Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsey Nilsen
Hi Lindsey, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I began my teaching career in a small rural school teaching third grade. I quickly fell in love with teaching reading and writing. My husband was in the Army which moved us to Germany. Wanting to take advantage of our wild travel opportunities I decided to pursue more flexible teaching experiences than a typical elementary teaching position. While overseas I taught English virtually, tutored local German students, attended a literacy conference in Dublin, Ireland, was published in a literacy journal, and worked at one of the Air Force Libraries. I also wrote a novel and several children’s books (still unpublished) that I am incredibly proud of. I am so thankful for that time because I learned that I could still foster my creative side and use my teacher skills but in less traditional ways.
Once we moved back stateside we started a family and I was torn between wanting to continue to keep my footing in my education career and wanting to nurture my growing family full time.
Six weeks after my son was born I decided to take a leap and combine my creative side with my passion for literacy and make literacy resources to sell. I created simple, engaging, and most importantly effective K-4 reading and writing resources that other teachers could implement with their students. I primarily sell my resources on the education resource site Teachers Pay Teachers but also created an Etsy store and my own website/blog. My hope is to continue to grow so that I can pursue publishing my children’s books someday!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the most part, it has been pretty smooth. The hardest part has been realizing that I can’t just focus on creating resources and writing. I’ve also had to learn marketing, website design, product photography, social media, and keep up to date on research. Another hard part has been trying to juggle all of this with motherhood. I typically only get to work during naptime so it’s been hard to accept growing at a slower rate than I would like.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I primarily create and share K-4 literacy resources, activities, and ideas for other educators to use with their students. Parents and teachers can easily buy a workbook or download worksheets online but what sets my resources apart is the engagement factor. I work hard to combine strategies that engage kids (games and crafts for example) with research-based learning opportunities. I’m not just creating dry worksheets. I create learning experiences that will last.
In addition to my literacy resources, I have also dabbled in promoting teacher mental health. While I LOVE teaching it is HARD! I very much struggled with my mental health while in the classroom. Again, I decided to pair my creative side with something I felt passionate about which brought my Teacher Mental Health Journal to life. I spent nearly a year writing and designing a journal specifically for teachers in the hope that other teachers might feel empowered to pour into themselves instead of just their students. I am very proud of the journal and have loved hearing all the positivity from teachers who are using it!
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
In addition to creating literacy resources and my Teacher Mental Health Journal, I try my best to share helpful content on social media. I’m always open to collaborating with other teachers, teacherpreneurs, writers, local schools, etc! You can find my resources on my website, Etsy, or Teachers Pay Teachers. My Teacher Mental Health Journal can be found on Amazon or Teachers Pay Teachers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/authorlinseynilsen
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlindseynilsen/
- Other: Teacher Mental Health Journal on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3VVoJHM
Teachers Pay Teachers Store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/author-lindsey-nilsen
