some people produce on a grand scale and are well-known for the quality and quantity of their resources, this is not something I aspire to, as my main motivation is to share resources I've found useful in my own classroom settings. Of course, why not share them for free in that case I hear you ask? I do share many of my creations for free, but I sell the rest mostly to fund my own addiction to buying resources from others.

One thing to note is that if you are selling through a site such as TPT then they will take a percentage of your earnings, although you can reduce the percentage if you pay for their premium service. I've loved seeing other people purchase my products (free or paid) and love the idea that people around the world are finding them useful. So why not give it a go yourself?

Some of my favourite products in my store are:

Anyway, to make up for a post essentially about promoting my own page on Teachers Pay Teachers, I am throwing a sale on there, so head on over and browse, you might find a bargain!

Flash freebie - a new product at last!

I don't normally use my blog to write posts that are purely about products, but since its been so long since I actually managed to create a new product I thought I would make an exception today. A request from a reader has led to me to adapt one of my previous products and create...

This is to help with the common letter reversals 'g' and 'q' by providing card with the letters in different fonts and colours, which the children then need to sort into the correct groups. Mats have picture clues on to help identify the sound.

And the best part of this post? I'm going to make this product absolutely free for the next week! Head over to my TpT store and grab this product (click on the image above or here).

After the next week, it will become a paid product. If you like this or any other of my products I would really appreciate feedback and constructive criticism for any future products I might produce!

Happy weekend all :)

Just a quickie!

Am in full report-writing swing and haven't been able to sit down for a proper blog post this week yet (have a great one half-written!!) but I just wanted to pop by and join in for The Teaching Tribune's Summer Bloggin' link up because Tuesday's are a deal day and I wanted to let you all know which two products of mine I've put on sale for this week.

First up is a capital and lowercase letter matching game. Popular with my class, particularly useful for practising with those struggling with remembering what different capitals look like.

And also on sale is a recent addition to my TpT store, another set of tricky words, but with a cute chameleon theme. This is a combined set of all the tricky words covered in the UK Letters and Sounds programme, plus some blank cards for your words!

Click on the images to grab these for 50% off! 

On a side note, not sure I'll be able to join in next week's Two for Tuesday sale as all the rest of my products are either free or too cheap to be able to discount by 50% according to TpT! Hmm... where can I find some time to make some more products?!

Saturday Sell It

I'm joining in with a brand new linky party today! It's hosted by Kristin from Teaching in a Nutshell. She is starting a link up called 'Saturday Sell It' and even though it is Sunday, I thought I would join in!

The product I'm going to highlight is my brand new addition to my TpT store - Chameleon Tricky Words.

This is a full set of tricky words from the UK Letters and Sounds programme. They are colour coded by Phase and all the words from Phases 2, 3, 4 and 5 are included. There are also two choices of colour for blank flashcards, so that you can write your own words. 

Leave a comment and tomorrow I'll choose one random winner to receive a copy for free! 

Edit: Winner chosen. Congratulations commenter number 2 - Susan K! 

Two for Tuesday (Summer Bloggin' with TTT)

As my school work load increases exponentially, I am struggling to find the time to create products or even to blog at all.  However, when I saw this link up with The Teaching Tribune I couldn't resist. So as today is Tuesday, I am following the Summer Bloggin' rules and putting up two of my resources in my TpT store on sale for 50%!

The first product I have chosen is my newest addition to my store - Counting Makes Us As Happy As Pigs In Mud! This is a selection of pig themed Maths activities using the cutest clipart from Creative Clips. Click on the image below to get it on sale for this week only.

Product number two is one of my older products - Lollypop Word Sort. This is a selection of words you can make into lollypops to use to sort into real and made up words. Great for practising those phonic skills! Click on the image below to get it on sale for this week only.

Both of these products will be 50% off for a whole week. And head over to The Teaching Tribune to find other products also on sale.

I reached 40 Bloglovin' followers this week which made me really happy, although I'm still a little way off I {heart} Recess' total of over 1000. However, to help her celebrate I have donated (along with many other bloggers) a product to her massive giveaway. Pop over to her blog to enter!

3 link ups in 1!

As part of Teachers Appreciation Week, TpT are having a 2 day sale. Please head over now to my TpT store for some discount shopping!

I know that many top sellers are joining in this sale as well, so this is your chance to grab some bargains!! Head over to Primary Possibilities for a link up of stores who will be on sale.

