Real Life with Heather
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Goal Setting
  • Financial Journey
    • Personal Finance YouTube
    • Budgeting with YNAB
  • Weight Loss & Life YT
  • Shop
  • The Pups

3/9/2019

Tour My Classroom (March 2019)

Comments

Read Now
 
I moved into my new space towards the end of 2018 and as such needed to trial out different set ups for my new space. I'm lucky in that, in my new home, I have a room that is a dedicated office space but a lot of the tips and strategies that I have used can be used in multipurpose spaces as well. 

Things that I would change if money was no option and I taught purely for the love of it (someday ladies and gents, someday):
  • I would change my overhead light fixture. The fixture I have is not one with interchangeable bulbs (I know, right, I didn't even know that was a thing until I moved in) so I can't switch it out to one better suited for being on camera.
  • I would like a different desk setup. Preferably of the sit/stand variety with a large work space on top. Possibly white but maybe black to match my bookshelf. 
  • I would upgrade my organization system to something that was a little more chic and pretty. Again, its more than functional and works great but with money being no option its mostly about the pretty right? Haha
  • I would likely order a bunch more on Teachers Pay Teachers and Etsy because I love those sites and the materials make life so easy (plus they're adorable). 
  • That's it... I'm happy with my space and its functional for how I teach in it so the changes would essentially all be cosmetic. 

Tips:
  • ​Lighting should be your number one concern. After lighting- and a whiteboard- you can pretty much work around anything else that comes up. They have cheap solutions at Walmart and on Amazon depending on your space but a pro-tip is to use 'daylight' light bulbs rather than soft white. The clarity is so much better and the light brighter on camera. 
  • Have a small set of go-to props, whiteboards, markers and rewards systems. The rest is all fun but most isn't really necessary. Wait to expand your props and tools stash until you know what you actually need rather than being drawn in by the excitement and fun of teacher shopping. Its totally a thing... brick and mortar teachers get it and so do online teachers. 
  • Check the online community for free/cheap ideas and DIYs before spending a lot of money on your classroom. Sometimes just asking for an idea for X class or topic will garner you 30+ ideas without spending any money whatsoever. Most teachers are more than willing to share ideas and brainstorm. Just return the favor when you have awesome ideas of your own. 
Here is a link to the light I use on my laptop for online teaching. It's technically a selfie light but works great as a clip on light to pair with my on-board camera. ​
Until next time,
Picture
Picture
Join Me at VIPKID
My referral code is: HEATH0116​

Share

Comments

9/2/2018

VIPKID: How Much Can I Really Make?

Comments

Read Now
 
The number one question when looking to start a side hustle... how much can I make at it? Is it worth my time? I can't answer the second question for you (though I will suggest that it is worth the time it is a personal decision) I can give you the information to make the decision by answering the first.

So, here's the quick breakdown of how pay works for VIPKid Teachers:
  • Base pay is between $7.50 and $9.00 per class. This number is decided during your interview based on your credentials and the interview itself and will not change for the first year (two contract terms). During the second renewal (third term) you may receive a raise if you meet the criteria. Each raise is $0.50. It looks like most people start at the  $8.00 mark based on forums. For every class that you are teach or are booked for and cancelled within 24 hours, with the exception of trial classes, you will receive this pay for your 25 minutes. Trial classes that cancel within 24 hours garner a 50% rate of your base pay.
Picture
  • Incentives are broken into two main categories: Participation and Other.
    • Participation incentives are $1.00 per class taught and are super easy to get... just start and end on time. Nothing fancy, basically just being a professional. 
    • Other Incentives:
      • New VIPKid sign ups are typically $5 per trial student who converts to a contract student after a class with you. 
      • Finished classes are the next subcategory in this section. Once you have reached 30 classes taught you will receive $0.50 extra per class retro'd to the beginning of the month. One you teach your 45th class that incentive increases to $1.00 per class. 
      • The last one is referrals. If you refer someone, and they use your code, you will receive the current incentive pay for referring them once they teach their first class. You get an extra bump when you hit certain milestone numbers of referrals. The current incentive is $100. If you are thinking of joining VIPKid I would appreciate you using my referral code for this reason (plus I'll help you through the process and am more than willing to chat about any problem you run into once you begin teaching!). 
  • Sometimes there are bonuses or special incentives for completing certain training activities or working a certain number of classes during a period of time. I received $10 last month for completing training that I would have gone through anyways for instance.
  • The last thing is tokens... these aren't going to turn into cash but they are a way to get paid. When you complete tasks in the Hutong you are able to earn tokens that can be redeemed for all sorts of things from Amazon e-gift cards to Dino dolls, puzzles, Chinese translations, mentor time and more. 
Picture
​Here's the first couple of items that are in the exchange store currently. The biggest one that I currently see available is a $50.00 e-gift card to Amazon.
Picture
And a couple rows from the Hutong to show you some of the tasks and announcements (you will sometimes get tokens just for reading). You also get tokens for teaching classes which is nice.

