Dare to Dream!

Today I'm linking up with Third in Hollywood, Sparkling in Second, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, and Teach Create Motivate for the #TpTSellerChallenge. This week, they've asked us to Dare to Dream. More specifically, they want to know what we want out of Teachers Pay Teachers, and if there are any goals that our TpT business can help us to obtain. 

I actually have several goals that pertain to my business, my blog, my home, and my homeschooling journey as a whole. I hope that even if you aren't a TpT seller, you will stick around and check them out!

So, here we go...

Engage. Educate. Inspire. This has always been my dream for my blog and store. I want to encourage homeschooling families along their journey, by helping them to engage their children in a lifestyle of learning. I believe that a lifestyle of continual learning is the best way to educate our children (and ourselves). From there, I hope they will be inspired to be leaders and world changers.
Continue my own education. After preaching my beliefs about a lifestyle of continual learning, I would be remiss if I didn't share my dream of continuing my own (formal) education. While I do make an effort to learn something new everyday, I'd really like to earn my Master's degree in Instructional Design or Developmental Psychology. Both of these fields are topics that I am passionate about, and I feel that studying one or the other would help me in my pursuit of God's plan for my life.
Supplement our family income. When I started on my Teachers Pay Teachers journey... or even just last January... I didn't think that my earnings would add up to much. I was happy just making enough to buy an extra latte each week! As I have begun to take my store a little more seriously, I've seen tremendous growth. Don't get me wrong - I'm still making pocket change compared to a full-time job - but I truly believe that with a little elbow grease, I could have an impact on my family's income, which would be a true blessing as we start to dream big dreams for our future.
Finish MY homeschool room! This is my last goal... and it's a short-term goal! Even though we don't have children yet, we already know that we are called to homeschool them. We have a "bonus" room in our house that has basically been a storage room for the last two years. Our goal for the next few months is to get it cleaned up and fixed up into an office/library/tutoring/homeschool classroom. It needs a bunch of work (including painting some ugly wood-paneled walls white) but I know we can do it! I've even started a Pinterest board for inspiration!
There you have it! Those are my dreams for my blog, business, and (ultimately) my home over the next few weeks, months, and years. What are your goals? I'd love to hear them! Share them in the comments, or write your own post! 
(P.S. If you want to know more about Teachers Pay Teachers, I'd be happy to answer your questions! Send me an email at rebeccam (at) edventuresathome (dot) com and I'll tell you more of my story.)

Spreading the Homeschool Love Blog Hop

Welcome, Homeschoolers!
I am SO excited that you are joining us today for our "Spreading the Homeschool Love" blog hop. We (the Homeschoolers of TpT) created this hop with two ideas in mind. FIRST, we wanted to introduce ourselves to all of you. SECOND, we wanted to share some tips and resources to make your lives as homeschool mommas (and daddies) a little bit easier! 
... and we want to introduce you to the joy that is Teachers Pay Teachers! ;)
I'll start by introducing myself for those of you who are just joining us! My name is Rebecca and I am NOT a homeschool mom. [Cue screeching brakes!] I am, however, a homeschool graduate, homeschool advocate, homeschool co-op teacher, and future homeschool mom! If you're interested in finding out more about me, you can read this "Meet the Teacher Blogger" post that I wrote a few weeks ago. It contains more information about me than you probably want to know! (Downton Abbey fandom? Auditions for American Idol? Blue ribbons in the science fair? It's all there!) Just click the picture below to read it!

I started my Teachers Pay Teachers shop, Edventures at Home, a few years ago while I was still teaching at a local "hybrid" school for homeschooling families. At first I set it up with the intention of making a little money to offset the cost of all of the educational resources that I was buying. Little did I know that the extra "book money" was just the icing on the cake. I have made so many AWESOME connections through Teachers Pay Teachers with like-minded educators around the world! :)
I could spend all day telling you about the wonders of "TpT," but I'm going to guess that most of you are here for the fun and helpful resources that you were promised. So, let's move on, shall we? :)
One of the best things about TpT is how it enables me to whip up quick lessons when I need a time filler, or an impromptu lesson for one of the rabbit trails we as homeschoolers so often find ourselves investigating! Let me show you what I mean:
My most popular free resource in my store is this little packet on writing paragraphs. I don't know if this happens to you, but when I sit down with the children I work with, their young brains suddenly become BLANK! They can tell me stories all day, but there is something about that blank sheet of notebook paper that is super intimidating! :)
So, I created this to help:

I know I'm biased, but I think this resource is great all on its own. It walks students through the process of asking their brains questions to "dig up" information that they can use to respond to any topic. All you have to do is provide them with a prompt! However, when I saw this awesome (and did I mention, free!) resource from my friend Sallie Borrink, I knew that it would pair up PERFECTLY with mine!

