Teachers Notebook VS Teachers Pay Teachers (Do you know the difference?)

Have you ever wondered what the differences are between Teachers Notebook (TN) and Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT)?

I first heard of TPT a few years ago, opened a buyers account and loved shopping around! I heard about TN shortly after that and opened an account there as well, but rarely used it.

This year I decided to open my own free TPT store and have had so much fun with it! I love the fact that other teachers can use things that I've created. 

Well, now that I have my own store, I am more interested in the differences between the two sites! I was AMAZED at what I found out and wondered if everyone else knew about them! I decided to share with you all the info I found:

THIS INFO IS CURRENT AS OF JUNE 5th 2013
THERE MAY BE CHANGES IN THE FUTURE...

(Click on the pictures to see a larger version)

They both definitely have their pros and cons! After researching the two, I decided to open a store at Teachers Notebook and have decided to try and make more purchases there, because stores receive higher royalties there! (I want more of my money going to the teacher who made the product!)

I do have to add here that TPT Premium stores do NOT have to pay a transaction fee....but they DO have to pay the annual $59.95 vs TN only having a one time $49.95 fee for Premium BUT still having a $0.15 transaction fee. (All based on personal preference I guess!)

I have decided when I'm ready to upgrade to a premium store, I will for sure do it at Teachers Notebook and only pay the one time fee to do so, although I will still have the transaction fee, I feel that in the long run it would be the better option. (But who knows....maybe I'll end up doing it at both stores!)

ADDED AUGUST 2014:  
After having my stores for over a year now I felt like I needed to add a little note on this post. I have now upgraded my TPT store and will gladly pay the annual $59. I have yet to upgrade my TN store. I feel that TPT is so much more well known and used. I have sold WAY more things in my TPT store than my TN store. I feel that upgrading my TPT store was the best thing I've done and highly recommend it if you're considering it. 

I will keep my TN store open, but don't see myself upgrading anytime in the near future as I just don't have enough sales to make it worth it right now. 

I love both sites and what they have done for the teaching community.

You should look more into both of them if you're interested!

If you'd like to check out my store at TN or TPT click on the social media buttons on the top right of my sidebar! (My TN store could definitely use a little follower lovin' right now if you have an account there! Haha!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Help Moore, Oklahoma! Donate anything from $20-$100 (Your choice!)

 

I'm sure most of you have heard about the Moore relief effort bundle from Teachers Notebook, but if you haven't yet click the picture above to check it out! It makes me speechless! SO many teachers (367 currently) have donated products towards it....currently worth $2270.67!!  100% of proceeds go directly to the people in Moore, Oklahoma. You can choose to donate your choice of $20, $25, $50 or $100. Regardless of the amount you choose to donate, you will receive the entire bundle of products. 

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS! It ends on TUESDAY, MAY 28!!

At first I was a little worried that I would have to download all the products before Tuesday....but those who purchase the bundle will continue to have full access to these products after May 28th.

As of RIGHT NOW Teachers Notebook has raised $56,130.00 and continues to increase

INCREDIBLE!!! 

I'm so glad I was able to donate and contribute in a small way to help the families, children, teachers & community that is suffering right now in Oklahoma. It brings me such joy to know that I am part of this amazing community of teachers who are so quick to help others in need. 

Thank you all for your amazing examples to me, and for the difference you make in children's lives everyday. The world is a better place because of you!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Completely Overcome with Gratitude

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week!! 

I hope you all had a great week and felt appreciated, I know that I did!

This is my first year teaching at a private school and I have loved it! The support I have received from my parents is outstanding. I've never experienced anything like it before.

I am not making this post to boast or brag about my week last week, but mostly for myself. So that I never forget the amazing experience I have had this year, and the gratitude that fills my heart.

Let me explain. Each day last week there was a different theme for parents to go along with to show their child's teacher their appreciation. I'm going to explain each day mostly by the picture of gifts I received:

Tuesday- We love our teacher "bunches"

(We don't have school on Monday's)

First, I saw this hanging by my door when I got to school! My cute kids made it for me in art class last week. Such a fun surprise!

When my kids entered our classroom, they came bearing gifts! Gifts of flowers! (sorry the first picture isn't the best!) They were so excited to give me their gifts and it was so much fun! It was a complete surprise to me! I had no idea each day would have a "theme" to go along with. A few other kids gave me other things besides flowers, but I forgot to take a picture of them!!

  

Wednesday- My teacher is so "sweet"

My kids all ran into the classroom to give me my sweet treats on Wednesday!

This is a picture of all the things I took home on Wednesday! {CRAZY!}

Thursday- My teacher is "berry" amazing 

These are a few close up pictures of cards my kids made for me and some of the fun treats I got from them! 

This card almost made me cry! It was so cute!! Also, a berry appreciated basket full of all things strawberry! Starbursts, licorice, gum, drink, kool-aid, jello, breakfast bars etc. A-DOR-A-BLE!!

I got some berry applesauce, two different jars of jam and some berry chapstick {complete with a giraffe card and zebra bag}

 Also a strawberry candle, yogurt covered blueberries, chocolate covered strawberries & gummy bears with this note attached, "I'm sharing my favorite treat with those who are so sweet!"

Friday-I'm not exactly sure what the theme was on Friday, but everyone gave me cards!

 

 I am completely overwhelmed by the appreciation that was shown to me last week! I am so grateful for the job that I have, for the students that I am able to love this year & the parents that I've gotten to know and befriend. Thank you for allowing me to share this post  with you and I hope you all had a wonderful teacher appreciation week.....I APPRECIATE YOU!! 

 

Our Spelling Bee

We recently had our school annual Spelling Bee. 

We did it by grade level, starting with Kindergarten! Some of them were so nervous!

We got all settled, each student sat in a chair with a white board and dry erase marker. The "Judge" (a parent volunteer) read one of the words and each student would write it on their board! When they were done, the would raise their hand and one of us would check it.

If it was right, they'd erase it and wait for the next word. It if was incorrect, they'd erase it and then grab a treat and wait for everyone else.

 They all did SO good!! I was so proud of them. Kindergarten had a list of 20 words that got harder as the list went on. By the end of the 20 words we still had 3 of my kindergarteners going strong!! 

They got to take a little break while the rest of us went back to class and then they continued on with the first graders! I'm not sure exactly how many of the first grade words they got correct, but they told me that they ALL got out on the word "boxes"

two of them wrote: boxs

The other one wrote: boxis

The whole school went back after everyone had their turns to find out who each class winner was! 

Kindergarten had a 3-way tie, so they all got a prize!!

 So proud of these cuties!! 

Does your school do a spelling bee? If so, how do you do it?

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great weekend!

Melissa