OK, so excluding tokens, referrals, new sign ups and extra bonus incentives here's a potential month, working 15 hours per week. All of that is extra gravy on the pay check and I don't budget with it personally.

Base Pay: $8.00 * 120 classes (30 classes/week * 4 weeks) = $960.00
Participation: $1.00 * 120 classes = $120.00
Finished Classes: $1.00 * 120 classes = $120.00
TOTAL: $1320.00

That's a nice paycheck for 15 hours per week! Once you put some of it aside for taxes you've got over $1,000. I see this as a great side hustle opportunity personally, what do you think?
Picture
Picture
Join Me at VIPKID
My referral code is: HEATH0116​

Share

Comments

8/20/2018

VIPKID: Teaching on the Road

Comments

Read Now
 
You may have seen that I had a last minute to trip to Quebec crop up and wondered how I was going to handle it since I'd probably already committed to my teaching schedule for that period. Simply... I set up a classroom in my hotel! 

To be fair I did have to cancel two classes due to the time change not working but the classes I had scheduled were weekend classes so I was able to work it out with my coworker who is also on this trip that I would come into the plant about 90 minutes after he did just for those two days. I'm thankful to him for working with me. I don't think many other people will run into similar problems with the time shift and last minute travel but since you may want to work a couple of mornings/evenings while on your summer or winter break while traveling I thought a walk-through of my 'teaching on the road' kit was in order. It is essentially a paired down version of my classroom and its working great. Have a wanted a couple specialty items during class time? Yes. Have I needed them to do the job? No. And that, right there, is all that matters. So... here we go
Picture
Picture
I didn't think to take photos until I had already packed (oops) so I quickly pulled everything out on the ironing board across from my suitcase for a few quick snaps.

First I have a plastic zipper bag that has my pronouns/conjugation chart in it as well as a few decor pieces I haven't actually used in my normal classroom yet that I got in case I wanted to change it up. I've also got some white board markers and my WOW eraser to go with the white board I packed, my rewards charts and my tigers (I use these two plushies the most as we can do so many different concepts with them). In the next photo you can see that I brought all of my popsicle stick bags, some flashcards, the laminated Dino from my classroom wall and my headset. Here's what it looked like packed and ready for my suitcase.
Picture
It didn't take up much space at all which was the goal. I originally had a few more odds and ends but they didn't make the cut when packing for this rather long trip. 

Your next question is probably something along the lines of "How did you set up a classroom in your hotel room?"  Pictures to the rescue again! I actually have two different set ups that I tried. The first would have worked great had the lighting been a little better and the desk been able to be moved over about two feet. ​
Picture
It didn't take up much space at all which was the goal. I originally had a few more odds and ends but they didn't make the cut when packing for this rather long trip. 

Your next question is probably something along the lines of "How did you set up a classroom in your hotel room?"  Pictures to the rescue again! I actually have two different set ups that I tried. The first would have worked great had the lighting been a little better and the desk been able to be moved over about two feet. ​
Picture
Picture
So there you have it. My classroom in a bag. Quick to assemble and teaching has worked great so far. I've taught 8 classes while here with minimal issues so far. In the future I think that I will look into a small ring light or other portable light source that I can travel with to avoid the light situation at the desk. I may also look more into creating/gathering digital props so that I can pack even less but that is still a topic that I am looking into myself so I won't be recommending going that route until I've fully explored it and used it in quite a few classes and levels so that I can give a good picture of the pros and cons of digital props. 

​Until next time!
Picture
Picture
Join Me at VIPKID
My referral code is: HEATH0116​

Share

Comments

8/11/2018

VIPKID: Props in My Classroom Now

Comments

Read Now
 
One of the things that I worried about when I first started with VIPKID was the cost of props and knowing which props I would need for various classes. I didn't want to funnel everything I made right back into props or spend hours on end prepping for classes. I wish someone had told me not to stress so much right from the beginning, props can be free/cheap and a quick flip through the slide deck and 9 times out of 10 I'm ready to teach.

On the props front you can DIY or gather items you already have in your home and be good to go (any of your older students will appreciate realia and the little ones will appreciate your enthusiasm more than almost any amazing/costly prop). Once you start teaching and you try out a few ideas you'll have a feel for what kinds of things will work for your students and then can decide if you want to spend a little more money on those puzzles, the letter puppet or (insert cool prop here). To be an effective teacher you only need a few basic props, nothing fancy and definitely nothing expensive.  The only props I had for the first month or so of teaching were:
  • Notecards/Index Cards (to write sight words, onset/rimes, numbers, etc. on)
  • Flashcards
  • A stuffed animal
  • Rewards chart(s)
  • White board and markers

The white board is extremely versatile and I could get by without much else with most of my students if I really needed to. Ideally though, you'll use 3-5 props in each 25 minute lesson. Don't over use props or you will loose sight of the lesson topic but you want the class to be interesting to the little ones you work with... its about balance.

