About Me

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I've been married to my husband, Michael, for almost 25 years. I'm a mom to a biological son and an adopted son from Colombia, and I'm also a spiritual mom to my adopted son's older brother, who I claim as a son in my heart. I'm bilingual and love to work with and relate to Spanish-speaking children and families. I've been a teacher to students from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures for the last 20+ years. I'm also an author and a certified Biblical counselor. I'm in a new empty nest season in a new location far from where I raised my boys, so I'm definitely in a stage of rediscovering myself, my interests, and my purpose.

Surviving the Valley Series

Surviving the Valley Series
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Sunday, September 8, 2024

So much more than I asked for

Four weeks in to this new chapter. 

I haven't taken time to write or update because, well, the start of a new year can be overwhelming and exhausting. And being in a new school, new district, new grade, and new program meant a whole lot of learning new things. The one thing I'm thankful for is that I was already familiar with the curriculum I'm teaching (just on a different grade level). That has been my saving grace to give me time to learn everything else. I think I'm starting to get into a groove now and found some organizational tactics to keep things running as smoothly and efficiently as possible. For now, at least. Lol.

This weekend one of the Legado teachers invited all of us over to her house for an evening get-together. Our families were invited, as well, but Mike and David already had plans to go the races in Bloomington that evening, so I went alone. Within the first hour, almost all of the other bilingual teachers arrived, and we spent the evening nibbling on a variety of foods while talking and laughing over all of the different vocabulary and phrases in Spanish that each teacher brings from his/her native country. Teachers who are from  or lived in Spain, Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, or who grew up bilingual in the U.S. As I sat at the end of the table being my quiet self, just listening and taking it all in, I couldn't help but thank God for allowing me to be part of something so beautiful. And to think that I truly thought I'd walked away from bilingual teaching because it likely didn't exist here. I spent my whole summer reading a variety of authentic Spanish books, studying the history of Spain and all the Spanish-speaking countries, studying Scripture and praying in Spanish, and listening to podcasts from various countries all to reimmerse myself in the language to pass a test to be a licensed Spanish teacher (which I passed!). All God's prep for me for the new coworkers He was bringing into my life. 

The podcast I listened to for at least an hour a day. 

Our weekend get together as a bilingual staff


The newest teachers on staff, from Madrid, Spain, Mallorca, Spain, Mexico, and me

I followed God to a full-time ministry position where I thought I'd stay for many years. Such a strong, undeniable call drew me. But I knew pretty quickly that my new position didn't bring me the joy that working with bilingual families always brought me. Teaching Spanish and creating my own Intro to Spanish class fascinated me as I took the kids on virutal tours to all 21 Spanish-speaking countries, but I missed the daily interaction with kids and families from those countries and cultures. 

Then I noticed an event on Facebook for Fiesta Latina downtown, promoting the country dearest to my heart, Colombia. I knew I had to go. My sweet friend, Hannah, and I had a coffee date around noon and found out the coffee shop was closing at one. So I told her I was going to head downtown to check out the Fiesta Latina going on, and she went with me. I got to introduce her to my son's food, music, and culture, and we visited a little booth for the one and only Dual Language school in Columbus called Legado (knowing our church friend, Meg, worked there). I picked up a book about a little boy going to a new bilingual school, I got some bookmarks made by students, and I talked to some teachers and some parents from the school volunteering. I left my name and number and said I'd love to volunteer or translate for events. My heart lit up in a way I knew it didn't where I was working, and I couldn't ignore that. I put one of the bookmarks up on my prayer wall and started to pray every day about the draw to work there. Was I abandoning the call to work at New Song or could God be calling me back into bilingual education? 

Pics from last year's Fiesta Latina (notice all the yellow Colombian jerseys?)



Now a year later, Fiesta Latina is taking place again next week, featuring Colombia once again. And Hannah and I are both scheduled to work the Legado booth together, her now as a parent of a child at Legado and me as a teacher, promoting the Dual Language program and helping my students raise money for our 6th grade trip to Puerto Rico!

A few of my students working on flags and bracelets to sell to raise money for their class trip

Sometimes God asks us to follow and we think we see where He's leading, but we can't see what He sees or know what He knows. Even though my position at New Song didn't bring me the joy I thought it would, it was still part of the plan and preparation for where I am now. I took my Introduction to the Spanish-speaking countries of the world class that I created at New Song and themed my entire classroom around it at Legado. I jumped from working with second graders in Texas to 4th-6th graders at New Song, all preparing me for the 6th graders I'm teaching now at Legado.  As challenging as taking on this new grade and all that meant I had to learn has been, I still go home every day filled with joy. 

What I haven't had a chance to share yet is that my nearest and dearest friends from Colombia (who are like family) also just moved here to work as houseparents at New Song. They only plan to stay short term as they continue to seek God's direction for their lives here in the United States, but for the time being, they're here! And we go to church together every weekend, and we're celebrating Alvaro's birthday next weekend with all of the Columbus Alspaughs at New Song eating arroz con pollo. :) When I asked God to bring Spanish back into my life a year ago, He did (and is doing) more than I ever could have asked or imagined. He won't be put in a box, no matter how much we try to put Him in one. 

