Laura Candler of Corkboard Connections
What grade level(s)
and/or subject(s) are you currently teaching? What grade levels have you taught
prior to this year?
I'm currently retired, but I used to teach 4th and 5th grade.
If currently in the
classroom, how long have you been teaching? If not still in classroom, how long
did you teach?
I taught for 30 years!
When did you join
Teachers Pay Teachers as a Seller? What made you decide to become a seller?
I joined TpT after I
was already selling ebooks and materials from my own website. I guess I joined
up out of curiosity and because it seemed so easy. I was fascinated with it
right from the start!
I was amazed at what
was now available to teachers to help them sell their lessons easily because it
was so much work for me to set up my own website, figure out how to install a
shopping cart on it, create a newsletter, and so on. I immediately saw the
benefits of TpT and became a premium seller right away.
Someone else created
the site, someone else was sending out newsletters and marketing the materials,
someone else was handling the payments. Wow! What an opportunity for teachers to
easily start selling their own materials online!
One piece of advice you can
give to a beginning teacher & one piece for a veteran teacher:
I would advise a
beginning teacher to find teachers at your school who have a passion for
teaching and spend as much time with them as possible. Stay away from negative
grumblers and find people who face the daily challenges with a smile. Don't get
frustrated and overwhelmed the first year; just tackle what you can handle and
do what you can. The next year is so much easier!
The advice I would
give a veteran teacher is to throw out your old lesson plans from last year and
be willing to do things differently every year. You've got to keep up with new
technologies and always seek to improve yourself and grow as a teacher. If you
ever get to a point where you are not happy with your teaching situation,
either change schools or change grade levels to give yourself a new challenge.
If that doesn't help, maybe it's time to move on to something else. Every child
deserves a happy, caring teacher, and if you are no longer happy in the
classroom, go where your passion is leading you!
Something unique about
you both as a teacher and outside of the classroom:
What was unique about
me as a teacher? I guess that would be my ability to quickly and easily create
engaging lessons for my students that challenged them on many levels. I loved a
bit of chaos in the classroom as long as things were getting accomplished and
we were learning and having fun. Also, as a teacher I prefer to dress really
casually and comfortably. I would have worn jeans every day if allowed to do so!
Outside of the
classroom, I enjoy outdoor activities like snowshoeing, hiking and kayaking.
I'm happiest when I'm outside enjoying nature, challenging myself physically in
some way.
TpT Store
Link:
If
you like, please leave a link to one of your best selling products here:
What
other bio information would you like to share?
I was born in New
Hampshire but moved to the south over 35 years ago. I now live in North
Carolina. I have been married to the same wonderful guy for 30 years and we
have two terrific daughters. I attended the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill for my undergraduate degree and UNC Pembroke for my Elementary Ed
Masters. I earned National Board Certification in one of the first few years it
was offered and became recertified about 5 years ago.
I have written 5 books
for Kagan and was a trainer for his company for a short while. I recently
published another print book, Power Reading Workshop, and I'm excited about the
results teachers are getting with that program.
I guess my biggest
accomplishment was being awarded a Milken Family Foundation Award back in 2000
- it came with a $25,000 cash award that wasn't earmarked for the classroom!
Are
there any other sites you’d like posted for others to access?
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lauracandler
___________________________________________________________
LAURA CANDLER, THANK YOU FOR SHARING WITH US!!
If you are a TpT Teacher-Author and would like to be featured on Innovative Connections, I love to have you!! I'm always seeking Innovative Teachers with fabulous materials and information to share with others! Just fill out the entry form link under my tabs at the top of this blog!
Regards,
They are fantastic tools to have for getting students' blood flowing too! 
In my mailbox about a week ago was a nice surprise...a set of 9 x 12 reusable dry erase pockets to use in my classroom...THANKS TARRAGON! ;) You rock!
So, since I just finished creating a new resource for pronouns, I decided to try it with the new folders I got this past week! It was great!
I just slipped them right into the pockets! Of course, to create a little twist, I tied some yarn on them, hung them in "stations" around the room, and had my students pair up and work each set while I played music...when the music stopped, they shifted to the next station. It was fun for them and such an easy way to get middle school busy bodies up and moving --trust me, they need it. 
(Don't you just love the cute graphic, designed by Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs)
