June 18, 2018

Make Your Dreams Your Reality

littlelivesbig@gmail.com New Beginnings, Teaching american dream, chase your dreams, chasing your dreams, dreaming, dreams, europe, fearless, female traveler, goals, ib teacher, international teacher, international teaching, just do it, millennial, moving, moving abroad, opportunities, solo travel, teacher, teaching, travel 2 Comments

Who says dreams can’t come true?

I’ve always believed that if your dreams don’t scare you, you’re not dreaming big enough. Growing up, I was always encouraged to push past my limits- to challenge myself. One of my elementary teachers often quoted, “Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” I love that. It has been one of my personal mottos ever since.

It’s funny- I was born and raised, and currently live, in the United States of America. The USA is a place known for making dreams come true, hence: The American Dream. People have migrated to America for decades in hopes of providing a better life for their families and accomplishing goals they could simply not accomplish elsewhere. But why is it that so many Americans are afraid to chase their dreams? Why is it that so many of us don’t dream big enough? I mean, the majority of working Americans don’t even use all of their vacation days. (more…)

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June 12, 2018

10 Tips to Land a Teaching Job Abroad

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Europe, Living Abroad, New Beginnings, Teaching, Travel abroad, application, career, cv, education, europe, expat, free, getting a gig, ib, international, international teaching, jobs, landing a job, living abroad, moving, moving abroad, netherlands, resume, schools, teacher, teaching, tips, travel 8 Comments

In early August, I am moving to the Netherlands where I will be teaching in an international school.

Many people have been asking me, “How did you get this job?”

The other day, I wrote a blog post announcing my new job and big move. I briefly described how I made the life-changing decision to accept the offer, and outlined my next steps as I prepare to move from the USA to Europe. It makes sense that after reading all of that, people have questions. How? Why? What? When? Where? How long? (more…)

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June 9, 2018

International Teaching: I’M MOVING TO EUROPE!

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Europe, Living Abroad, My Story, New Beginnings, Teaching, Travel 12 Comments

In February 2018, I began applying for teaching positions at international schools in Europe.

I went through three months of early-morning Skype interviews.

I turned down an attractive offer to teach in a small town in Sweden- I was holding out for a job in the Netherlands or Germany, even though I knew I had a slim to none chance of obtaining one.

On May 12th, 2018, I received my Master of Education from Lamar University and began applying to local positions in Maryland where I could put my new degree to use, since teaching in Europe was obviously not going to happen.

On May 25th, 2018 I was offered a primary teaching position at a brand new international school in the Netherlands, 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam!

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June 1, 2018

First Graders Embrace Opportunity to Teach U.S. Officials

littlelivesbig@gmail.com Teaching behavior, betsy devos, circle time, class, commission, community building circle, connections, diverse, diversity, education, educator, elementary school, expectations, field trip, field visit, first graders, friendship, greeting, make a difference, morning meeting, morning routine, opportunity, parkland, pbis, positivity, president's cabinet, public education, public schools, question of the day, redfored, school, school climate, school violence, secretary of education, students, teacher, teaching, tragedy, trump, u.s. officials, usa 4 Comments

Yesterday was a big day in Miss Snyder’s classroom.

Oh, I’m Miss Snyder. 🙂

As you may know if you’ve read my About Me, or know me personally, I am a teacher. I have been teaching for 4 years now and I currently teach first grade. I have 23 first graders in my classroom this year. But yesterday, the number of people in my room nearly doubled.

Why?

Federal officials came to visit my school to observe the PBIS and Restorative Practices we have in place, and my principal chose my room to showcase my students’ community building circle. Representatives from the United States Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General’s Office sat in my room to not only observe, but participate in, my class’ daily circle time, which my first graders simply call: Morning Meeting.

Yup, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos sat in my classroom yesterday.

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