La Maîtresse

My university background is in French language and literature, and curriculum and instruction. I have taught Pre-K and Kindergarten in an international classroom in Beijing, China, at Beijing Shuren Ribet Private School in 2017-2018, before teaching at the Lycée Français Internationale de Pékin (LFIP). At the LFIP, I taught English sections in Pre-K (petite section), Kindergarten (moyenne section et grande section), and in first through fifth grade (CP, CE1, CE2, CM1, CM2). In this position, I specialized in teaching the international section of third grade (CE2), meaning that I taught all subject matters to my third grade students in English. I have a TEFL certification from Premier TEFL and spent time teaching ESL from 2017-2020. Later I taught beginner French to adult audiences at a small language school in Rincón, Puerto Rico. Now, I homeschool my own son, aged nine, and plan to homeschool daughter, aged two, one day.

My son attended a Waldorf School in Puerto Rico, and the experience of being a part of their community changed my teaching style. I focus on experiential learning and encourage my students and children to get busy playing, exploring, and learning on their own.

I graduated from university in 2014 summa cum laude with a bachelors of arts in Foreign Languages: French. I was also awarded membership into the Dean's Dozen, a group of 12 talented students in education, during my studies.

I studied at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and graduated summa cum laude in 2014. I earned a bachelor's degree in Foreign Languages: French with a focus on curriculum and instruction. I completed my student teaching at Troy High School in Troy, Illinois, in May 2014. I earned a TEFL certificate from Premier TEFL in 2019, while I was teaching third grade at the French International School of Beijing. Recently I studied to become a certified birth and labor doula, and am currently studying to become a Fertility Awareness Educator.

Hello! My name is Julie and I'm happy that you are here. Welcome! You may have already read some of my credentials above, so let me explain to you how I became the teacher I am today. As an adult French teacher and mom of a four-year-old son in Puerto Rico, my teaching style really took shape. On the one hand, I was teaching foreign language to adults who's mother tongue was not the same as my own, and on the other hand, I was watching as my son was fully immersed in Spanish at school (previously having been immersed in French!) and speaking English with us at home. These two events were amazing me left and right. But what I noticed is that my little son was learning so much faster than my adult students. Of course, his brain was more pliable and eager to learn, but I noticed something else -- his class was so much more hands-on and was exclusively taught in Spanish. My class wasn't like this! So I decided to learn about Waldorf education, experiential learning, and full-immersion (which is how I had previously taught English to ESL learners). Everything changed! Now I'm happy to share some of my resources with you, and you will see more in the future, too! I currently homeschool my son so from time to time new items will come in from my homeschool that are not foreign language related. Please look around and have fun, and pick up a freebie while you're here!