Also if you leave feedback for the products you buy you can earn TpT credits for use with your next purchase. 

I've put my entire store on 20% including all of my best selling items. I'm linking up with Flying into First Grade to share some of the products I'll have on sale.

Don't forget to  enter the TpT code TPTXO when you get to the check out as you get an additional discount giving you up to 28% off! Now I'm off to fill up my own shopping basket! Speaking of which, I'm going to make this a record 3 link up post, by linking with Southern Fried Teaching for 

I'm definitely stocking up on some clip art...

And maybe this calendar ready for next year...

And I'm sure I'll be tempted with much much more!

Fishes!

Here is a fish-themed product I've recently put in my TpT store.

I created this one to help my class with their capital and lowercase letter work. They have really struggled this year with remembering their capital letters so I'm frequently using games such as this matching one to reinforce their knowledge. I have included a recording sheet as well.

Bonding those numbers (Freebie Friday included!)

Number bonds are something that seems to come up each year as needing practise to get them really secure. I thought I would gather together some of the things I use to try and help the kiddies learn them. I would love to hear any other suggestions you all have for what you do!

Froggie number bonds flip flap

This was not an original idea, but given to me on my first ever teaching placement! You have 10 frog cards positioned amongst other blank cards in-between sticky-backed plastic. If you follow the arrangement correctly, the flip flap can then be folded in such a way that all combinations of number bonds to 10 can be made. I use it with a simple "You can see 3 frogs, so how many can I see?", after they answer, turning it around so they can check. I can't remember now where my frog graphic came from, but grab a (slightly different) freebie of the cards here. 

Loop cards

Still a freebie from my TpT store, I'm working on similar loop cards with other themes.

Numbers to 20 Bingo
I usually ask the children to pick 4 numbers on a quarter whiteboard, or you can download game boards from the website.

Alien pairs to 10

Children have to match the number bonds to 10 pairs. 

Ladybirds

I don't seem to have any photos of them, but I have A4 blank ladybirds which I give to the children with different amounts of counters (depending if doing 5, 10 or 20 number bonds), which they use to derive all the different number bonds, recording either in their books or on whiteboards.

Letter reversals b and d

Quick blog post about a product I created for a couple of my littlies who are still struggling with recognising the letters b and d. This is a simple sorting activity, although can be extended in several ways. Click on the images below to visit my store.

A quick and simple activity that could be used in a centre or as intervention work to target specific children. Cut (and laminate) the letter cards, including some that are blank for you to write your own in your handwriting, and ask children to sort onto the appropriate mat. There are mats with and without the guidance letter (clipart gives clues to the correct letter for each mat). You can extend to asking the children to write their own b's and d's either on the mat or on the blank cards. You could also ask them to label the pictures.

I am considering making these for other common letter confusions such as p and q and i and j, but will wait to see how popular this product is! Any other suggestions of letters that frequently get confused?

Acing that phonics check

If you teach in a UK school in Year 1, you will be familiar with the oh-so-popular Phonics Check that has to be done in June. Not one of my favourite things as a teacher, but since it has to be done, obviously I want my kiddies to do the best that they can in it.

I'm a great believer in drip feeding or spiralling the strategies they need to be able to pass. Below are just a few of the activities that I use over the year.

iPad app 'Check Your Phonics' by Pearson Education

This app (unfortunately paid) generates both real and fake words. 

Lollypop word sort 

I made this product so the children could sort the real and not real words.

'Reading Robot' on Phonics Play
There are some other good themed games on here which are grapheme-specific, which generate selections of real and fake words such as 'Buried Treasure', 'Planet Pluto' and 'Dragon's Den'.

Flashcards from SmartKids

I have a box of these for each Phase so I can use throughout the year. 

Buried Treasure also from Smart Kids

Again, I also have this game for multiple Phases.

Monster Names

Since the 'real thing' will involve fake words with monster/alien pictures beside them, I get them used to reading 'names' of different monster characters. (You can find this product in my TpT store).

Three-in-a-row

For this game, I split my class into teams (usually 2/3) and they take it in turns to roll my large whiteboard dice to find a word for their team to read. Then they circle it on the board. The first team to get three words circled wins. (My current class are ace at the reading, but a lot to work on with strategy to win!)

And of course, lots and lots of shared, guided and individual reading!