VIPKID Q & A

Lots of people have asked me about my VIPKID teaching, so I thought I’d pass along some info!

*What is it??

It’s teaching Chinese (Sometimes other Asian countries) kiddos English. It is one on one through a video classroom platform.

The classes range from beginner to very advanced. The kids’ ages are from 4-12. Sometimes you get an advanced little one or a beginner older one, but usually the littles are beginner and older kiddos are more advanced.

*What are the education/experience requirements??

You need a 4 year degree in ANY field and some experience teaching kids. Volunteer/church teaching counts! I have a degree in Marriage, Family, and Human Development and I used my piano teaching experience plus volunteering with my kids’ schools to get hired.

You also go through an interview process where you teach “mock” classes and are evaluated to see if you are a fit. YouTube has TONS of examples and helps for you to see what they are looking for.

*What is the pay??

Depending on how your mock classes go they will assign you a pay grade. Usually it’s $8-$10 per class plus incentives. If you are there on time and finish your class you get $1 more per class and if you teach 45 or more classes per month another $1 is added on. Classes are 25 mins long, so it’s about $20 an hour.

You can choose to be paid every 2 weeks or monthly. I prefer monthly.

*When do you teach??

You can teach from 7pm to 7am 7 days a week. You open up the slots you want to teach. Here’s what works for me: 5:30-7am weekday mornings (3 classes) and 5:30-8am Saturdays (5 classes), Sundays off. So I teach 20 classes a week, all before my family wakes up for the day!

If I have a vacation or some special occasion I just don’t open up time slots for that time. I have taught while traveling, but I have realized I prefer having a real break and not bringing my work with me. Although it can easily be done.

*Where do you teach?

I teach in a corner of my basement where I can't be heard by my sleeping family! You can set up anywhere you want as long as you won't be interrupted by anyone and the lighting is good. Here are a couple shots of my current classroom. The camera zooms in and only sees what is inside the gray fabric square and my laptop sits on top of the white crate. So all the chaos around it is hidden!

*How do you get up that early??

This was a pain at first, but now it is just my routine! I go to bed around 9 most nights and I stay home with Ellie Jo so if I am really beat, I can nap with her. I wake up at 5 to give myself a little time to wake up and get ready for my first class at 5:30.

*Is it hard??

No! The hardest part is just getting the hang of it and finding your own style. That comes with experience and time. You teach their prepared lessons that are in a power point type format. So they provide all the material, you just teach what they give you. And you can look ahead to what lessons you have scheduled to prepare. At the beginning I would spend some time during the day preparing and learning what I was supposed to be doing, but now I RARELY spend any outside of classroom time on it.

*Does it cost money??

Yes and no. You are supposed to be prepared with reliable internet, a “classroom,” props to help you teach and rewards to motivate the kids.

Your classroom is just the background you sit in front of while you teach. It should be education oriented and inviting to kids. There are LOTS of different styles, I like to keep mine simple and classic. I started out with what I had around the house- just a big white board with some magnet letters and printed out VIPKID characters. Then I added to it once I made some money and knew what I wanted it to look like. I do change it up occasionally, but not too often.

Lots of the props I use in my classes I had around the house already because I have kiddos, ie stuffed animals, toy balls, and other toys. I also have printed off and laminated A LOT of props and rewards to help me teach. But it was all a bit at a time. To start, you only need a few things (like a whiteboard, some kind of reward system, and maybe flashcards) and once you start making $$ you can add more if you wish. 

I also bought an orange shirt to wear for my interviews. Orange is VIPKID’s signature color I guess. It is not required, but it shows you know about the company and are ready to jump in teaching. I still wear an orange shirt for every class.

*Do they train you??

Pretty much. The best training I got at the beginning was the YouTube videos other teachers had posted. I loved videos from Jennifer Anderson, Nancy Taylor and Angela Silva, they really gave me an idea of what kind of teaching VIPKID is looking for. Once you are “hired” you can sign up for workshops about all kinds of teaching topics. These are voluntary and unpaid, but very helpful.

You also have to get certified to teach the major course levels. As of now they offer levels 1-6 and several different specialty classes. I am certified for levels 1-3 plus some specialty classes like phonics and conversation classes. This is plenty for me and keeps my schedule full. If I feel like a change or start having my slots not full up, I will probably look into more certifications. To certify I reviewed online materials and passed a quiz on VIPKID's website. It is super easy.

*How long before I start teaching kids??

When you first get “hired” (you are actually an independent contractor, so your aren’t technically a VIPKID employee) it takes a while to get your schedule booked up. I was a teacher for several weeks before I actually taught any classes. Once I started teaching it was still a toss up if my opened slots would get filled with students. Some others have had different experiences where they booked full from the get go, but for me it took some time. I have been teaching with VIPKID for 251 days now for several

Moths now any slots I open get booked.

*Do you like it??

No...I LOVE it! Especially now that I am in a good groove, it is super easy and doesn’t require much prep at all. It is a great way for me to branch out beyond my little bubble and make my brain work! The kids are 99% of the time super adorable and happy to be there! I very rarely get a stinker, but it does happen. It is very similar to teaching piano or primary. I have lots of repeat students (“regulars”) that I love! It is so rewarding to see them progress and get to know them. It has been much more fun and fulfilling than I thought it would be! Also, getting a nice paycheck every month is pretty awesome!

I hope that answers any questions you have, and I am happy to chat with anyone who thinks this could be a good fit for you! 

