5 CHEAP Ways to Get Books for a Classroom Library

As a reading teacher, I have a huge passion for constantly bringing new titles into my classroom library.  My first three years of teaching I looped with the same kids.  It became my priority to constantly update my classroom library so my students would not get bored of the same books throughout those three years.  These are my top 5 tips to getting books for CHEAP.

1.  Garage Sales
Garage sales are one of the best places to get used books for your classrooms.  Often times, people are willing to sell the books for dirt cheap.  I've seen books as low as ten cents each!  Some times you might even get lucky and have someone give you books for free when they hear you are a teacher.  I like to join local garage sale sites on Facebook.  People will usually post pictures of items they are going to have and you can easily tell if its worth your time to go.  I also found a 'teacher garage sale' group on Facebook specific for my area.  Teachers are often posting items they no longer need to sell or giveaway.  I'm not sure if these sites are typical for all areas, but take a look.

2. Good Will
Good Will can be hit or miss when trying to find quality books for your classroom.  My local location does not sort the books very well, so I'm always digging through activity books and coloring books to find the good stuff.  The positive of Good Will is the price!  My local Good Will sells all children books for 59cents.  I've seen some locations sell picture books for 59cents and chapter books for 99cents, which is still a good price.  I tend to stop by Good Will a few times a month to check out what they have.  I always leave with 2-3 new books, usually more.

3.  Thriftbooks.com
I just discovered ThriftBooks this summer (2016), and cannot believe what I've been missing!  ThriftBooks has a wide variety of used books for all ages.  The books range in price from $3.59 to almost full price.  Certain books qualify for "thrift deals," which means you can get 3 books for $10 or 4 for $12.  Shipping is free over $10 and once you spend $50 (can be over multiple orders), you get a $5 coupon for your next order.  I'm currently obsessed with this site and have spent way too much money there this summer.  I have ordered almost 30 books from there this summer (shhh don't tell), and they have all been in great shape.  If you want to check it out, you can use my link to get an extra 15% off you first order: http://bit.ly/THRIFTBOOKS



4.  Amazon Penny Books
Before I discovered ThriftBooks, I was purchasing a lot of books from Amazon for a penny.  If you search used books on Amazon, you can find many sellers selling books for one penny plus shipping.  Shipping is usually 3.99, so you end up paying about $4 for a book.  This makes it a bit more expensive than ThriftBooks.  I've found the quality of used books to be comparable to ThriftBooks.

5. Donor's Choose
Instead of purchasing books yourself, you can create projects on Donor's Choose for new books and have friends and family donate to the project.  I've had many books project funded.  Earlier this year I wrote a blog post with my simple tips to get projects funded quickly.  Check it out HERE.

What are some of your favorite ways to get books for your classroom?  Share in the comments so we can all learn from each other.

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TPT Conference Recap - Day 2

If you missed my overview of Day 1 of the Teachers Pay Teachers conference, head over HERE.

I was determined to make the 2nd day better than the first, and that started with leaving extra early to avoid traffic.  The universe had different plans for me because I locked myself out of the house, for the first time EVER, right before leaving.  I had to wait 45 minutes for my mom to bring over the spare key, and then spend a few more minutes fixing my hair that the Florida humidity ruined.  It was a terrible way to start the day, but I knew things would only get better.

Thankfully there was no traffic on the way to the conference, but I realized another big problem right after I parked.  I forgot my wallet at home.  Seriously, I don't know how this all happened.  I started freaking out because I knew I had to pay $20 just to get out of the parking lot.  Luck finally came my way when I found my credit card (that I never use) at the bottom of my purse.  After this meltdown was complete, I was ready to start my day at the conference!

Session 5: Social Media Round Up with Ashley Schroder
This is one session I knew I was going to sign up for when I registered for the conference.  I started following Ashley on social media when she started periscoping at the conference in 2015.  I love her energy and her passion for teaching.  She shared tips and tricks for each platform (Periscope, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat), as well as giving suggestions for influencers to follow.

During her talk on Facebook she mentioned Catherine Reed's (Brown Bag Teacher) session, which was all about Facebook, and how informative it was.  I heard SO MANY good things about this Facebook session that I kind of regret not finding a way to go, but Ashley gave me some good pointers to get started with Facebook.  Once again, video was brought up with Facebook Live.  It's clear I need to get over this video fear if I want to grow my business.  She also talked about scheduling posts with Hootsuite and using memes to help gain followers and engagement.  My facebook page is SUPER new, but check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/teachruncreate

Ashley also talked about using the "explore tool" on Instagram to find new accounts, and using airplane mode to schedule.  You can't schedule posts in Instagram like in Twitter or Facebook, but you can get posts ready to go.

