Valentine's has ALWAYS been my favorite my favorite holiday. When I was in the classroom teaching, I absolutely LOVED Valentine's week. I still love it!
Tips, tools, and resources for creatively teaching, organizing, cooking, and frugal living.
Valentine's has ALWAYS been my favorite my favorite holiday. When I was in the classroom teaching, I absolutely LOVED Valentine's week. I still love it!
I've been adding some new products to my Teachers Pay Teachers store this week, and have quite a few more planned throughout the month of December. Most all are for preschool aged students, though some are for older students or for teachers and their classrooms, as well! Check out the new ones so far:
Today, a student was hesitant. He ran off camera and I hear mom tell him, "just say 'no thank you'". As the boy comes back on screen, I see another child sit closer to the camera and say to the first boy, "no is an okay option." The first boy says, "no thank you", I say "okay", and we move on.
"No" is an okay option. All children should know this. All adults should honor this. Confidence grows at different levels and rates. Encourage, yes, but always allow children to grow at their own pace and as they are ready.
The picture above is of a review from the parent of the child who used his words today to say, "no thank you" when he wasn't quite ready to show off his ninja moves to the class. It reminded me how the little things make the biggest differences. I want ALL children to be able to participate in my classes, whether they are outgoing, shy, nervous, or excited. They should all feel welcome and encouraged.
Today, I realized the importance of this little mantra I tell my students each week. I hope that you will also see its significance as you interact with and teach children, as well!
So it's been five months since I first started teaching on Outschool. Since then, I've answered tons of questions from people interested or curious about teaching on Outschool, too. I figured I'd throw up a super honest review and insight into exactly how it's gone for me.
As far as flexibility, this "job" is the best. It is an independent contractor position, so you can schedule your own classes whenever you want. Need a break? Don't schedule any classes. Simple as that. As I've gotten deeper into it, I am refining when I like to work and for how long. I'm finding what my limit is (read: at what point do I feel like dying?), and am learning to schedule myself for the perfect amount of time.
While many older students started to head back to school in August/September, I found (along with other teachers) that classes geared for older students came to an almost stand-still. My typically full coffee shop classes for older kids were hearing crickets. Fortunately, the younger groups, and in particular, my "ninja" niche, are alive and thriving. So, I back-burnered the older kid classes until later, and upped my ninja classes. These classes have continued to be in high demand, and I'm unable to keep up with the demand that I'm currently seeing. I'm already getting booked into January 2021 for classes. So, that being said, Outschool can flow up and down with age groups and needs. Be prepared to not have all your eggs in one basket, and plan to have things that do well at different times during the year.
Ok, so the thing everyone always really wants to know...can you actually make money on Outschool? The answer is YES, you definitely can, and especially if you find the age groups and classes that are successful for you (understand, this may take some tinkering and you may not find your niche right away). I am averaging about 20 classes/week, which works out to about 10 live hours of teaching/week. I have minimal prep work as I primarily teach the same, already planned sessions over and over and over. My best month (also the month where I thought I would die of exhaustion...remember, I teach physical/movement classes), I made $5100 working 10ish hours/week. This is after Outschool's portion (they take 30% for the platform, advertising, teacher support, etc.), but before taxes (which I have to pay on my own since it's a 1099 position). This week, almost exactly five months in, I hit the $20,000 mark. My teacher stats page says I've taught 176.3 hours, making this work out to $113/hour (pre-tax). That's some dang good money. Plus, I've taught 1,315 different students from all over the world, which I absolutely LOVE.
If you have something you are passionate about, and if you love teaching, I definitely recommend teaching on Outschool. It's fun, flexible, and is a great way to supplement your income while staying at home with your kiddos! If you have questions, ask me! I'd love to help you out and answer any questions you might have!