Pack Your Patience

In order to move you need to have an endless supply of patience. You need it to stand in endless lines, while working through confusing paperwork, waiting for responses, waiting until it’s time to complete the next step in the process, and most importantly patience with yourself as you navigate uncharted waters. Luckily I have had the best support a girl could ask for though the whole process. In fact, I can’t begin to imagine anyone who chooses to move to another country totally on their own with no one there to guide and answer a thousand questions. My school […]

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New Adventures in Barcelona, Spain

This has been years in the making. Anyone who knows me has without a doubt at one time or another heard me prattle on about how one day I wanted to live abroad. It’s one thing to talk and dream about one day strolling cobblestone streets everyday heading to a local coffee shop in a quaint European town, it’s quite another thing to actually do something about it. But here I am, doing something about it. I still can’t quite believe I will be moving this August to Barcelona, Spain to teach at the American School of Barcelona. I will […]

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May Flowers STEM Fun

With real Spring weather (some warm days!) finally upon us I decided it was time for a more bright and colorful activity for the STEM lab. The saying, April showers bring May flowers was inspiration for a Tulip STEM challenge for students. The lesson fused social studies, science and reading beautifully. We are studying the seven continents so we were able to explore a place in Europe (The Netherlands) famous for their tulips, while creating using the STEM process. This week in reading our anthology featured Gail Gibbons, From Seed to Plant, so the tie in was perfect. Gotta love […]

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Travel Gallery Wall

My travel gallery wall has been 13 years in the making. Starting way back to my first overseas trip to London, I have been collecting art and taking pictures of places around the world every time I travel. Fast forward to today, I finally have not only thousands of photos to choose from, but more importantly wall space to create a gallery wall! I absolutely love how it came out! Each time I walk through my door when I come home, I am greeted with fond memories of countless trips. Hours on Pinterest gave me ideas and lots of great […]

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Animals of the Galapagos Islands

Bright blue feet perched on top of jagged black rocks. Hundreds of little faces turned toward the sun soaking up rays with eyes closed. Lounging sea lions barely opening an eye as you walk by them on a lounge chair on the beach. It feels like it was yesterday, instead of four years ago, that I traveled to the Galapagos Islands. Teaming with unique and endangered wildlife the islands were unlike any place I have ever been. It was truly a trip of a lifetime and I have loved sharing what I learned there with students over the last few […]

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STEM Fun: Building A Home For Pecky the Puffin

I was thrilled when our science curriculum changed to include information about animals around the world and their habitats. Not only does this dovetail with our social studies curriculum perfectly (the seven continents), but it inspired me to write new STEM lessons to do with my students. As an avid traveler, as many of you know, I have had the pleasure to see animals around the world in their natural habitats. I have amassed a rather large photo collection of these animals that I am anxious to share with students in a meaningful way. After much thought of how to […]

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Travel and STEM Lessons

Traveling sparks inspiration for classroom lessons long after my suitcases are put away and pictures have been posted on Instagram. Sometimes the ideas come as I begin to investigate new curriculum. Other times it is a comment from a student that reminds me of somewhere I have been. Or sometimes it is just a connection to a story we are reading. But if I’m being honest, recently my inspiration has been spurred on each time someone discovers one of my products on TeachersPayTeachers. There is something exciting when another teacher (ones I don’t even know!) think lessons I have created […]

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Searching for Matter One Country At A Time 

Another year, another chance to show students the world. I am lucky our social studies curriculum is the seven continents so intergrating pictures from my travels is practically a must do!  This year I have taken the opportunity to weave in travel with science as I cover matter. Last year I made an iMovie on states of matter around the world as a model for students. This year I am adding to that through introductory lessons on solid, liquid and gas with PowerPoints. Each PowerPoint focuses on one state of matter and asks students to identify examples of that state […]

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Ready To Jump Into Another School Year: Or How Traveling Will Shape My School Year Again 

New school year starts next week. All I can say is Bring.It.On New group of students- check New classroom arrangement- check New flexible seating options- check New travel experiences to incorporate into my teaching- check! As many of you know, I am obsessed with traveling and sharing my experiences with students. This past summer, my trip to South Africa gave me new travel material to share and brought me one step closer to a personal goal of visiting all seven continents. I have now been to six of the seven continents. Antarctica might require a bit more planning (or saving) to […]

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Winter Safari in South Africa 

We skipped the long trek to get to Kruger National Park for our safari. I know, I know, it is suppose to be the best place for safari; a huge area to self drive, breathtaking views and one of the most famous places in South Africa to see the big five, but it just wasn’t in the plans with the time we had. Having said that, we couldn’t have picked a better game reserve than Amakhala in the Eastern Cape just outside of Port Elizabeth. A chat with my aunt pointed me in their direction and I can’t thank her […]

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