Printing/Ink Solution

Friends, I have to tell you about something that I think just changed my life! It's not necessarily something brand new, but I honestly don't know many people who are doing it, so I wanted to let you know about it.   It has also come up a lot recently in Facebook groups as people are preparing for Back to School and Fall schedules.

So, what is it?  HP Instant Ink. 

Here's my story:
Our previous HP printer stopped working. We tried multiple things to try and fix it. I had heard about this HP Instant Ink thing awhile back, but thought that it was a waste of money.  I thought that you would pay them a monthly fee and they would send you ink, but that you still had to pay for the ink.  Well, after a little more investigation, I discovered I was very wrong!  You pay a monthly fee for them to send you ink, BUT you don't have to pay more for the ink cartridges.

If you're like me, you are a numbers person and like to budget.  So let me break it down for you.

We purchased the HP Officejet 5744 for approximately $100.  It came with 6 months free of Instant Ink.  When we were signing up for the Instant Ink package, I noticed there was a coupon code right now for 3 months free.  Sometimes coupons don't stack, but I thought, "Why not try it?"  Guess what? It worked!  So for $100, I got a new printer and 9 months of free ink, printing 300 pages per month! Pretty awesome, right?

After the 9 free months are up, we will switch to a subscription plan.  There are three plans:
Occasional printing: $2.99/mo for 50 pages
Moderate printing: $4.99/mo for 100 pages
Frequent printing: $9.99/mo for 300 pages
 The price includes them shipping the new cartridges to you, the ink itself, and recycling of the old cartridges. 

My husband did a comparison.  The ink we would need to print that much would be about $65 in cartridges.  For two rounds of ink, it would be $130. Who knows how many rounds I would need to print 300 pages per month.  With Instant Ink, even the highest level (~$10) would only be $120 per year!  Is it adding up in your head?  You can save A TON of money!  Oh, and I think I forgot to mention that you can change the plan anytime you want. So if you find yourself needing to print more than the allowed amount, you can change it.  If you aren't printing as much, you can bump down to a lower one.

Want to know the best part? The unused pages roll into the next month!  That means if I don't print anything one month, I have now doubled my page amount for the next. 

I know you may not be thinking back to school or fall yet. But seriously, if you are in the market for a new printer and print a lot of fun TpT activities for your clients or students, you should consider this!

Check it out via my referral link here and you'll get a month free!  Which means you could have up to 10 months free (if you buy a qualifying printer and use the code SCHOOL3 when signing up). You won't regret it!

Quick and Easy Back to School Tips Guest Post

Happy Monday!

It's officially August now, which means I have to start thinking about back to school.  This week, I will work on my room a little bit, and we officially report on Friday.  Summer FLEW by.  I'm headed into my second year in the schools.  While I learned a lot last year, I'm always looking for new tips on how to do things!  That's why I am so excited to be a part of Nicole from Speech Peep's new blog post series called Quick and Easy Back to School Tips!

My tips are about scheduling and use of "Year at a Glance" and "Due this Month" sheets!  Check it out over at Speech Peeps!

What's in My Cart: August 2015 {linky party}

It's that time again!  Back to School 2015!  I am starting to gather supplies and new activities for this year.  Perfect time for a sale, right?  I wanted to give you a heads up on what's in my cart and a few suggestions of products for you.   Thanks to Jenna at Speech Room News for hosting this great linky party! Check out all of the great bloggers who linked up!

Here are a few things to check out in my store:

If you are in a need of a new or cute decor theme, check out this cute owl set!

These posters are perfect for decor, word lists, or centers.  They include visual and written prompts.

Looking for a planner specifically designed for SLPs? Then this one is for you!

Here are some things that are in my car:

I have had my eye on this word wall from Nicole Allison (Speech Peeps) for awhile now.  I cannot wait to use it in my room!

This literary detective packet from Lauren LaCour (Busy Bee Speech) looks amazing!  It is exactly what my students need.

This packet from Jenn Alcorn (Crazy Speech World) also looks amazing.  I cannot wait to use this with my students!

Just a reminder that the sale will be August 3 and 4.  Use the code BTS15 for a discount! 

Happy Shopping!

Sizzling Summer Sale!

Can you believe we are already in the middle of July?!  I know I can't.  One of my co-workers called me the other day and made me start thinking about what I need and want for the new school year.  So if you're like me, take advantage of this awesome sale today and tomorrow!!

Here are some of my featured products to check out while you're thinking about the new year:

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Back to School Boost Sale

If you were like me, you spent early August trying to figure out the schedule, your caseload, the staff relationships, and all of that.  So when the TpT sale happened, I wasn't completely prepared with what I should buy, to be completely honest!  

But TpT heard everyone and has decided to throw a one day sale- today, August 20.  Everything will be up to 28% off!

Check out the sale here and fill up those carts!  Happy shopping!

Getting Started in a New Speech Room

If you follow my Facebook or Instagram pages, you know that I have just begun moving into my new speech room!  It is a very exciting time.  I love being able to decorate the space and make it my own.  Here's a sneak peek for you (a full blog post will come later):

So if you are a brand new SLP like me or are moving to a new classroom, here's a few steps to help get you started:

1)  Tour your room early, if possible.  I had the opportunity to tour my school and room about a month and a half before my contract was set to begin.  I knew I had the summer free to dream up the perfect room and then find supplies to make it happen.  It gave me an idea of which areas could happen, such as my book nook (pictured above).  It also showed me that I had a certain number of filing cabinets, which meant I did or did not need crates, etc to supplement and add storage.