Sallie created this sampler of her amazingly cool fun fact cards. As she mentions in her description of the product, they are perfect for bulletin boards, unit studies, games, or morning meetings. I think they would be also be wonderful starting points for journaling or writing prompts. You could share the facts with all of your children in the morning, have your younger children draw a picture or write a sentence relating to the fact, and have your older children write a paragraph relating to the fact. Voila! No fuss journaling - and a great way to get the "brain juices" flowing!
Before I send you onto the next blog, don't forget to enter our rafflecopter drawing for this AWESOME prize bundle! It contains tons of awesome resources for Pre-K through grade 3 and is valued at over $50! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now click around and visit some of the other Homeschoolers of TpT for more great ideas and resources!

An InLinkz Link-up

Meet the Teacher Blogger!

Hi Friends! 
Back-to-School season is here at last - 'tis the season for new clothes, fresh bulletin boards, new school supplies, and "meet the teacher" days! I loved meet the teacher days as a student, and I loved them even more during the short time I was a classroom teacher. Now that I'm tutoring and working with homeschooling families, "meet the teacher" days are pretty much a thing of the past! So, when I saw that Stephanie of Falling Into First was hosting a Meet the Teacher Blogger link-up, I had to join in! :)

I have been married to my husband, Dustin, for just over three years. We don't have any kids of our own, but we do have a super cute dog named Toby.

You might be wondering WHY I write a homeschooling blog if I don't actually have any children to homeschool, and that's a good question! I am a proud (and I do mean proud) homeschool graduate. While I have absolutely nothing against public schools (I attended public school through 7th grade) or private schools (I taught at a private school for a while) my passion is working with homeschoolers. I've taught preschool, kindergarten, second, and third grade as what can best be described as a "homeschool nanny." I've been helping people homeschool their children while I wait for my own children to homeschool, and I love it! :)

Q: THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

Drinking out of mason jars. Murder mystery TV shows. Downton Abbey. Teachers Pay Teachers. Instagram. My iPhone. iPhoneography. Target. 

Q: IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

True story: I've always secretly wanted to be a doctor, and I am absolutely enamored with people's stories of medical school. But... I'm a hypochondriac... and a germophobe... so, I guess you can see the problem there! :)

Q: THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Maximizer. Learner. Collector.

Q: FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________, SAID NO TEACHER EVER!"

"I hate the smell of new school supplies, said no teacher ever!" #schoolsupplyaddict

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, aka, Prince William and Kate Middleton. A girl can dream, right?

Q: IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

"Caffeine, Clutter, and Craziness"

Q: YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

Do I have to? Does organization count as a superpower?!  I sure hope so, because that is one that I could really use!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

"Someday is not a day of the week!"

Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Oh my goodness, I don't even know! However, I do know that I would never end up on American Idol. Not because I'm tone deaf, but because I'm too "musical theatre." You can ask the judge who told me so! :)

Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

I am so NOT a morning person! I guess that makes me a night owl, however (most nights) I struggle to stay awake past 10:30 pm!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

My favorite resource definitely has to be my set of Lapbook Planning Pages, or my set of Unit Study Planning Pages! I've used all of my products at least once, but I use these ALL THE TIME. They are SO helpful and I LOVE them! :)

Q: SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU! 

Nobody knows this because I've never actually said it aloud, but... When I was in first grade, I would pretend that I was in teacher school. I pretended like every worksheet or activity our teacher assigned was to teach us to teach other people. I think that continued until I won the science fair in fourth grade and decided that I would become a scientist. Look where I ended up anyway! :)

Now it's your turn! If you're a #teacherblogger, click the button above to head on over to Falling into First and join the linky party! Please leave a comment on my page, too, so that I can find your blog and "meet" you! :)

Florida Teacher Blog Hop!

