Meet the Teachers! Aussie Sellers on TpT

I'm not sure about you but I just love getting to know more about the friends and acquaintances I make in cyber space!  When I first started reading teaching blogs my favourite posts were the ones that really put a face to the name of the author - tidbits about who they were and why they loved to teach.  It's the same when I buy resources from Teachers Pay Teachers!  I know that when I buy from an Aussie seller they will be familiar with the expectations of our curriculum, and lots of times the themes and language used are more relevant to my kidlets.  Plus, it's always good to 'shop local' and send your money to another Aussie teacher!  If I'm ever teaching something particularly Australian - our history, currency, ANZAC Day, and sometimes even phonics - I always search for local stores to buy from first. {I'll show you how to search by location at the end of this post!}

Today I'd like to introduce you to a few awesome teacher-authors who are waving the Australian flag over on TpT.  I bet you know some of them already!  If it's the first time you've met them, I'd encourage you to click on their info to pop over and check out their resources. 

I'll start with a bit of info about myself, just in case you're new to my blog:

Next up is a teacher whose resources cover just about every subject area in the primary years:

If you're looking for STEM resources, you need to meet Sarah:

There's something for all teachers on TpT!  Kim has your Music needs sorted:

Last but not least, Jennifer has resources in English and other languages - perfect for language teachers or those with ESL kidlets in their class:

If you'd like to find all of the Aussie sellers on Teachers Pay Teachers, it's really easy to search by location and see us all in one handy spot!

First up, hover over the 'All Categories' button to the left of the search bar on the TpT home page:

Move down to 'Sellers by Location', then click 'Australia':

There you have it - easy peasy! Once you've arrived at the full list of sellers, you can refine by grade or subject, just like a normal TpT search.

I hope by reading this post you've discovered some new Australian made resources that will be perfect for your classroom!  

Term Four - No Chore! Breeze through to Summer

Hello teacher friends!

Here in Australia we have just started our final term of school for the year. I've only got 8 more weeks until Summer break! It is fun term for us, filled with lots of exciting activities for our students to conclude their year of learning. 

It is however, often a term that can be stressful and busy. I have teamed up with some online Australian blogging friends to bring you some tried and tested teacher tips that you can implement now, or begin to plan for to make this term easy to manage. 

These tips are simple and relatively easy to implement - keeping things simple and practical is one effective strategy for easing classroom craziness. 

After you have read my tip, please visit the other blogs in the link up below to find more ways to cruise through Term 4. For continued ideas and time savers, don't forget to also follow us all on Facebook and Pinterest! 
My top tip to help you breeze through to Summer is simple - all you need to do is reflect and refine! :)
Reflect As you set about tidying up you classroom towards the end of the year, spend some time reflecting on what really worked well for you this year, and what might have needed some more 'tweaking'.  Were you happy with your furniture arrangement? Were your resources stored neatly and easily accessible? Did the routine you established work for you and the children?  Make a list of those things that you definitely want to repeat in 2016, and also one that shows those things you want to change.  When you've enjoyed some time in the sun over the Summer holidays and are ready to think about school again, you'll have a ready-made 'to do' list to get you back into the swing of things and make next year even better than this one!
Refine As teachers we tend to keep anything that we think might come in handy one day.  Problem is... lots of those things just end up taking up valuable space in our classroom or house.  If you've got 'stuff' in storage that you haven't used all this year, have a really good think about whether you actually need to keep it.  Chances are that you will collect lots more over the holidays - especially with after Christmas and back to school sales - so take the opportunity to have a spring clean and free up some space.  Another great way to make your life easier when you come back to school next year is to check that all of your games and resources are in good working order.  As you pack them up for the last time this year check that all of the pieces are there and make a note of anything that might need reprinting and laminating.  Throw out anything too sad looking and make a shopping list of bits and pieces you might need to replace.  Well-loved games do tend to get dirty and my kidlets love to peel laminate off if they find a loose corner! :)
Enjoy the last few weeks of school, friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

It's {Currently} January!

I must admit that when the first 'Currently' posts started popping up the other day I got a bit of a fright. January, already?  Even though I'd stayed up to see the new year in just the night before, it's not until Farley's linky that the reality of 2014 set in. :)  

Listening: I live right by the beach so during holiday seasons, and particularly Christmas, there's lots of 'tourists' visiting to enjoy the sun.  This time of year most people bbq on their balconies, so around dinner time there's lots of talking, laughing and noise of kids playing.  It's nice! :)

Loving:  Not sure how I'm going to get used to the 5am alarm again, but at the moment I'm truly taking advantage of the time to sleep in.  2 more weeks!

Thinking:  I'm starving, so my eye fillet steak sizzling away is going to go down a treat when it's all ready. I'm having potato and greek salads with it. I've got Malteasers for dessert, too.  Yum!!

Wanting:  We're having a heatwave at the moment, with temperatures almost at 40 degrees and expected to get hotter than that over the next few days.  That makes time at the beach way too uncomfortable after about 9am (unless you're there just for a swim).  That combined with my aforementioned sleeping in means that I haven't been spending as much time there as I usually would.

Needing:  I know that the more I get done before we go back for our pupil free days the more relaxed I will feel about starting the new school year, so I need to set myself some daily goals to work through the to do list of projects and organising I'd like to do.  Wish me luck!

Favourite Memory: Each Christmas Day my Mum's extended family meet at one of our houses for an afternoon/evening party.  We swap presents, have dinner, dance and chat.  There's a lot of us (about 40 this year but usually more than that) so it's usually noisy and fun.  

Better get to eating my dinner and watching a repeat of The Bachelor finale (Sean's season).  Go link up and join in on the Currently fun!

Lauren

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Before I jump into bed and wait for Santa to visit tonight, I wanted to pop past and wish all of my lovely friendly followers a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!  It's Christmas Eve here and the temperature is close to 30 degrees Celsius so we have the air conditioning pumping and have enjoyed a bbq dinner outside.  Hoping for a cooler day tomorrow, but I don't think we'll be in luck. :)

If you get a chance, have a look at this adorable Christmas video.  I watch it every year (and show it to my class, too!) because it's a gorgeous reminder of the real reason for the season.

Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope you enjoy a day of family, friendship and love.

Lauren

Five for Friday! 05/04/13

Can you believe that it's Friday already?? Time sure does fly when you're having fun.  I'm halfway through my Easter holidays and have had an amazing week with my Canadian lovebird visiting.  Even though I can't see this week's post on Doodle Bug's page I'm posting now anyway. (Is it just me who can't find this week's linky?)

1. How wonderful it is to have my boy nearby instead of on the other side of the Pacific!

2. On Tuesday we spent the day at Australia Zoo.  It's so great that the spirit of Steve Irwin really does live on through the passion and enthusiasm that the zoo staff have for the animals and the environment.  If you're nearby (or planning to visit Australia!) then Australia Zoo is a 'must see'.  This sleepy koala was super cute. :)

3. This week has certainly been an indulgent one... this stack of honeycomb pancakes was to die for but not at all healthy. :)

4. If you haven't experienced a San Churro Spanish hot chocolate you should go and get one right now!  As the lovebird said 'Is that chocolate custard you're drinking?!?' It's AMAZING!

5. The Land Before Time was on sale at Woollies tonight for $8 - reckon I can convince Chris to turn off the footy so we can watch it? :)

Happy Friday everyone! 

Lauren