Homeschool Mom Hack: Teachers Pay Teachers

If you’ve been around the blog awhile, you probably know that I love the website, Teachers Pay Teachers!

I first heard of this teacher resource site about 12 years ago, when I was teaching kindergarten. I taught at a Spanish Immersion school, and several of my colleagues used the TPT site for great supplemental worksheets, games, and activities for centers! (You can read more about how TPT is a homeschool mom’s best friend, here.)

TPT has been especially helpful to me if I need something small, or supplemental. A poster, some flashcards, a memory game, or an engaging worksheet to further explain a concept. While a lot of homeschool curriculum is massive, and thorough, and wonderful, sometimes you just need something bite-sized! This is where TPT comes in.

I think one of my favorite aspects of the website, is that it is its own search engine. Instead of browsing through Google search results, though, you’re browsing through a much smaller list, of resources that were created for teachers, by teachers!

My Learning Curve on Teachers Pay Teachers

I have come full circle now: from a TPT consumer, to now, a TPT creator! It began as a point of curiosity for me, and I wondered if I could create some simple products, based on things I had already been doing with my own kids. I am not a designer by trade, and I am definitely learning as I go! But, I have made 30-some resources this year, and there have been a few crowd favorites–the most popular of which are these freebies:

• Board Game Templates, for a DIY Board Game!
• A List of Must-Haves for Teaching a Co-OP Class
• A Social Media Safety Template, for Instagram: great for teens and pre-teens

As well as these resources, which I created for $5 or less:

• A DIY Board Game Planning Guide for Kids: my top seller!
• This Movie Review Writing Bundle for Homeschoolers: this bundle includes two movie review templates that range K-5th, and a Movie Review Essay project to follow up, for upper elementary!
• Homeschool Co-Op Lesson Plan Template: I use this to jot down notes for every co-op class I teach!
• Restaurant Review Writing Project: a delicious project for the whole family, this project can engage kids kindergarten through 5th grade. Dine out together as a family, and use your experience in your writing!

Best Homeschool Resources on Teachers Pay Teachers

In addition to blogging earlier this month about how TPT freebies are a homeschool mom’s best friend, I also shared a huge list of freebies I have found on there over the past four years. You can view that freebie list, here!

Today, I thought I would highlight some of my favorite paid resources on the site. It’s always nice to get freebies, of course, but at the same time: when I find high-quality materials for my kids, I am willing to pay!

Here are some of my favorite paid resources from TPT:

Story of the World comprehension questions: I purchase these every year! We use Story of the World for our history curriculum, and this teacher on TPT has created an extensive PDF of questions and short responses.

I typically print off these comprehension questions, and bind them together in a book with pages from the Story of the World activity book. That way, my kids’ coloring pages, map work, and comprehension questions are consolidated! (Life hack: get your books cut and spiral-bound at Office Depot, for only $5 per book!)

Primary Writing Prompts Bundle: I mentioned this resource in another post, but this one blew me away. The creator, My Teaching Pal, truly thought of everything. I use these writing prompts with my 5 and 8 year old, who are on both ends of the spectrum for this resource! The great thing is, she includes multiple variations of the prompts, to fit the needs of your students.

This Blank Game Board: I used this cute gameboard to create my Story Elements Game! The sky’s the limit here, you could create a whole bunch of cute games for your kids, or, have your kids create their own! If you love game-schooling with your kids, check out more posts on that topic, here.

This Entrepreneurship Packet was stellar. It helped me guide my daughter’s learning while practicing her small-business skills this past winter. She learned how to make chunky knit blankets and ended up getting 30 orders! She worked hard and learned a lot about customer service, communication, quality products, cost, profit, and customer experience. This packet was an amazing supplement!

Use Teachers Pay Teachers to Plan a Co-Op Class

I have also found some excellent paid resources on TPT, for my Co-Op classes!

For my 1st-2nd grade Spanish class at Co-Op, I used these resources:

• Todo Sobre Mi (All About Me) poster, to teach the kids how to introduce themselves and say basic information about themselves in Spanish!
• Cabeza, Hombros, Rodillas, Pies (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes Song) PDF
• Dress Up Dolls: I printed these on cardstock, and we used them to learn colors, clothing, and body parts in Spanish! These were a huge hit.
• Along with these paid resources, I also was able to find so many free ones!

For my PK-Kindergarten Math class at Co-Op, I used these resources:

• Spring Addition Cut-And-Paste worksheets: great for fine-motor practice, as well as basic math facts. I used counting teddies, and had my students demonstrate the quantities before they completed the math problems!
• 2D and 3D Shapes PDF: This resource has 26 pages of materials regarding shapes! I loved using these.
• Speaking of counting teddies, I used this Teddy Bear Math Pack for station work!
• Fall Roll & Trace Games: these worked great at stations!
• Classroom Rule poster pack: never a bad idea to review classroom rules! I loved how cute these were.
• Along with these paid resources, I also was able to find so many free ones!

Planning a Future Co-Op Class

Earlier this month, I wrote about how I plan my co-op classes year-round. I see inspiration in so many things around me, and am constantly brainstorming- even in the summer!

This fall, I will be teaching a 3rd-4th grade class, and I am going to do Creative Writing! I am extremely excited. Here are a few resources I have in mind, so far:

• I’ll snag these Thesaurus Synonym Mini Books, and print off copies for each kid. I’ll three-hole-punch them, an add them to their portfolios, so that they have a nice repertoire of synonyms at their disposal as they write.
• I downloaded these (free!) Parts of Speech Posters, which I will print off in color and laminate. These will be great anchoring points as we talk about these concepts all year!
• The other things I’ve gathered, have actually been freebies! I’m sure I’ll come across some other gems as the school year proceeds this fall, so I’ll be sure to update the blog when I do.

I hope this gives you a little taste of the amazing resources available on TPT. This website truly did change my homeschooling!

With love,

Cait