Chances are you started teaching for VIPKID to make money, not to spend it. There is an initial investment for a headset for most teachers and they move through the hiring process and they may have to purchase a few basic items for their classroom background but after that moment, it is important to keep spending under control to maximize the amount that you make from the time you spend teaching classes.
I used a reward system from the dollar store for my interview. It was an item that I already had at home since I was also a brick and mortar teacher at the time. Once I was hired and started exploring all of the various Facebook groups I saw So Many Reward System Ideas and became overwhelmed very quickly.
It seemed that many teachers were hunting for new reward systems each and every night as they prepared for classes. The more I scrolled, the more I felt like I never had enough reward systems. It took me time to find the right style of reward system that worked for me. These build-a-scene reward systems got students talking, allowed us to share our cultures, helping with my pacing, and worked for all genders and ages.
We didn’t have a printer at the time and I knew I didn’t want to drive to Staples to print reward systems out every night when I prepped classes. We talked about if we should buy a printer for the upcoming season of homework with children and if we needed one for doing work at home. The HP Instant Ink program was such an amazing deal that we decided to invest in this affordable printer.
We like this printer because it is connected to our home wireless network so we can print from any room and device in our home. It prints quickly and loads paper well so we can print with confidence from another room. It prints well on cardstock for us and can even do double-sided printing as a bonus. We can also scan and copy documents which is has come in handy more than I expected.
I used an HP Instant Ink coupon code from a friend so that I would get at least one month free and I also did some googling to see that there was a promotion running at the time to stack another coupon code for 3 free months. Start with this code and then look to see if the 3-month offer is offered when you are shopping for a printing solution.
For our free months, we elected the highest possible plan and had hundreds of free pages available to print every month.
I clicked on THIS bundle and printed out all of my classroom decor and reward systems for the whole year.
I printed them on cardstock so they would last many years. I laminated them, cut them out, and added magnets to the back as I was watching TV with my family. (Some of my friends actually print on this magnetic paper to save time – genius!)
And then I stopped looking at reward systems in those Facebook groups that were giving me anxiety and took back Tons Of Time And Money.
You can read more about that process in this blog post and see all of the reward systems and decor that I use for the whole calendar year.
Since I was printing such a high volume, the printer noticed we were going to need new ink soon. HP automatically keeps track of how much ink you have and mails you ink so that it arrives before you run out. You send the previous cartridge back in their shipping package and never worry about paying for postage.
I marked my Google Calendar so I didn’t miss the date when the free months would end. At that time I moved us from the highest possible plan down to the $5 a month plan. This allows us to print a test copy of new products that we make to ensure they are of the highest quality before we add them to our store. It also allows us the chance to print last-minute items for our children and even make copies when one child gets something cool and the other wishes she had a copy. For $5 a month, quality of life is way up.
If you don’t have a printer (I didn’t) and really don’t want to buy one then I would suggest looking into Digital Reward Systems. These are my go-to choice if I have to teach and travel and you can read more about how Teacher Kimberly uses them here.
But if you love using 2D rewards, I would suggest taking advantage of that free month of HP ink and printing a full year of rewards and decor in one click. It was one of the best decisions I made in my 3+ years of teaching online.