Sunday, August 18, 2024

Maestra

 


School is now in swing, 6th graders don't seem as big and bad as I once saw them, and I think I finally realized my true calling. I mean, I guess I found it straight out of college when I took a full-time job as an ESL Instructor (a glorified title for a paraprofessional, uncertified position in the school system working with bilingual students). I took on the title, Maestra, and I found myself treated with incredible respect by my students' families. The Latino culture has a very high level of respect for a teacher, and their children often view the teacher the same. 

Moving to Texas to become a certified teacher, I first worked with mixed classes of kids from several nationalities, though the bilingual children with the lowest English levels were always placed with me. Then I moved down two grade levels to work 100% with bilingual kids, and I reassumed the title "Maestra" for the next 15 years. In English, to be called Teacher all the time might sound a bit disrespectful since I have an actual name, but in Spanish, I always considered it an honor to be called "Maestra" all day, every day. As a maestra, I taught more than just academics. I taught social skills, cross-cultural skills, and skills to speak two languages. But more than that, my bilingualism gave kids a sense of safety and refuge with me. Kids always felt safe when they walked into my room and knew they could speak in either language with me. They felt even safer when I happened to have traveled to their country or even their hometown, which occasionally happened. I loved being that mysterious teacher that didn't look like she should speak Spanish, but did. I also loved the look on the parents' faces that first day when they realized I spoke Spanish and they didn't have to struggle to communicate with me. I wore my title (Maestra) with pride, and it brought me joy.

Then I took a hiatus and spent the last two years working as a teacher in a Christian environment where I got to start each day with prayer and talk about Christ every chance I got within the day. I assumed that would fill me with just as much joy, but I always felt like something was missing. I taught the kids a lot of Spanish, made a lot of fun foods with them from other cultures and did a lot of virtual world-traveling. I even got to be close enough to the kids to just be Miss Rachelle instead of the formal Mrs. Alspaugh that I've always been. Occasionally I got called "Teacher" in the beginning of the year, but Miss Rachelle stuck pretty quickly. 

This year I found an opportunity to jump back into working with bilingual kids, this time with a mix of kids who speak Spanish at home and kids who speak English as home. We had our open house two weeks ago, and my heart lit up when my first student walked into my room with her mom. Her mom walked in nervously, and I saw her eyes light up and all of her nervousness melt away when she realized she could speak to me in Spanish. That's when I knew I was right where I belonged. Now I teach about half my day in Spanish and half my day in English. I've assumed the title Maestra again, and it fills me with incredible joy. I love the way I've also bonded so quickly with the Hispanic students in the traditional classes, as they caught on quickly that they can talk to me in Spanish if they feel like it. When one of them called out to me out on the playground, "Maestra!", and continued his whole conversation with me in Spanish, it touched my heart in a deep way.  That's when it hit me. Funny how I had to walk away from it for two years to realize what I am and was always supposed to be. Not an English teacher. Not a Leadership teacher. Not a Spanish teacher. Not really even a teacher. A maestra, and all that comes with that title. 


This little bag gifted me a few days before school started means even more to me now than it did the day she gave it to me, as well as the Maestra keychain hanging on my badge. 

Sunday, July 28, 2024

Abundantly blessed!

Going into a 2-way Dual Language program requires a completely different mentality than the 1-way program I taught in Texas. It's looked at much more like a magnet enrichment program and requires a lot more commitment from the kids and the parents. It's a program that they really believe in because of the benefits it will give them in the future. Since it began, they've added one more grade level every year, as well as a second class for each prior grade level as interest increases each year. I will be the first sixth grade class for them to complete the program in elementary school, and then more classes will be offered every year so they can continue the program all the way through high school. The goal is for them to gain an official bilingual/biliterate stamp on their diploma. I'll have to say, I'm quite impressed with the district for all of their efforts to give students this incredible opportunity. I'm just as impressed with the families who put their children in this brand new program as a pre-K student and have stayed committed to it the whole way through elementary school. It says a lot about the program. 

Being a 2-way program with kids learning both Spanish and English together, I am excited to structure my classroom around the theme of where their bilingual skills can take them (or who their skills might bring to them). Over the summer, I mentally started preparing my classroom based on the few pictures I took of the space I had to work with. So when I got to go in for a couple days before our camping trip, I started working on my world traveling corner with my own collection of things I've gotten or have been gifted from several Spanish-speaking countries. Though they took up a lot of space in my little house, they seemed to come up short in my new spacious classroom. Plus I realized that I was seriously lacking in basic supplies and materials. 



I also have a collection of army themed items from my Alspaugh's Army theme from many years ago. My mom made me a class banner and some curtains when I taught second grade, so I figured I might as well keep the same theme going. I printed out the official Army Warrior Code, which basically says they don't accept failure, they don't give up, and they don't leave anyone behind. 



Then my sister-in-law offered me a life-sized bear, so I clothed him with an army jacket and hat and put him in my Social/Emotional/Self-reflection corner. 

I knew it lacked a lot still, but it was a start. I needed to get some basic supplies for putting things up on the walls, anyway, before I could do anything more. 