With Snapchat, she mentioned using bit.ly links and telling followers to screen shot it for later.  I haven't tried this yet, but it seems like a very powerful strategy.  There are many other "snappers" using this strategy, but I'm not always compelled to screen shot their link myself.  I used to screen shot tons of things, but then I forgot all about them.  Maybe it's just me...

Ashley ended her session by talking very briefly about some Twitter talks (#tptchat on Sunday and #teacherfriends on Tuesday) and the importance of building an e-mail list.

Session 6: What I did Right, What I did Wrong Panel with Erica Bohrer, Deanna Jump, Chris Kesler, and DeeDee Wills
This session was a refreshing change to the other sessions as it was almost 100% led by the audience.  Each speaker took about 5 minutes to briefly discuss what they did right and wrong, then they opened it up for questions.  Hearing how these big sellers made similar mistakes to the ones I've made was reassuring that I'm not alone.  I especially enjoyed hearing Chris talk. He talked a lot more about the intentional entrepreneurial side of the Teachers Pay Teachers.  He recommended a book, The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone, to help us expand our goals.  I downloaded the book on Audible immediately and its phenomenal.  If you have never used Audible, you can get a free trial to check out this book for free. Check it out at audible.com

Someone asked if any of the sellers had any problems with their district having conflicting opinions about their making income on TeachersPayTeachers.  This has always been a big concern of mine, so I was glad someone asked this!  I had no idea Deanna ran into some problems with her first district and resigned before any resolution came from it. Erica said she avoids issues by sharing her resources with her entire district - great idea.

Session 7: Tap Into Homeschool with Jodi Durgin
As a former elementary school and a home schooling mom, Jodi had a wealth of information to share about promoting our TpT materials to the homeschool community.   Did you know the percent of families homeschooling increases by about 7% annually!?  WOW!  I really enjoyed the simple and powerful tips Jodi shared to make our products more appealing for homeschool families.  She shared how we can turn commonly used education terms (from our product descriptions) into more homeschool friendly words.  For example, change 'common core' to 'skills', 'students' to 'kids' and 'teachers' to 'educators'.

She suggested creating a "Homeschool" board on Pinterest to share our ideas that are most beneficial for this community, as well as using the hashtag #homeschool on Instagram when appropriate.

Session 8: Stay Relevant and Build a Long Term Brand with Angela Watson
My last session of the conference was with Angela Watson.   She talked more about business in general, than giving specific ideas.   I really appreciated the way she set up her session, as it pushed me to start brainstorming ideas immediately.   She briefly discussed Pat Flynn's new book, Will it Fly, which I thought was super cool since I had just finished reading this book.  This is another great book that I suggest you check out.  It's great on Audible because Pat is actually the one reading it and he adds in extra tidbits of information.

Angela mentioned the importance of creating editable products on TeachersPayTeachers.  This is a newer trend and I've definitely seen an increase in sales on some of the products I've already updated to be editable.

Overall, I had a great time at the conference!  I was able to meet so many other sellers and build connections that I know will last.  The sessions were jam packed with valuable content that I know I will play an impact in helping my store grow.  More than anything though, I enjoyed being surrounded by the enormous amount of positivity and true passion for teaching.  It was clear that above anything else, kids are staying at the heart of TeachersPayTeachers.  Everything we do is to improve education for OUR kids.

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TpT Conference Recap - Day 1

Hey guys!  After attending the Teachers Pay Teachers conference last week, I have a sudden burst of inspiration and motivation to start blogging again.  I'm excited to share with you my experience and tidbits of information that I learned.

The conference was in Orlando this year, so it was a no brainer for me to decide to go.  (You know... because I live in Orlando.)  I was really excited about going, but unfortunately had a very rough start to my day.  I actually had a rough start to BOTH of my days, but let's focus on day 1 first.

The conference was in the Disney area, which typically takes about 45 minutes for me to get to.  I made sure to leave my house with plenty of time to spare, because traffic heading into downtown can be pure craziness.  There is no way I could have planned for the traffic I experienced.  There was an accident on the way, and it took me TWO HOURS to get there.  TWO HOURS!  Then, I parked at the wrong hotel and spent 20 minutes trying to figure out where the conference was.  I was a mess, a serious hot mess.

