Hi friends! I hope you are all doing all right during this crazy time. My school was among many that shut down suddenly and unexpectedly on the 13th of March, for a minimum of three weeks, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, so, like many of you, I’m getting used to a new way of living.
Now, two days before the 13th, aka a million years ago, on Wednesday, March 11th, I was all super excited because my Teachers Pay Teachers store had reached 500 followers. I was planning a little celebration involving a new freebie, a sale, and maybe even a dance party, wahoo! That Wednesday, ideas bopped around happily in the little TpT section of my brain. But by Friday, the TpT part went into a temporary hibernation as I attempted to process the strange, new information that COVID-19 was so serious that my school closed. Oh, and not just mine, but basically all of them, and the entire world. Heh?
So I took a few days to adjust to this new lifestyle, and eventually decided I still want there to be a little celebration in the So Blessed to Be a Teacher world, because celebrations are happy and we all need happy right now. So, I modified my go-forward plan for how to celebrate my 500 followers. Here’s what I came up with.
1. I made the freebie that was bopping around my imagination on March 11. (It turned out cute, if I do say so myself! You can download it here). But it’s a poster to decorate your library, and, well, you probably aren’t there right now. So I decided that when you download it, you guys might feel the level of joy you’d get if you were receiving a free bucket of rock salt in July.
SO
2. I made two MORE little freebies that can be used on Google Classroom. It was my first attempt at designing resources with distance learning in mind. I would love if you could try them out and tell me what you think! (They are available for FREE here and here).
THEN
3. I set up a GIVEAWAY for my 500 Teachers Pay Teachers followers! (Because giveaways are fun no matter what!) One lucky follower of my store will win a $10 gift card to Teachers Pay Teachers. If you follow me on TpT, check your Teachers Pay Teachers inbox for the link to enter the giveaway. (Don’t follow me yet but want to start? Click here to start following me on TpT, and then send me an email or use the contact link above to tell me your follower number, and I’ll send you the link to enter! The winner will be chosen at 12 AM Eastern Time on March 27, 2020.) (**UPDATED 03/27/20: Congratulations to Julieann, the giveaway winner! Be sure to follow my Teachers Pay Teachers store so you will hear about sales, new products, and my next GIVEAWAY!)
AND
4. I set everything in my TpT store to go on sale from March 22, 2020 to March 25, 2020. Even though school is closed for now, sales are always fun, and some teachers actually have a little time browse around on TpT, so I figured, why not? In the spirit of my last blog post, I am going to donate 50% of profits during my sale to Save the Children, this time to help out with all the needs that are arising due to COVID-19, so it’s actually a great time to stock up on resources that you can use when we are past this wacky period of time! (**UPDATED 03/27/20: Thanks so much to those who made purchases during my sale! Your purchases made it possible for me to make a donation to Save the Children! Yeah!)
AND FINALLY
5. The dance party is on, but, COVID-19 distance learning style. Right now, wherever you are, bust a move!
May God bless you guys during this strange-but-true time we are living in. Stay well and keep taking it day by day!