As many of you know, back in January our sweet little Emmett ended up at Children's Hospital over the weekend after not being able to keep anything down for almost a full week. Shortly after this hospital stay the bills started rolling in for this visit, as well as bills from Boystown that finally got settled for Owen and Nora from before our insurance switched. We have savings and a health savings account but it didn't take long before we were beginning to feel the crunch of the overwhelming amount of medical bills. We also began looking ahead a summer, trips we wanted to take, and extra things that we want to get done around the house.
It didn't take long for us to realize that some extra income coming in would not hurt anything, and in fact would be quite helpful to help us tackle medical bills, and do some of the things that we desired for our family. I began looking at my options.....and to be honest was not thrilled with any of them. Option #1 was to return back to the classroom the following year. (Not really an option. Ha) Option #2 Was to pick up more substitute teaching jobs. (Which I really don't mind doing at all, but when I sub I have to make arrangements for the kids to go somewhere or take them to daycare. That is okay every once in awhile, but I don't want to be gone several days a week because it disrupts our routine, and to be honest, I miss them. ) AND THEN OPTION #3 fell in my lap! Pretty much literally. A lady in one of the Omaha Homeschool groups I am a member of on Facebook posted something about teaching English to Chinese students online through a company called VIPKID. It immediately drew me in. Teaching + English Language Learners + online + $20/hr = WHAT?!
Mark and I talked about it and decided this was too good to be true, it could not be this easy, right? I mean Dave Ramsey always says, "they call it work for a reason." I began researching the company and realized that this is a legitimate opportunity, an AMAZING opportunity for our family.
I then applied and went through the interview process, which is a bit more lengthy than a normal interview. There are 3 steps. All of it together only took about 5-7 days though.
Step 1: Interview and 10 minute demo lesson.
Step 2: 30 minute Mock Lesson #1
Step 3: 30 minute Mock Lesson #2 (I did not have to do this step)
.
My first day of teaching I had 4 classes back to back. Each class is 25 minutes of one on one teaching with a student between the ages of 5-12 that lives in China. Coming from the public school setting and spending HOURS of my "free time" planning and prepping for my own classroom I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that all the work was done for me! The lessons are in powerpoint form. You flip through them, teach the slide and move on to the next!
Sounds amazing.....right? Well I will tell you there is one downside for this night owl. The HOURS, oh my the HOURS. So the reason that this is a good fit is also the only bad part about the job. The peak hours that students in China book classes is after school. The evening in China is the CRACK OF DAWN in Omaha, Nebraska. :( I really thought maybe I would adjust, learn to go to bed when the kids do, wake up early and feel rested. I can tell you that after nearly 5 months of early mornings, that has not happened. I still hate the morning. I still stay up later that I should. My body is just not programmed to be a morning person. I have learned some tricks to manage and there are so many benefits that outweigh this one draw back that I will continue to deal with it.
Here are a few of the many benefits of this job:
1. I don't have to leave my house, therefore....no childcare!
2. I can go to work in my yoga pants. Um....yes!
3. The pay is very reasonable.
4. No planning or prep.
5. My students are absolutely adorable.
6. I can go to work in my yoga pants. (oh...did I mention that already?)
7. I get to do what I love and then shut the computer, walk upstairs and be with my favorite people!
I could go on and on.....
Here are the challenges with this job:
1. Dragging myself out of bed.
That's it. And you know what....I have made a great income. Our cars are now both paid off, we are well on our way to paying off all 3 hospitals, and have been making plans to update some things in our kitchen. Last month my VIPKID paycheck was more than our house payment! To say I am grateful is an understatement. I feel truly blessed to be able to work for this GROWING company. I am getting ready to finish up my first contract and you better believe I will be signing another one!
God truly does provide and I know that is what He did with this opportunity.
Here is the link if you would like more information. I know as I have told many people about this job that there have been questions!
https://t.vipkid.com.cn/?refereeId=3127268
Blessings,
Katie
It didn't take long for us to realize that some extra income coming in would not hurt anything, and in fact would be quite helpful to help us tackle medical bills, and do some of the things that we desired for our family. I began looking at my options.....and to be honest was not thrilled with any of them. Option #1 was to return back to the classroom the following year. (Not really an option. Ha) Option #2 Was to pick up more substitute teaching jobs. (Which I really don't mind doing at all, but when I sub I have to make arrangements for the kids to go somewhere or take them to daycare. That is okay every once in awhile, but I don't want to be gone several days a week because it disrupts our routine, and to be honest, I miss them. ) AND THEN OPTION #3 fell in my lap! Pretty much literally. A lady in one of the Omaha Homeschool groups I am a member of on Facebook posted something about teaching English to Chinese students online through a company called VIPKID. It immediately drew me in. Teaching + English Language Learners + online + $20/hr = WHAT?!
Mark and I talked about it and decided this was too good to be true, it could not be this easy, right? I mean Dave Ramsey always says, "they call it work for a reason." I began researching the company and realized that this is a legitimate opportunity, an AMAZING opportunity for our family.
I then applied and went through the interview process, which is a bit more lengthy than a normal interview. There are 3 steps. All of it together only took about 5-7 days though.
Step 1: Interview and 10 minute demo lesson.
Step 2: 30 minute Mock Lesson #1
Step 3: 30 minute Mock Lesson #2 (I did not have to do this step)
A picture of my "classroom."
Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. :)
.
My first day of teaching I had 4 classes back to back. Each class is 25 minutes of one on one teaching with a student between the ages of 5-12 that lives in China. Coming from the public school setting and spending HOURS of my "free time" planning and prepping for my own classroom I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that all the work was done for me! The lessons are in powerpoint form. You flip through them, teach the slide and move on to the next!
Sounds amazing.....right? Well I will tell you there is one downside for this night owl. The HOURS, oh my the HOURS. So the reason that this is a good fit is also the only bad part about the job. The peak hours that students in China book classes is after school. The evening in China is the CRACK OF DAWN in Omaha, Nebraska. :( I really thought maybe I would adjust, learn to go to bed when the kids do, wake up early and feel rested. I can tell you that after nearly 5 months of early mornings, that has not happened. I still hate the morning. I still stay up later that I should. My body is just not programmed to be a morning person. I have learned some tricks to manage and there are so many benefits that outweigh this one draw back that I will continue to deal with it.
Here are a few of the many benefits of this job:
1. I don't have to leave my house, therefore....no childcare!
2. I can go to work in my yoga pants. Um....yes!
3. The pay is very reasonable.
4. No planning or prep.
5. My students are absolutely adorable.
6. I can go to work in my yoga pants. (oh...did I mention that already?)
7. I get to do what I love and then shut the computer, walk upstairs and be with my favorite people!
I could go on and on.....
Here are the challenges with this job:
1. Dragging myself out of bed.
That's it. And you know what....I have made a great income. Our cars are now both paid off, we are well on our way to paying off all 3 hospitals, and have been making plans to update some things in our kitchen. Last month my VIPKID paycheck was more than our house payment! To say I am grateful is an understatement. I feel truly blessed to be able to work for this GROWING company. I am getting ready to finish up my first contract and you better believe I will be signing another one!
God truly does provide and I know that is what He did with this opportunity.
Here is the link if you would like more information. I know as I have told many people about this job that there have been questions!
https://t.vipkid.com.cn/?refereeId=3127268
Blessings,
Katie
