I have always had a deep passion for creating curriculum resources, and have rarely ever used anything made by a publishing company in my own classroom. I remember as a student, although my teachers were good, I would feel less than enthused by the sight of another dull, poorly photocopied resource from an ancient textbook. So, right from my teacher training days I made a promise to myself that I would make my teaching modern and fun, and I took pleasure in making my own resources. In 10 years, I've never looked back. 

Once I had been promoted a few times at work and felt secure with my pedagogical content knowledge and my role as a teacher, I decided to further develop my teaching outside of the classroom - around the whole world to be precise!
​These past few years I have been selling my teaching resources online. 

I quickly learnt that sharing resources online for free and selling resources online are very different playing fields! You can't simply get away with putting a price tag on a 'bog standard' teaching resource you whipped up in PowerPoint during a non-contact period. When it comes to selling, it is like any other product - you need to give it a catchy cover, create a preview, make it look appealing with fun clip art or photos and explain your resource clearly with a description. 

"That sounds like a lot of extra work I don't need...". That maybe true for some and perhaps being a teacher / entrepreneur isn't for you which is absolutely fine, but for me - oh, this is why it is so great! I cannot tell you how much better my teaching has become in these past few years because I sell my resources. It has made me up my game. It has made me push harder to provide my students with what I always wanted to give them: modern, fun, engaging and relevant teaching resources for the world they are growing up in! I'm talking the use of hashtags, emojis, social media, blogging, memes, teen lingo, texting acronyms - you name it, I do it! I know students love it: I can tell from their reactions, feedback and the fact they tell me they like how I "get them". That always gets me emotional!

It's quite amazing seeing your own personal growth when you sell online too. I remember feeling so proud of things I first created. Years later, I find those old resources and compare them to what I am creating now and I can't believe the positive difference! I am noticing that my students are picking up on this as well as I actually spot some of them taking the time to really look at a worksheet for a minute or so, taking in the design and the graphics. What an awesome feeling knowing a simple worksheet you created has grabbed the attention of your student! I honestly don't believe I would have reached this professional level had I not chosen to sell my resources online - it provides such a unique challenge!

The extra effort is worth it but I won't sugar coat anything - selling resources online is like another full time job when you count the hours put into it. But don't we give those hours to our schools for free anyway? Why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone here, and look after yourself in the process? Seeing as you will be spending your free time making resources for your students anyway, why not crank it up a notch and make them even better than you thought possible so they can compete in a retail market too! Not to mention, knowing your resources will be used in classrooms around the world - another mind boggling concept!

Disclaimer: be sure to check the conditions set by your district / borough regarding monetising from what you use in your own classroom! 

Bottom line: my students are getting the very best from me because I sell my teaching resources online. Sure, I work really hard - but don't we all?! I just choose to double up these extra hours to be a "teacherpreneur" as well, and the retail market provides an excellent opportunity for challenge and collaboration with fellow teacher colleagues around the world.

If you are interested in selling your resources online too, check out my referral link and give it a go - you might be pleasantly surprised! If you have any questions, drop a comment below and I'd be happy to answer them.

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It can seem overwhelming at first and there is a steep learning curve (such as learning about copyright etc), but I am here to help and have overcome many obstacles along the way. If you choose to use my referral link, you can contact me at TeachersResourceForce@yahoo.com and I will offer my advice and coaching to you free of charge to help get you on your feet! 

It is almost time for Christmas break and to all my fellow colleagues out there, I feel you! It's extra hard work this time of year: bugs are going round with a vengeance, students are all excitable for Christmas and us teachers are utterly exhausted!
​Sometimes it's just hard to keep motivated, so I have come up with a little idea that I will be doing in 2016 to try and keep my spirits high!

The "Joy Jar" concept is very simple: every time you have one of those 'special' moments as a teacher (you know, the ones that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside: a student appreciating you, a colleague complimenting your lesson or wall display, a parent saying they've heard wonderful things about you from their child or hearing students say you're their favourite teacher etc), jot it down on any piece of paper you find and pop it in the jar. Then, whenever you get a low moment or are struggling to stay motivated, stick your hand in the Joy Jar and pull out a positive experience you've had as a teacher! This will help you remember why you teach and give you the strength to keep going during the more difficult times.

I am really looking forward to doing this next year - I only wish I had thought of this when I first started teaching! I can only imagine how many amazing moments I had in the past that I have long forgotten about over the last 10 years! It's never too late to start though - so if you choose to join me with your own Joy Jar, let me know how you get on!

Here's to getting through the last stretch before Christmas break :)