Hey, Y'all! Welcome to the Sunshine State! 

Whether you are a fellow Florida resident or a visitor from another state, we Florida teachers hope you have an awesome time as you take a virtual tour of our state. We've got some fun educational freebies for you to pick up along the way, and a chance to win your very own "Bundle of Sunshine!"

I've lived in sunny Central Florida my entire life. Despite the occasional hurricane - and the never-ending heat and humidity - it's a pretty great place to live. Who wouldn't want to live in "paradise" year round?

Speaking of paradise, my hometown is a tourist's paradise. We live about 20 minutes from the beach, and about 45 minutes from Walt Disney World! I'm not going to lie, I'm not much of a beach fan, but I am VERY MUCH a fan of Disney! When I was younger, I was always disappointed by the fact that we never got the "big" Disney vacation that other kids got, but as an adult, I can definitely see the merits of being able to hop over to Epcot or the Magic Kingdom for few hours on the weekend. :)

Do you know another perk of living on the east coast of Central Florida? The Kennedy Space Center is practically in our backyard. We can see rocket launches (and previously space shuttle launches) from our driveway! It's also a great location for field trips!

Now, how about a freebie? I wish that I could send you all some of our delicious Florida oranges, but unfortunately that's just not possible! Instead, click the image below to download a {FREE} collection of orange-y clip art from my Citrus Sampler Clip Art Pack - but don't stop there - there are more goodies below! :)

I also have some sweet deals for you on paid products, too! Both the full Citrus Sampler Clip Art Pack and my Print 'n' Go Travel Journal are on sale this weekend for 25% off! The Print 'n' Go Travel Journal is GREAT for using with your kids on ANY family vacation. If you're a classroom teacher, you can also send it with your students as "make-up work" when they travel. :)

One more thing... Don't forget to check in for your giveaway! Here are the details from Meredith at Creativity to the Core:

"The Florida teachers below have two fantastic giveaways for you! You can enter once from each one of our pages. All you have to do is follow my blog! Hop around to all the blogs listed below, and be sure to follow them to get more entries. The more entries you have, the more likely you are to win! Each pack also includes a Starbucks gift card (because, well, a teacher's gotta have a coffee!)"

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you've finished reading my post, learn more about the fantastic state of Florida by checking out the blogs of these other Floridian teachers!

An InLinkz Link-up

Currently! {June Edition}

For about as long as I can remember, I've been wanting to link up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade! for her monthly "Currently" linky party. This month I finally remembered! So, here's my contribution:

Listening: I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty irresponsible when it comes to doing laundry. I always put it off until I don't have a choice. I could tell you that it's because I'm so dedicated to the task of teaching, tutoring, and creating resources for homeschool families (I am!) but the truth is, I mostly just put it off because I hate doing laundry! :)
Loving: Today is the first day of hurricane season here in the Sunshine State, and I'm fairly certain that mother nature knows it. It's pretty stormy looking out there, but I'm totally okay with it, because I don't have anywhere to go this evening.
Thinking: I have about 50 million ideas for new resources, blog posts with tips, and e-mails to send... but right now this is more fun. I love getting to be "real" with you and share a little bit of what's on my heart and mind. :)
Wanting: I got my Mom hooked on Downton Abbey, and we've just finished season one (her first time watching it, my second). I'm looking forward to starting season two, but I'm disappointed that there is no new Mr. Selfridge tonight!
Needing: My dryer just beeped to tell me that it's done. Have I mentioned how much I hate doing laundry, lol?
Summer Bucket List: I have lots of grand plans for teaching and learning (maybe I'll share those in a post later this week?) but for now I'm looking forward to...

... NOT traveling! ... catching up on all sorts of Masterpiece shows that I've missed over the years. ... honing my writing skills. ... blogging more often. ... experimenting with more adventurous cooking.

So, there you have it. Leave a comment and let me know what's on your summer bucket list, or hop on over to Farley's blog and link up with her party so that I can visit your blog!