3 jobs, 2 darling children (One that is graduating from high school a year early today!), 1 incredibly handsome and well behaved golden retriever, 1 sassy, big boned kitty, and 3 ornery, yet eggcellently generous chickens = complete and total brain overload.

I am one of those people that has a planner in my purse, at work, and at home. I know, I know, I should really just use my smart phone. However, I am also one of those people that as much as I LOVE technology I need a hard copy AND I need to write things down in order to remember them. 

My priority for organization at this moment has been organizing my online teaching life. I wake early every day at 5:00 a.m. and teach English to children in China via an awesome company named VIPKID. Click on the photo below for more information about VIPKID. They are the most darling kiddos! I teach the same students every week and I even teach some of their siblings and best friends. I usually teach about 3 classes every day before I head off to my 5th grade classroom. I give myself about 45 minutes afterward to frantically get myself and my kindergartener ready and presentable for school. Needless to say, chaos generally ensues.

I have used photo/craft storage boxes in my 5th grade classroom to organize task cards. With this magical experience in mind, I designed all of my resources to be task card size and 2-dimensional. I knew that I wanted all my tools for online teaching to be organized and stored easily. I also wanted prep and clean-up to be quick and simple. Creating my own resources and using these boxes turned out to be every bit, if not more, as magical as organizing task cards in my classroom. The boxes were a little plain, so I also created some super cute labels to help organize.  Adorable labels are a must in my virtual and tangible teaching worlds! ​These labels are free in my TPT store. Click on the picture above to take you there!

There are currently six levels of curriculum that VIPKID offers. The seventh level is in the works! Each level has 12 units and each unit has 12 lessons. Each large box holds one level. The smaller boxes inside hold the units for each level which are labeled accordingly. There are a total of 144 lessons for each level. Each small unit box holds vocabulary props. math props, sight words, alphabet cards and lesson planning cards for all the lessons in that unit.  Everything you need, minus Dino, for the entire unit is in one small box. 

The night before (or three minutes before my first class) I take a peek at what classes I have coming up and I simply pull the corresponding unit box and I am prepped! Done! It is seriously fabulous! As I finish each class, I simply place the materials back into the boxes and my space is cleaned up. I use Feedback Panda (another lifesaver) to complete my feedback for each class and I am ready to move on with my day. 

BONUS!!!!
Storing all of my teaching tools in these boxes made it possible for me to move my desk and classroom into different spaces. Previously, I was stuck in a corner in my spare room. It was fine, but I really wanted more flexibility to move my classroom and teach wherever I fancied. I am currently teaching in my living room from my super sleek new desk that I got at IKEA. I am able to store the boxes out of sight (under my desk in this case) and still use my desk for other responsible type activities. My new teaching space is bright, airy, open and makes my teacher soul happy. 

Hello! My name is Rachel and this is my very first blog post ever! Eeeeek! It's so exciting! Currently I teach 5th grade in a public school that focuses on the arts. I also teach English online for VIPKID. I love being a teacher!  I am pretty sure that I have the best job in the world. Not only do I get to integrate the arts into curriculum, but I get to teach in China almost every day!

Being a teacher has been definitely been a journey! Reflection and flexibility are key to survival. This teaching thing is no joke. I would have to say that love for my kiddos, collaboration with other brilliantly generous professionals and sheer madness have carried me through.  I began my teaching career wanting to be an ESL teacher. My passion was to encourage and teach diversity. Soon afterwards, I began working in an extended resource room with some seriously AMAZING women. My goal changed to making sure that education was accessible to all kiddos regardless of ability. THEN I started teaching 5th grade in an art school. It changed everything (again!). This was a deal breaker for me. Being a general classroom teacher is the hardest and most rewarding thing that I have every done, besides raising my fabulous children that is. I came to realize that my true passion (for now) is teaching diversity, ensuring that education is accessible and rigorous for all kiddos, and collaborating effectively with others. All of the above. I kinda want it all. There is always a little something to learn from everyone and I want to soak it all in. The next endeavor on my list is pursuing a Masters in Gifted and Talented Education.  At that point all my hopes and dreams for my journey as an educator will have come true. Right?

Of course the most fabulous part of my job is my students. Teaching 5th grade is pretty much where it's at for me! I love that I can have rich conversations and use sarcasm ALL DAY LONG. They get it. It's the best! I teach in an arts based school and we are encouraged to integrate art into all areas of our curriculum. I love the challenge of figuring out ways to integrate art (many times more than one type of art) into subjects such as Science and Math. It keeps my students engaged and learning. I have to admit that it is not always a smashing success. I cannot tell you how many times I have started integrating arts and had to change my plans mid-lesson. Fortunately, it usually works out! I am always pleasantly surprised and grateful for what children can add to a lesson, what I can learn from them, and of course with the amazing art they create! 

I also truly love online teaching. My students in China are AMAZING. Many of them take online classes with VIPKID several days a week in addition to their regular school day. Those kiddos have some grit. VIPKID is an online teaching company based out of China. I teach 3-4 classes in the morning before I go to my public school classroom. It can be really difficult finding a side hustle to make extra money as a teacher. Anyone that is a teacher understands that it (teaching) can be life consuming (in a fabulous way!) There is generally not a ton of extra time. VIPKID was perfect! I am able to teach in the morning before my darling children wake up and make the extra money that I need. 

​According to Forbes, it is currently ranked #1 for Work From Home Jobs!!! Check it out! 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2018/01/17/work-from-home-2018-the-top-100-companies-for-remote-jobs/#64edf37a76f0 ​
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​In addition to teaching, I recently started selling resources on Teachers Pay Teachers. I have always made things for my public and online classrooms and finally decided to take the plunge and start a store on TPT. It has been an awesome experience! I have learned far more than I expected AND worked much harder than I expected. It has been so worth it. Currently, most of my resources are VIPKID related, but I am slowly plugging in my 5th grade resources. I am looking forward to getting my integrated art lessons shared!