Hi, TEACHER BRAINS! My name is Cindy Martin. I was an elementary teacher for 20 years and National Board Certified in 2003 in early childhood.  I have two children, a son in college for computer programming, and a daughter finishing her art degree at SCAD in Savannah.  Another VIP in my life is my fur baby Missy, who is by my side almost all day while I create resources. My supportive husband whom I adore, owns a sign company called SOS Sign and Lighting.

Teaching others has always been my passion, but my 20th year was riddled with painful moments due to a new principal who didn’t like me. (LONG STORY) I thought I would NEVER leave teaching. Luckily, I  found my groove in creating resources for other teachers to use in their classrooms with Teachers Pay Teachers.  I get to work from home, spend more time with my family, make more money, enjoy a flexible schedule, and don’t have to worry about buying wine in the grocery store while seeing students now. 🙂 Knowing how valuable time is for teachers, I began creating resources to help them save time, money, and increase student achievement.  I believe that rigor and engagement can coexist. 

In 2022 I was diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis and stage 2 breast cancer. I spent over two years having surgeries, enduring the awful effects of chemotherapy, and radiation. I am happy to be in remission today!

Recently, I joined two other of my favorite TpTers to open a membership club for teachers to give teachers access to thousands of amazing resources for a low subscription price.  Teaching Ideas Made Easy (TIME) is my favorite way to help save teachers’ time and bring innovative lessons to the classroom.

My Likes and Beliefs

In my free time, we love spending time as a family boating, swimming, and traveling. My illnesses slowed down our traveling life, but I enjoyed spending time in my backyard, including “Porch Time” with my husband on the weekends. We finally got to travel to Europe, which was on my “survival” bucket list! I want to spend more time with friends and family, laughing and traveling to new places this year! Of course, I want to continue my passion of working with teachers and advocating for students.

I believe that it is necessary to acknowledge visual, auditory, and tactile learning styles when teaching students. I like to use a balanced approach to teaching students.  My main goal is to inspire students to love learning by creating FUN educational experiences.  If you have a problem with the word FUN, replace it with ENGAGING.  My goal is for students to wake up excited, wanting to come to school and learn!  I love designing teaching resources, sharing ideas, mentoring teacher authors, mentoring students with Take Stock in Children, and being a child advocate.

Memories

Students in the past have fond memories of my Polar Express PJ Day, hot cocoa on cold mornings, making personality pigs, writing books, the individual photo albums I made for each student, mixing liquid to make GAK, using candy for math, seeing me dressed up like The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus, trips to the Treasure Box for surprises, transforming my room into movie theaters, train stations, and fun literacy center activities that still promote the rigor needed in today’s curriculum. I started blogging to help connect and inform the public about educational issues and my available resources. You can follow my TpT Shop at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Colleagues have said her strengths are:

“Creativity, making learning fun, sharing academic ideas, and engaging her students in lessons.” – Mrs. Bradley

“She is child-centered.  Her focus is always on their needs, whether it be making learning fun or advocating for them.” -Mrs. McGray

“Hands-down one of the most creative teachers who thinks outside of the box while always keeping the children’s educational needs in mind.” – Ms. Flynn