2)  Set a budget.  As a newbie with no income, it was difficult to swallow the realities of the cost of setting up a classroom.  I had one friend tell me she spent almost half of her paycheck her first year to pay for decorations, bulletin boards, and books.  I was determined not to do this, because I knew it wasn't realistic for me.  Set a dollar amount limit that you want to keep your costs under and stick to it.

3)  Prioritize your wants and needs.  For me, a rug was a huge priority.  My floors are all tile.  Not only did I not want to sit on the bare floor or have my students sitting on it, I felt a rug would add to the room and make it feel more welcoming.  By making a list of your top priorities in your room, you will be able to better stick to that budget.

4) Ask about any restrictions regarding decorations.  One of my friends is in a school that has very strict guidelines about decor (in fact, it's a whole teaching philosophy).  Some may allow you to do whatever you want.  There may be fire codes you have to follow.  You may not be able to put boxes close to the ceiling.  You may not be able to hang anything from the ceiling.  Check into these before doing anything.

5) Make it yours.  You can try and make it such that it will appeal to every child.  What I have learned is that not every child will appreciate it or enjoy it, no matter what you choose.  You are the one who will be spending the majority of the time in the office, so it needs to be a space you are comfortable in as well.  Obviously, it has to be kid-friendly and should be fairly gender-neutral.

6)  Gather ideas.   I started a Pinterest board just to collect all of the awesome ideas I found.   If you are interested, check it out my board here.

7) Consult other professionals.  I asked a lot of others about what they felt was necessary in their speech room.  This helped give me an idea of what I needed to purchase ahead of time.

8) Inventory everything.  I like to create a list of everything that is in the classroom so that if I am ever stuck, I can go back through that list quickly.  Otherwise, I would be stuck going through my materials closet frantically.  It may take some time at the beginning of the year, but you won't have to do it again, and it will serve as a great reference throughout the year.

9) Label everything that you own.  The last thing you want to happen is for your favorite game to walk away.  The school needs to know that it is your personal game/ activity.

10)  Try not to stress.  It is really easy to get stressed out about this closet or that bulletin board.  I am a perfectionist, so I tend to get stressed out when little things are slightly off.  It's something I'm working on.  I'm also learning to enjoy the process and that everything will come together in the end.

Those are a few steps to get you started.  I hope starting in a new position or starting in a new room goes smoothly for everyone this year!  I'll be thinking of you, especially since I'm in the same situation!

Let's Talk About Books: Week 5 {linky}

It's another week and another chance to talk about books!  Every week, Deanna Jump hosts a linky party to talk about books we have been reading or like to use in our classroom!  I love hearing about how others have used books and get some new ideas for my speech room.   Check out last week's post here.

Recently, I was able to proofread a brand new book, and I am so excited about it!! It's called There Was A Speech Teacher Who Swallowed Some Dice by Pat Mervine.

Description (from Amazon):

"A wacky Speech Teacher starts swallowing everything she needs to do speech/language therapy in her school! What could possibly happen? Better look out when those dice begin to roll! "There Was a Speech Teacher Who Swallowed Some Dice" is a delightfully silly way to introduce students to many of the materials used in speech therapy, and ends with a Speech Room Scavenger Hunt."

Here are some pictures from the book to give you a flavor of it!

Here's the review I wrote on Amazon:

"This book is perfect for SLPs and explaining what happens in speech therapy to our students/clients. This is a great book to use any time during the year, but especially at the beginning to help introduce the students to speech therapy and what to expect. The book is fun and wacky, with the "speech teacher" swallowing things like dice, glue, tongue depressors, sound cards, and the prize box. If you like the "There Was An Old Lady..." Series, you will love this!"

I plan to use this book during the first week of therapy to help students get used to what we will be doing throughout the year!

What is your favorite book to use during the first week of therapy?    

Back-To-School Bundle

I wanted to share a recent purchase of mine with you.  I purchased this AMAZING back-to-school bundle from Freebielicious.  Freebielicious is a collaborative group of some of the 25 top sellers on Teachers Pay Teachers!   This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

This amazing deal is available here.  You get over 2100 pages of back to school activities!!  Admittedly, not all of the activities are appropriate for speech therapy.  However, most of them are GREAT!  Check out my favorites below.

Alphabet Poetry- This cute activity has a poem for each letter of the alphabet.   She included color and black/white versions to save on print.  Each poem also has a version where students can trace the letters or write their own!

Apples Apples Apples- This activity alone is packed full of activities to be used by SLPs.  She included sequencing cards, number cards that could be used to target "How Many," and cards to be used in pretend/dramatic play!

Draw and Tell- This is one of my absolute favorites in the bundle!!  Students finish the picture shown. Then they describe the picture they have just drawn.  You can also have students color the picture and describe it further as well as target colors!

Labels- There are also a couple sets of labels in this pack!  One of them is intended for libraries, but I think they'd be great to help us organize all of our materials by theme!!

Songs in the Classroom-Who doesn't love singing?  We sing all the time in preschool!!  This bundle includes a 51 page packet with all songs!! There are songs for classroom management, calendar time, and learning.  Another great things is she includes posters to put on the wall as well as small versions for you to keep in front of you.  The best part is that it also includes a color sorting activity at the end of it!! WOW! My preschoolers are going to love this.

Do you want this bundle??? You can buy it or find out more information here.  Let me know what you think of it if you do decide to buy it!!