My first blog post ever, EEEEKKKK!!! I have seriously dreamed of having a blog since I was a student teacher back in 2016 (so 5 years ago!) and here I am! If you’re reading this post, thank you so much! I appreciate your support. In my first blog post ever, you will find out who I am and what this blog will be all about! Let’s get started because I’ve waited forever for this moment.
I am Maestra Novoa!
I am a junior high ELL (English Language Learners) and dual-language teacher. This is my 5th year of teaching. I LOVE junior high age.
I am a mother of three boys and one girl. I have a super amazing, supportive, funny, handsome husband who is also a teacher. We bounce ideas off each other all the time which is so helpful. We are raising our kids to be bilingual because we know the importance of language! It is a struggle to teach them Spanish since we are surrounded by so much English, but we do our best.
Any other bilingual households out there? I know y’all are out there because according to Francois Grosjean Ph.D. “in 2018, the last ACS survey for which we have data, it [the US population of bilinguals] was 20.55%.” So cool! Keep up the HARD work. It is soooo worth it.
That brings me to my last point about myself…I know Spanish! I was raised in a small town in Idaho with my cowboy dad and Peruvian mom. Do I have an accent in Spanish and mess up my conjugation? Um… yes. Can I spell very well in English? Um… no. I am on a language journey just like everyone around me.
P.S. – My first name is Kimberly. 😉
I teach you, you teach me
The blogging community is such a great place to share and learn from. I am here to share my knowledge about language learners with general ed teachers, ELL, and dual-language teachers. Even with my master’s and five years of experience, I Google things ALL the time. I know I am not alone! I hope your Google journey brings you to my page one day. 😉
My goal is to focus on topics in “fives,” so you can quickly get ideas for planning and teaching, plus deepen your understanding of language learners. You will find reading strategies, motivational games that can be altered to fit almost anything, note reviewing strategies, writing tips, and so much more!
I am also hoping that I get to learn from you and add more professional friends to my circle. I would love to get to know where you’re from, what you teach, and how to connect on social media. If you have a second, leave a comment to let me know who you are!
I love Language Learners!
So you know who I am and what I am planning on teaching you….but why should you trust a random person online? I’ve been a language learner all my life and was raised by one. Although I have much to learn, I know ALOT about language learners. I grew up having to translate important documents for my mother often and saw firsthand how difficult language barriers can be. As a language learner teacher, I am there not just for my students, but for their families as well. My heart is in this job.
Aside from my personal experience, I graduated from Boise State University with an undergraduate degree in English as a Second Language and bilingual education. I am a sucker for math so I got a math endorsement as well. (Might as well, right?) That wasn’t enough for me. I went back two years into teaching to get my master’s along with my husband. It’s so great to be able to learn and grow with him. We would love to get our doctoral degree someday, but for now, that’s on hold. If you have any guidance or suggestions for me, I would love to connect!
I have gotten to know so many cultures and how to adjust my teaching to fit their backgrounds. I have taught English language learners who spoke Karen, Arabic, Spanish, Swahili, and at least six other languages. Not only that, but I have taught so many subjects! For real, the teachers in my building feel bad for me (I love my job though!). I have taught reading classes, math interventions, and co-taught English, math, and history. Not only has that deepened my knowledge of content, but I’ve been exposed to different management styles and teaching styles. It’s been so fun to take the best part of everyone and blend it into my teaching.
That’s all for now!
Thanks for sticking around this long! I am excited to start this journey and hope to see you around soon. I hope you got to know me and understand what I will be blogging about. Here’s to making blogging dreams come true, woohoo! Talk to you SOON!
P.S. – Remember that I am here for all your language needs!
