Author Intro

¡Hola Amigos!

I'm so excited to see a blog devoted to Bilingual Teachers!

We all know how difficult it can be to find resources in Spanish, so I try to post as much as I can at my blog, Dualkinderteacher.blogspot.com

My name is Libby Allen and I am currently a Kindergarten Dual Language Teacher in Southern Cali.

I have been a Bilingual teacher for almost 18 years, YIKES that's a long time.
I have taught Kinder, 1st, and 2nd, so please feel free to let me know if I can help you with anything.

I am passionate about Dual Immersion.

My 3 older kids learned Spanish with this program and 2 of them passed the AP Spanish Test in High School.  My second daughter will take the test this year.

I always tell my students' parents, especially if they're Latino, but their children speak little or no Spanish, there is no greater feeling than hearing your children communicate with their abuelos in Spanish.

Ay!  It just warms my heart!

Thanks Lidia for starting this blog and allowing me to be a part of it :)

Muchos abrazos,
:)  Libby

Author Introduction: Tabitha Carro

¡Hola a Todos!

I am super excited about the Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse and very thankful to Lydia for making this much needed resource available to all of us.

I am Tabitha Carro of FlapJack Educational Resources and also The Green Classroom. I am a native of Georgia (the state) and my Spanish journey didn't start until college. I took some basic Spanish courses and thanks to an awesome professor, I fell in love with the language. I spent two summers in Trujillo, Honduras teaching English, but I still needed an extra push to achieve fluency. So, I met an Argentinian online who didn't speak a lick of English and fell in love. That was just what I needed! Through endless hours of Skype and chat, I became fluent in the Spanish language and gained an amazing husband through the process (He just became a U.S. citizen this past November, whoop, whoop!)! And he does speak English now :).

To sum up our romance, we met officially in Lima, Peru, were engaged in Mexico City, Mexico, married in Zarate, Argentina, spent our honeymoon in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and just enjoyed our 4th-year anniversary in Punta Cana, DR!

Lima, Peru (the day we first met in person!)



Meanwhile, I was also a kindergarten teacher for six years in Augusta, GA. My husband started a Hispanic newspaper in Columbia, SC, so two years ago I began to look for an ordinary teaching position there, not expecting to find one with the job situation being what it is. However, I won the lottery when I found out that Lexington, SC had a Spanish partial-immersion program (math and science are taught in Spanish by one teacher, English and social studies are taught in English by another). I was hired and made the jump to 4th grade and will never go back! Kids are so great at this age, and I love all that we can do together. And it is truly amazing to watch these children grow in their own Spanish journeys. I can only imagine the doors that will open for them in the future thanks to the immersion program.

I would love to connect with other Spanish teachers in whatever format that may be. Sometimes Í feel a little perdida since there are fewer of us.

I am so excited to share and receive Spanish resources here at the Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse.

¡Sigamos en contacto!

FlapJack Blog
FlapJack Facebook Page
The Green Classroom
TpT Store
Teachers' Notebook Store
Currclick Store
Pinterest

Author Introduction: Lori Wolfe

Hi everyone and welcome to Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse.  My name is Lori Wolfe and I am from Fun To Teach.   I am one of the authors for the Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse.

I am a public elementary  ELD teacher in Ashland, Oregon. I have taught K-5th grades in dual immersion programs and bilingual classrooms (Spanish/English). I have also taught as a Title One Spanish/English Bilingual Support teacher in Reading and Math.

I currently work as a part-time elementary ELD teacher. I have authored 26 bilingual thematic units for Kingsley Publishing, and have written a series of reproducible bilingual Math Games and ELD units.

I look forward to blogging about Spanish math and reading lessons, teaching second languages to elementary students, websites, and teaching tips for the elementary level. 

Check in often, we plan to become one of your favorite resources!
Happy Teaching,
Lori
The picture below was taken last summer in Guadalajara.  Love that city!

Fun To Teach ESL - Teaching English as a Second Language

Introducing Khalil Raki of Raki’s Rad Resources

Yes, you read the title right, this is Khalil Raki of Raki’s Rad Resources, not Heidi Raki, who I am sure is who you are used to reading blog posts by.  I am the well kept secret in the Raki family. For awhile, I have been doing “behind the scenes” work for my wife, Heidi, but now she has pushed me into the lime light!

