One Easy Way to Refresh Your Teaching Resources

Back Story

I have been making resources for myself for a while. This year a very supportive friend suggested I started a teachers pay teachers store to sell the things I was making for school. She had a very good point….if I like it and need it, maybe others will too. I started posting resources in December. It has been an interesting experience. I put pressure on myself and I really shouldn’t….I think most teachers do this- TpT store or not. I need to keep remembering that this is a fun extension of my actual job- being a Teacher of the Deaf.

With that being said, summer has been great so far-great family time, hanging with my mini me, and trying to create new resources for my store/my world. My hope was I would be able to make some things I need and want for the upcoming year. My thinking cap was on tight for a while, but last week I hit a wall. I felt like I was staring at a very blank wall.

Looking for Inspiration

If your like me you might scroll Instagram…I have been seeing teachers working on projects and items for their 2019-2020 classrooms. Some of the things I have seen are so inspiring, the trouble is I don’t have a classroom to pick a theme or freshen up. I may have a few great work spaces come September, but as of this moment I know I can rely on my vehicle and backpack, so all of the colorful and beautiful ideas sort of made me blue. I love being itinerant, but like I have mentioned before, sometimes a classroom can be very nice, especially in the hard winter months.

So, I was bummed about it and then started to think of ways to make my world more colorful and fresh….Astrobright paper!!! I have seen people use this for years, but I never have. This is kinda crazy because I love color. If I can color print something I will, but color printing isn’t always an option, so I am getting on the Astro train to happy town.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

I recently made this advocacy resource and thought about making it more fun for my students and myself, so I ordered the Astrobright paper and I am so happy I did. The black and white version looks so different on this cheerful paper. You can totally do this too!

1. I ordered from Amazon…you can get fun paper anywhere, I just love deliveries.

2. I loaded the colors I wanted.

3. I pressed print.

It looks fun!

It was very easy!

It was affordable!

Refreshed and Ready to Rock

This is just what I needed to change and enhance what I am already doing. I love that it is easy and practical. I am sort of kicking myself…I should have tried this years ago. I don’t need to pressure myself to reinvent the wheel, I already have a wheel…it just needed some color.

Suggestions for Itinerants

STORAGE AND PORTABILITY

I am going to use an accordion folder to keep paper in my car. I can easily bring this into school when I want to print out materials for my students.

Choose a folder that has sections for paper and your newly printed resources.

I love that older resources are going to look new! Upcycling here I come.

PARENT RESOURCES

I am even thinking I might print things for my parents on colored paper. My hope is my pop of color will stand out on the sea of papers that come home in take home folders, agendas and backpacks.

My suggestion is if you do this choose one color for the year.

I am going to pick one color…maybe green…and my hope is every time my parents see the bright green in the folder or mail, they will know it is me sending something home. Your pleasantly, persistent TOD!!!

Ready for September

I am very excited that no matter where I am or what work space I will have, I can open a student’s folder and pull out a bit of happy! My world (compact and portable) will be colorful and new too. Being itinerant can be hard and isolating, so anyway I can make my world brighter- I am going to do it. If you read my blog, regularly, you know I am passionately perusing change for growth and this very simple change is just what I needed for another successful year.