I finally made it to the conference about 10 minutes after the Keynote had started.  On a positive note, there wasn't a line for me to check in.  HaHa. I quickly got my name tag, goodie bag, and schedule for the day.  I headed into the Keynote and thankfully was able to find a seat near the back.

Keynote
I missed hearing Amy talk (atleast... I think she talked first), but I entered while Adam (the CEO of TpT) was discussing some changes and trends with Teachers Pay Teachers.  It was inspiring to hear him talk about the growth TpT is experiencing and their plans for the future.  Jenn Bengal ended the keynote by talking about her path with TpT.  I always love hearing other sellers talk about their journey with this company and how they got where they are.  She was awesome and I immediately regretted not signing up for her session.

Session 1: Yes! You Can Make Videos with Kayse Morris
This is a session I had mixed feelings about attending.  Videos SCARE me.  I'm not kidding.  The thought of videotaping myself is absolutely terrifying.  Let's not even talk about the time I had to videotape myself teaching for undergrad - YIKES.  Anyways, as much as videos scare me I know this is something I need to start getting more comfortable with.  Kayse was awesome and gave lots of tips to make videos.  I realized how many ways I could make videos of my products WITHOUT having to video my face.  This was reassuring.

28% of Google Searches result in a YouTube video. 
50x easier to reach page 1 of Google with a video.

With those stats, it's not question that I need to get into video.  I loved all of Kayse's tips, and especially enjoyed all the example videos she showed.  One of my summer goals is to make a video of one of my products.  I go back to work in 2 weeks, so I better get to work.

Session 2: The Real Truth from a Successful Seller with Erin Cobb
Without a doubt, this was my favorite session. Eric Cobb was hysterical!  She gave an awesome presentation and was 8.5 months pregnant, bless her heart!  I loved how real she was.  She said many things that I feel like other people think, but no one has the courage to say.  In terms of goals, she suggested make monetary product goals instead of a goal based off number of products created.  For example, don't make a goal of creating 4 products each month.  Instead, make a goal to make $20 worth of products. I LOVE this.  I'm using it.

She also gave EVERYONE who attended her session a Teachers Pay Teachers Seller Planner.  It's amazing.

She has the planners for sale in her TeachersPayTeachers store.  Go check it out to see more previews of the inside, and then buy one :)  You definitely need it.  Erin's Teacher Seller Planner

Session 3: TpT Product Planning from Start to Finish with Shelly Rees
Shelly discussed the 9 step process she uses when creating a product for TpT.  She was very detailed and explained the importance of each step.  I love that she included creating pins for your products with her list.  This is a step I often overlook, but I know how important it is.  She also talked about creating a specific work schedule.  Almost every session I attended emphasized the importance of treating TpT like a business.  I struggle with this because of mom guilt.  I know as a single mom I need to be a bit more creative with planning a "work schedule."  I'm working on it.  (I'm actually at McDonalds right now, typing this blog post, while my son plays.  I feel less guilty about working while he plays if he's with other kids! #momwin)

She also gave everyone a product planner.  This one is more detailed to ensure you go over each step of the process.  I've seen her post on Facebook about hosting a few webinars to go over her steps.  If you are struggling with the overall process of creating a product, I would suggest checking it out.

Session 4: Marketing Face to Face with Michele Luck
As I'm trying to expand my TpT business, I think its important to explore all avenues of promotion.  I was very impressed with Michele.  She travels to conferences all over the country and hosts a Teachers Pay Teachers Sellers booth. She has a group on Faceobok and sellers can sign up to promote with her at conferences.   Sellers can send her business cards and sample books, and Michele will have them displayed at her booth.  She went into detail about how she finds conferences, the hidden costs of being a vendor at one, and the strategies her and her hubby use to draw people to their booth when they are there. This is not an avenue I'm 100% ready to go down yet, but I could see myself doing this in the future.

After the sessions, there was a huge teacher meet-up planned.  I made arrangements for my son to go to camp and had to get home to pick him up, so I wasn't able to go.  There were amazing giveaways and everyone who attended got a bag full of goodies.  Yes, I'm jealous.   Check out the hashtag #2016OrlandoMeetUp to see some of the pictures.

Want to read about day 2?  Head over HERE.

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