And then there were six...

Well, never say never. 

After thinking our family was complete for 5 years, we received promptings from the spirit, prayed, prayed in the temple, and finally realized the Lord wanted one more little one to join our family.

This is pretty much how the pregnancy went:

"Advanced Maternal Age" "Geriatric Pregnancy""Elderly Primagravida"
All of these terms were used during the course of my 9ish months in and out of the Dr office. The main difference I felt being an older pregnant lady was energy level...I had none! So hanging out with my little girls watching Netflix was unfortunately the way I got through it. 
But then, 2 days early and very very quickly, Ellie joined us!

Here's the birth story of our sweet new girlie. About a week before I was due I was so over being pregnant, so I had been walking (waddling) up and down our street each day to try and get things going. It would start some contractions usually, but they would fizzle out eventually. I also was eating all the spicy food I could handle, but that one didn't produce any results. On the evening of May 25th I started having some actual contractions, but they were about 15 minutes apart and irregular. Michael and I watched an episode of our current couples show, Blue Bloods, and I kept contracting but I thought I would go to sleep and they would go away because that had happened a couple of times in the last week. We laid down to go to sleep, but kept talking for a while. Finally, around 11:10 pm I asked Michael if we could go to sleep,  just in case this was the real thing. I closed my eyes and about 30 seconds later I felt a pop and a gush and I knew I wouldn't be getting any sleep this night! So I got up to get some dry clothes on and Michael called my best friend and neighbor, Alisa to come be with the kiddos. Michael went down to the basement and let Carter and Anna know what was happening (Ryan was dead asleep so he had to wait until the morning to find out) and they were super excited! We hopped in the car and headed to the hospital, leaving at 11:20ish. by that time my contractions and gotten much closer together and more intense. By the time the 15 minute ride to the hospital was done the contractions were 5 minutes apart. Although I was in denial about how fast it was happening! When Michael pointed out how close the contractions were getting I told him he was wrong, then he did the math for me (3 contractions in a 15 minute car ride...not rocket science Dana) and I was freaking out in my head! I just felt panicky about the whole thing, I knew what I was in for and I was scared! I didn't want an epidural, but for some reason knowing I was probably going too fast to have one freaked me out. We checked in at the ER desk and when I told the receptionist why I was there I instantly had everyone in the waiting room's attention. They brought me a wheel chair and wheeled me back right away, and the people waiting encouraged me as I went by, it was very sweet! 

Me feeling relieved and terrified that the time was finally here to have Ellie! Also, I could not be more swollen!

 It was a busy night in the hospital and as I was getting situated in my room the nurse told me it would be a little while before the delivery nurses could get in and get my IV in and stuff like that. That nurse left and I had 2-3 contractions just changing into my gown, so I told Michael to let her know that if they wanted anything done before the baby came they better do it NOW. She came back with a helper and started getting me hooked up to everything and asking all the questions they ask. By now the contractions were getting serious and close! I asked about pain control options, knowing that I didn't have many. They mentioned nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and I thought I'd give it a try. I just could not get calm inside, so I thought it would help. And it did help me stay calm, I think. I definitely didn't make a difference with the pain, but it helped me not lose it. By midnight the nursing staff knew that I was going super fast, so I had about 5 nurses in the room! I was starting to push but the nurses didn't want me to because I wasn't 100% effaced. Yeah, you try to tell your body not to push in the middle of everything! I certainly wasn't choosing to, it was just happening! The dr came in at this point and checked me and I actually WAS 100% effaced and good to go. I started to push for real and things kind of stalled! I'm not sure how long it was, it felt long to me! I finally decided I was ready to end it, grabbed my knees and pushed like crazy and she was finally born! 
 

Eleanor JoAnne Christensen, born May 26 at 1:38am, 9 lbs 5 oz, 22 inches

After it was all over I was told she was face up (which is not the proper position for babies, they are usually face down) and that's why the pushing had taken longer. Paige was sunny side up too and let me tell you it is not my favorite! The nurses kept telling me how great I did and that they can't believe I had a large, face up baby that quickly! I'm sure they were just trying to make me feel good, but I'll take it! She cried right away, which is always a relief, and I found out I wasn't a wimp, she was a giant baby! 9 pounds 5 ounces and 22 inches long. She was perfect and beautiful. They gave her to me to do skin to skin nursing and she went right to work. She had no problems whatsoever figuring out eating, and that was another blessing! And that's the story of sweet Ellie Jo joining our family.

Jill turns 5

Our sweet Jill Dana turned 5 yesterday! I'll skip the "where has the time gone" stuff, though I am feeling it. She had a great day that started with breakfast cake and presents, then an unexpectedly well attended Lego party, and her favorite bread stick alfredo to end the day. In between all of those events, we put legos together. ALL DAY. And I found myself liking it. There is something satisfying about taking those random pieces and suddenly you've made a car! Here are a few pics of the big day:

Cute Michael playing peek a boo with Paigey

Legos anyone? She was OVER THE MOON to get these!

How cute is this doll?! My friend Ashlie makes them, she makes princesses, ninja turtles, she even does custom orders!

Super Jill!

Lego work in progress

Oh the hours that went into these! But we had a blast!

And one year later...more family pics

New Family pics!

Someday, I will get this blog up to date! Until then, here are our 2013 family pics. I love how they turned out, we used my good friend Sara again and were not disappointed! :)