Although I speak English fluently, it is not my first language.  I grew up in Morocco, so my first languages are Arabic and French.  I learned Spanish in High School, went to college in Russia and then moved the America and learned English while there.  I am not an educator by trade yet, but I am working on getting my certification to teach Middle and High School Science. 

 

By now, I’m sure you’re asking yourself why I am writing on this bilingual blog.  One reason is that I had friends of Heidi’s ask me to make them puzzles and other things in French and Spanish.  After I made them, I decided to put them up on Teachers Pay Teachers with Heidi’s products.  Then, recently, we moved to Morocco and my kids were put in the situation of having to learn a lot of French very fast.  So, I started making a lot of French products for them.  Now, Heidi has asked me to take some of her products and translate them into Spanish, French and Arabic for some teacher friends of hers.  Since I’m translating them anyways, we will work on making them available to other teachers via Teachers Pay Teachers and our website – Raki’s Shop.

 

Well, this is a little information about me.  I hope I will be able to provide you with some resources that make your life easier.  After 9 years of living with a teacher, I know how hard you all work, and I would love to make it just a little easier for you.

 

Author Introduction

Hey everyone!

I am so excited to be the newest author here at the "Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse".  I thought I would start off this new blogging adventure by briefly introducing myself to all of you so that you have an idea of where all of my ideas are rooted!

Thus, without further ado:

My name is Krista Carlson, and I am a second grade dual language teacher in Illinois. The way our program works in my district (as I know it differs in different places) is that there is one teacher that does it all (it all being the English and the Spanish components of the day). We have an 80/20 model that gradually moves up to 50/50 when the students reach 5th grade. Therefore, I teach 80% of my day in Spanish, and 20% in English. Generally my English time is focused on word work and guided reading. About 60% of the students in my classroom are native Spanish speakers, and 40% are native English speakers. I am in a district where dual language is the main means of reaching our Spanish, ELL population. It is an optional, enrichment type program for our native English speakers.

I have to say that I absolutely love my job! It is incredibly rewarding to be able to be part of this gift of being able to speak two languages that all of my students are receiving. I, myself, grew up here in Illinois, and was born a native English speaker. No one in my immediately family spoke another language, and I did not start studying Spanish until I reached high school (as is quite typical here in the states). I went on to study Spanish in college as well as study abroad in Spain for summer. With my background, I was then hired as a dual language teacher! I taught dual 1st for two years, and then switched to second last year. This is currently my fourth year of teaching. I must say, that it is amazing to see how students at such a young age are so quickly able to pick up a second language when it is presented in context and they are immersed in it. I wish this type of program would have been available to me as a child!

I would love to answer any questions that you have about dual language as well as intend to provide Spanish resources that I hope will prove useful to you in your classrooms. I cannot express how valuable I think this blog has the potential to be for bilingual teachers- as many of us know how time consuming our jobs can be just in searching for or translating materials! Looking forward to swapping resources with all of you in an attempt to make our lives easier as well as become stronger teachers!

-Krista
The Second Grade Superkids

Introductions-Liz Bucrek from Liz's Lessons

Hello everyone! My name is Liz Bucrek, and I am from Liz's Lessons. I am very excited to be one of the authors for the Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse!  I will be blogging about both French and Spanish lessons, websites, and teaching tips for the secondary level. I love teaching with technology, so many of the lessons that I share will incorporate online activities. I wanted to take my first posting to tell you a little bit more about myself.

I am originally from Michigan, but I currently live in North Carolina. I graduated with Bachelor's Degrees from the University of Michigan in French and Education with a minor in Spanish. While at Michigan I studied abroad in Rouen, France. I received my Masters Degree from North Carolina State University in French with "M" Certification.

I taught French and Spanish at the Middle School level for five years, and at the High School level for two years. I was also the Director of the Academy of International Studies. I currently work as a High School as Student Achievement Coach. I taught English in Galicia, Spain for one summer as well.

I love traveling, playing soccer, dancing merengue and bachata, reading, watching Michigan football, and spending time with friends. I am also a Zumba instructor. I have traveled to 16 countries (France, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Portugal, England, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, China, and the Dominican Republic) and hope to go to many more in the future.