Hey, we’re Claire and Terry.
While this is technically a page about us, let’s make sure you’re in the right place.
You’re a dedicated elementary teacher determined to make a difference for your students.
You want them to grow and thrive in your classroom, building critical thinking and problem-solving skills – not just memorizing a bunch of facts and tricks (that you know they’ll forget anyway). We’re helping raise awesome humans here!
And you want to do it all without spending all your evenings and weekends planning and marking. Without the endless exhaustion. Without missing out on fun adventures with friends and family.
You want to really enjoy teaching again.
Sound about right?
We’re right there with you!
Potholes – you know, those bumps in the road that make reaching your destination a challenge – are littered throughout this profession. Heavy curriculum load. Not enough resources. No teaching materials. Lack of support. Limited training. Large class sizes. Increasing student needs…
We love teaching and we know you do too because you’re here! But it’s a challenge and it’s getting harder…
With great strategies and resources to get past those potholes, you will be able to save time, reduce stress and love your job again!
Our goal…
Our mission is to save you time and reduce your workload! After years of being ‘teacher tired’, we’ve found systems and strategies to find the joy again.
We’re here to share tips and resources to save you from the same fate!
We’re a married couple of Canadian teachers (well, actually I’m born and raised English) who have spent over 20 years each teaching mostly in Ontario, but also Mexico and Trinidad.
Most of our careers have been spent in Junior grades (upper elementary) and Intermediate grades (middle school). But Claire has been as low as Kindergarten and Terry has also taught High School.
We’re here to help with materials for the core areas of education, leaving the fun stuff for you!
You’re in the right place if you…
1
believe in student-centered lessons that reach all learners
2
want your lessons to be engaging and rigorous
3
believe education should go beyond memorization and worksheets
4
want to be the best teacher without sacrificing your personal life (or sanity)!
A little backstory…
Our story begins at a keg party – yep, in a muddy field outside of town – as Terry began his teaching career and Claire was preparing to head to Teacher’s College. Totally random!
Teaching was always the end goal for both of us. Terry grew up in a family of teachers, Claire with a love of working with children.
We both feel strongly about helping students become the best they can be – far beyond any test scores. We took on leadership roles including coaching, division chairs and math leads and became a go-to person for our peers. Helping teachers beyond our own schools became a natural progression.
ENTER PAST THE POTHOLES
This all began with me, Claire. Between my slight obsession with fonts, clipart and design, and a lack of quality resources, I started creating what my coworkers and I needed. After years of being told to do so, I finally started a TPT store to share my resources.
Having wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember, I finally made it – waaaaay back in 2002! Only to feel more than a little lost. Teachers’ College didn’t leave me feeling prepared. My first classroom was void of any materials. I was armed with a curriculum sorely lacking any direction in the ‘how’.
I remember that feeling too well and want to help other teachers. Whether you are a new teacher, new to the grade or subject, or just plain busy, I hope you find some useful strategies and resources here.
Taking Teaching on the Road
Terry came on board officially (he had been an unofficial sounding board for years), in 2017. We had just finished a year of teaching in Trinidad and, while we didn’t want to stay, knew we weren’t ready to return to Canada.
We decided to travel full-time for two years while working on our TPT store! Now back in Ontario classrooms, our goal to create and share meaningful and engaging learning materials lives on.
We know you’re an amazing teacher and want to do your very best for your kids. But we don’t believe it should be at the expense of your personal life.
Connect With Us
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WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING…
“This resource is amazing. It has been a huge time-saver and lifeline for me as a teacher and it is engaging for the students. I find it very comprehensive and that I get a lot of assessment data from following it. I’ve also appreciated the ability to modify documents as needed for my IEP students. This is seriously a lifesaver!!!”
– Full Year of Grade 6 Math customer review