travelteachlove

Dress It Up

September 26, 2019 5 Comments

Loungewear is not a thing here. An everyday yoga pant is not something you see sauntering down the street. You want to run out and throw out your trash? You better be wearing something presentable and have a full face on. Running to the store real quick to pick something up? Leave the oversized sweatshirt at home. The people of Barcelona are always dressed to the nines. For someone who had totally embraced the yoga pants are real pants movement back home, this has been a real wake up call. No, yoga pants are not acceptable to wear unless you […]

Spain, Travel

A Few Favorites: Life in Barcelona

September 14, 2019 2 Comments

Clinking coffee cups, the chatter of locals and the alluring smell of fresh brewed coffee waft through my living room windows when I pull them open in the morning. Living next to a bakery certainly has its perks. As tempting as those smells are, I also plan on continuing to fit into my clothes, so I have settled on a nice compromise with myself. Each Saturday, I select one treat and a coffee from downstairs to indulge in. While I could enjoy the ambiance of the shop, I have made it a habit now to take my coffee llevar (to […]

Spain, Travel

Settling In

August 21, 2019 No Comments

So much happens in a week. Just last week at this time I felt lost and confused, as my last post talked about. This week, things are starting to look familiar. I walk in the correct direction before I pull up Google Maps. I’ve started to make it to the bus stop in time without having to watch the bus I wanted pull away as I walk down the street. And I’ve started to get to know other new teachers from my school as we do different activities together. Barcelona is slowly but surely starting to feel more like home. […]

Spain, Travel

Lost and Confused: First Week in Barcelona

August 13, 2019 No Comments

Is that the street I want? Wait, have I walked too far? No, I haven’t walked far enough? Why didn’t I just keep my cellphone plan so I could use Google Maps?! Just a few of the thousand of thoughts that have crossed my mind in the last week. My first week living in Barcelona. But before I jump into that you should know a few things about me. 1. I like to be early to things 2. New things/situations/people way stress me out 3. I do not enjoy being lost, ever Wait, wait, wait you’re thinking. Katy, you chose […]

Spain, Travel

Moving Day

August 5, 2019 No Comments

It’s here, it’s here! Moving day has finally arrived! With a flood of emotions and building anticipation I can’t believe it is finally moving day. There is so much to look forward to. New places to discover, foods to try, and languages to learn. Even better, I will get the chance to experience some of these new things with my family as they travel with me for my first week in Barcelona. While it’s a bit nerve wracking, I am thrilled to be living out a life long dream of living abroad. Besides the excitement of day to day life […]

Travel

Pack Your Patience

July 16, 2019 No Comments

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 […]

Travel

New Adventures in Barcelona, Spain

June 21, 2019 No Comments

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 […]

Math

Fun with Fractions

April 8, 2019 No Comments

Lately, we have been covering fractions in math. This is usually a tricky topic for students and when I first told my class what we would study next it was met with an audible groan. But fractions are fun! You use them in baking. You use them in sewing. You use them to measure. You use them all the time! To get my students excited I used a few hands on activities to help them visualize different fractional parts. First up, homemade play dough. I modeled for students how, given a fraction, you could show it by breaking up the […]

Science, STEAM

Slip and Slide, Forces and Motion

March 3, 2019 No Comments

With a new science topic to teach, comes new STEM lessons to try out. Students are learning about forces and motions in physical science and I’m loving all the opportunities it provides for hands on discoveries. At this point students have built up their background knowledge on the basics of force and motion. They have learned new vocabulary words, watched short video clips and BrainPop Jr. videos, listened to stories, read information on their own and participated in several discussions with peers based on what they have learned. All this has prepared students to use new knowledge to complete a […]

Classroom Connection, Social Studies

Going Green (Screen) In the Classroom

January 11, 2019 No Comments

Well, we officially survived the holiday season! As we ease into the swing of things returning to school I thought it would be fun to take some time to reflect on my favorite project students completed so far this school year. I talked a little about our Holidays Around the World project in my last blog post, but I didn’t get a chance to share about the projects students completed. Students had a blast learning about a country of their choice and how they celebrate the holidays there. They worked hard researching, taking notes, and writing informational paragraphs. But it […]