So, it has been a few years.
Life threw me a curve ball.
As long as there was no job, I had time. Time to try to be popular (never really was) and make money with a blog.
Instead, I found VIPkid. I signed on late October 2018. Threw my heart into it, and after a very slow beginning, I took off after the New Year. Soon, I had a dozen regular students, two of whom are still with me almost 6 years later. The girls were 5 and 6 ... and they both just had birthdays of 11 and 12.
When China closed its borders to outside teaching influence, and VIPkid closed down October of 2021, I was devastated and not sure what would happen next. Of my 40 regular students, only 2 were able to continue classes with me.
But then, one of the dad's contacted me to continue teaching his daughter. I had no curriculum. So, it was an experiment. She was my very first student to "stick with me" and I got to keep her. The following week, a second mom contacted me about teaching her child.
So, I threw out an inquiry ... and soon I had a dozen students who wanted to keep learning with me. Way cool. Some hours of research later, and we were sort of up and running. I still had no concrete curriculum, but joined some FB groups of teachers venturing out on the same path. Through them, I got my hands on curriculum. Yeah!
I also interviewed and joined Varsity Tutors, Outschool, and two other groups that I've since left and can't remember their names. So, that first year, I was able to find enough jobs with Varsity Tutors to keep our heads above water. And slowly, the kids I loved shared me with friends. Some stayed, some were short-term.
Some parents expect miracles rather than steady growth. As if a struggling child can miraculously catch up with a 25-minute class once a week.
This year was amazing. I was down to 1 VIP class, Claire doesn't make it every week now, but I'm her only teacher. And I had 1 Varsity Tutors class. It was my lowest-paying gig. And I ended up with 6 students from China living in California. So, I taught mornings and nights.
We managed to marry off our oldest daughter this summer as well.
And we bought a house 2 years ago.
It's been a journey.
