Sunday Smorgasbord

It's Sunday (well, actually it's Saturday night because I'm scheduling this while the hubs and baby are already asleep), and this linky with Michelle was perfect for what I was already planning on doing!

Keagan and I survived a week without daddy, and it was a lot of fun! We are very glad to have daddy back, though. It's hard keeping an active little toddler busy by yourself for 5 days, especially when it's CRAZY HOT and we can't go outside until late in the day.

I'm super pumped about this Thursday because I'm going to the VA Blogger Get-Together! Thanks to Karen at Mrs. Stamp's Class for putting this together! If you live near DC, you should definitely come join us. Just email Karen so she knows how many to plan for.

We're also planning on doing a freebie blog hop very soon, so keep your eyes out for it. I still need to get on the ball and create my product for it, so what would you like to see? A craftivity? Center for a specific skill? New mystery? Or something related to a good beginning of the year book? Please leave your preference in the comments!

Also, while Steven was away and I was computer-less, I reached 300 followers on Bloglovin! Planning a giveaway to celebrate (and help my numbers catch up over there). If you would be interested in helping out, please fill out the form below. I'm planning on a more traditional giveaway this time (like 1-3 winners) and would LOVE your help!

And finally, here are some current giveaways that you DON'T want to miss!

Phew! Have a great Sunday!

Drawing conclusions, advice, and another giveaway

I have a new product in preparation for Valentine's Day! We have been working on drawing conclusions in 4th and 5th grade, and I found a cute little "Case of the Missing Santa" here for free. I liked it, but I decided there was more to it that I wanted to see. For one thing, it wasn't obvious enough for my kids to be able to figure out who kidnapped Santa once they narrowed it down to two. So my plan was to have my 5th graders help me put another mystery together. Epic. Fail. They were WAY too hyper to do it, and the fact that it was based around a love letter made it worse. So I ended up doing it on my own and keeping a few of their ideas to flesh it out. 

The packet includes background info on the boy and his 5 female suspects. Then it also includes a letter and a graphic organizer for students to fill out if each suspect is the admirer and why or why not. I already started it with my 4th graders, and they loved it! It takes longer than 30 minutes though, so we'll have to finish it tomorrow.

On to my advice (or need for it): So this quarter was AMAZING for me on my TpT store. I made just shy of $300, which is WAY more than the previous two quarters combined. I still am a basic seller right now because honestly we can't afford much of anything nice this year (hence the reason I wasn't thrilled that we had to replace my car that was already paid off). Steven took a teaching job next door to me teaching Criminal Justice at a Career and Tech Center, which is awesome, but this year he's only part time. We know he'll get a full time salary next year because he'll continue with his current class of juniors for year 2 of the program AND add a new class of juniors, but money is tight right now.

I feel like moving up to a Premium seller would be worth it, especially since I can pay for it with the money I earned last quarter (once that money comes through), but I want to know if it's really worth it. How many of you are premium sellers? About how much more money do you make for each item sold?

In other news, Holly at Fourth Grade Flipper is having her 300 follower giveaway, and there are some GREAT prizes! 

I am offering my Winter Literacy Pack and winner's choice of any other item in my store.