Thankfully another teacher found me a bookcase and a friend from church gave me a box full of chapter books.


I got a mug holder from someone at church and filled it with mugs I've gotten from former students or coworkers. And another teacher happened to leave the perfect coffee sign for my little coffee bar. (I've since added a keurig machine after I took it camping). 


I also put up my bird clock (that my students have always loved), but I haven't put the batteries in it yet. It might freak some people out right now if they're in a quiet school and suddenly hear birds chirping on the hour. 


I hated taking a break from working in my classroom to go on a camping trip since I'm a bit extra anxious about starting over in a new place and a new grade. But I didn't want to miss the opportunity to vacation with David since I don't know how many more opportunities I will have him around to vacation with. So I figured I'd just have to put in a few longer hours at a time when I came back after I got past my Spanish certification exam. (As an introvert, I've always gone in to my classroom two weeks early to set up while everything is still quiet. I think best in silence.)

The night before we left for Michigan, I suddenly got inspired to make an Amazon Teacher Wish List and post it on Facebook. I'd never done anything like that before, mostly because I had plenty of supplies built up over 19 years of teaching. But starting over in a new state after a 2 year detour as a new class meant I inherited no one's supplies. What could it hurt? Even if someone just got me some sticky tack, push pins, or painter's tape, then I could at least start putting things up on the walls. 

To my surprise, though, I got back from our camping trip to a table full of Amazon packages! And then I came home to another table full of packages the next day, and the day after that! Plus a friend decided to go shopping for me and loaded me up with a bunch of desk supplies, including a pink stapler, tape dispenser, and matching scissors. To say that each gift touched my heart deeply is an understatement. I am still truly blown away at everyone's generosity and thoughtfulness. I saved all of the gift notes and will put them up on my bulletin board as a reminder of who God used to help me create such a special environment for my new students. 

From church 


From a new friend in Texas that I met in Pennsylvania last summer


After such intense study of each Spanish-speaking country this summer, this beautiful map meant so much to me!




From church


From Hawaii


From Texas



From family



More from Texas


From someone who just said, 
"Praying for your kiddos this year"




Unbeknownst to me, God had me go on that camping trip to keep me 
out of my classroom because He knew I didn't have all the right supplies or decorations yet. :)


And even still, they kept coming! 

Before I knew it, my Amazon wish list was empty!

More from church


And from more family



And then even more from church--all themed around my favorite color.



I had so much fun going back into my classroom this week, realizing that all of my new bilingual decorations, posters, maps, and flags make it feel like my dream classroom--especially after all of the "virtual" world travel I did this summer while preparing for the history portion of the Spanish certification test. 



Then on Friday after putting up all the flags and Spanish quotes, I went to a "quick" meeting with my new instructional coach, along with three other new Legado teachers--2 from Spain and 1 from Mexico. As I sat there for almost the next two hours 100% immersed in Spanish from several countries, I felt so incredibly blessed and humbled by how God directed me back to my passion and provided more than I imagined. This extra "welcome to Legado" goodie bag was just icing on the cake. It was the warmest welcome I've ever had, and the new teachers sitting beside me expressed the same sentiment. I'm so excited to be part of this new Legado family. I know I have some significant challenges ahead of me, but God has made His presence, His guidance, and His provision quite obvious.  


 






 

A new summer tradition




Right before we moved here two years ago, my brother-in-law took his family on a little family vacation to the dunes in Michigan where they stayed at a cute little campground called Silver Lake Resort and Campground. They enjoyed visiting the dunes and camping together and just exploring the cute little town filled with nothing but recreational vehicles to drive on the dunes. They couldn't wait to have us join them the next year with Mike's "fun truck", aka his rock crawler. 

So last year we did join them and made it a whole family affair, including their mom, their other brother, Mark, and even Juan came from Texas to join us. After playing around in Mike's truck, Matt came back on the hunt for his own "fun truck" to tinker around with over the next year. 

This year, the dates were limited, so we had a few less people, but that's okay because trying to pull a camper and a trailer with two trucks made things a bit more complicated. 

We stayed in an adorable little cabin, while Matt's family stayed on the campground right beside us in their camper. We were able to eat most of our meals together and just shared one common fire pit. We had two days on the beach while the boys played around in their trucks. Matt's truck had some transmission problems, but Mike's truck was able to save the day and pull it to the rescue. David was also able to use it to pull some other trucks out of areas where they got stuck. It's definitely more of a boys' weekend, especially since I personally don't find much thrill or enjoyment in all the truck stuff. But going for a walk on the beach two days in a row was nice. Chrissy's mom met us for one of those days on the beach since she lives just a couple hours from there. 

The timing of the trip wasn't the best for me with a new job starting right around the corner and also being just a few days before I had to take a big certification test, but I was able to skip out on a few activities to get some last minute test prep in. I almost didn't go, but I'm glad I decided to go in the end. 

It's definitely a fun tradition that I have a feeling will continue for many years (as the "fun trucks" continue to evolve). I'm hoping Juan can join us again next year. My mother-in-law had surgery the day we left, so she was pretty disappointed she had to miss it. Apparently they used to come to these dunes as a family when Matt and Mike were growing up.