After the first month or so I added a few more rewards charts and my popsicle stick collection followed by several of my dollar tree finds like small balls, dry erase cubes and the magnifying glass. I find that else is just gravy... not necessary but makes class time a little easier and more fun. I spent $50 max for everything I use in my classroom outside of the ink for printing... to be honest I don't remember how much I spent on that (oops). That includes all my decor, the props, rewards charts, and a small laminator. 

Take a look the props I have in my current classroom in the video below. 
​
I hope you find this helpful on your VIPKID journey. Feel free to ask questions, send suggestions and etc. for future posts.

What would you add to my collection of props?
Picture
Picture
Join Me at VIPKID
My referral code is: HEATH0116​

Share

Comments

8/2/2018

VIPKID: Adding Level Certifications

Comments

Read Now
 
Picture
So you've joined VIPKID, congratulations! After you've set up your classroom and recorded your intro video you'll be teaching your first student in no time. That's exciting, I hope you have as much fun as I do! I'm sure you still have questions so I'm going to be answering those I've seen a lot of as well as ones you submit. The first one I'll be tackling is level certifications procedure.

​How do I remove add to the levels I can teach?

This question has two parts. The first one is simple though, thankfully, if you don't want to teach a certain level student you just submit a ticket at the FreshDesk. Let them know that you would like a certification removed and they will process it within about 48 hours. Once the certification has been removed parents will no longer be able to request you for those classes.

If you are wanting to add a level however there are a couple different options...
Picture
You may find that after you've been teaching a while you see an email come up that says you may be qualified for an additional level. If this happens you just click over to read & watch the information they provide for the course and then take a short test. If you pass then the certification shows up immediately and you can begin getting bookings. If not then you can typically retake the test and eventually gain your certification.

Picture
The next option is that you will see notification in the Teacher's Portal on the Academy tab. Click in and you'll be presented with not only all the available workshops you can take to become a better instructor but with a list of suggested certifications for you. All of the ones with colored badges you have already acquired but the available one(s) will also be there in grey... click it to go through the course information and take the quiz. Simple.
​
The last option is to submit a ticket to FreshDesk like you did for the removal of a course. The current rule is that you may only go up or down one level from where you are currently certified to teach with each expansion. This makes sense as it lets you adjust as you add age and language fluency levels to your lessons. I have used this method on all but the summer courses personally. 


One you submit a ticket they will usually get back to you within 24 hours to let you know they are reviewing your request and you will see the new certification or a new test appear within a week if they agree that you should expand your levels taught. The last time I requested the summer courses as well as Level 5 and here is the reply I received about two days later.
Picture
I saw the Proper Pronunciation grey badge appear in my Academy within the next few days and the Level 5 badge was added to my certifications based on my experience teaching at that level as explained in my ticket and their review of my classes. I find this method the most effective as you have someone personally review your file and get an answer yes/no within about a week. 

Finally, what am I currently certified in and what am I working towards? My current certifications are shown here. As they make the interactive levels 3-5 available to students I will work towards getting certified but as they are not available I will be working on MC Trial 3.0 which the course that will be replacing my Trial certification in a few months. Trials are cool in that if the student signs up and you were the last teacher he/she worked with then you get a $5 bonus. 

I hope this answered your questions on gaining or removing a course. If you have additional questions shoot me a message and I will be glad to answer if I am able.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Join Me at VIPKID
My referral code is: HEATH0116​

Share

Comments
Details



    Archives

    October 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    21 Day Sugar Detox
    App
    Budget Basics
    Budget Review
    Clean Home
    Daily Life
    Dairy Free
    Declutter
    Dessert
    DIY
    Dogs
    EFL/ESL
    English
    Experiences
    Extra Cash
    Financial Updates
    Fitness
    Gadget
    Gluten Free
    Goal Setting
    Goal Update
    Guest Post
    Health & Wellness
    Household Products
    Investing
    Journey To Health
    Keto
    KonMari
    Lists
    Managing Healthcare
    Meal Prep
    Medical
    Mental Health
    Moving
    Natural Living
    Organization
    Paleo
    Personal
    Podcasts
    Recipes
    Review
    Save Money
    Seniors
    Side Hustles
    Spoonie
    Teaching Online
    Tips & Tricks
    Travel
    Trials
    VIPKID
    Weight Loss

    RSS Feed

Picture
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Goal Setting
  • Financial Journey
    • Personal Finance YouTube
    • Budgeting with YNAB
  • Weight Loss & Life YT
  • Shop
  • The Pups