Episode 73: BOLD BEGINNINGS: My next chapter!

THIS WAS SO FUN! Riana interviewed me for this episode and I had NO idea what questions she was going to ask me! Excited to share my big news with YOU and continue supporting you this year!

La Familia Loca PLC

The Doors are OPEN to La Familia Loca PLC and we could not be MORE excited to welcome new members to our community of educators found all over the WORLD! We all teach different languages and different ages, but we all have one thing in common! We want to facilitate language acquisition for our students so they learn to LOVE language and culture, and we want to feel JOYful doing it! Don't wait, join us today! https://lamaestraloca.mykajabi.com/LaFamiliaLocaPLC

Transcript

La Familia Loca PLC

The doors are open. I am so freaking excited. You have heard me talk a lot about La Familia loca PLC on this podcast, and the time is now. The time has come. The doors are open, and I am so excited to welcome new members into this incredible community of World Language educators that are spread out across the world, we have members across six different continents who teach all different kinds of languages, who teach all ages of students, and who all desire the same thing, to develop a beautiful love of languages and culture in their students, while also enjoying the process. Every month, I work to develop and enhance teachers’ skills when it comes to acquisition driven instruction within this like-minded community of educators to unlock unprecedented joy for them and their students. So, if this is something that you are seeking this year, if you want to thrive, if you want to find tons of joy for you and your students this year. Then hit me up. Look at the show notes for the link or visit tiny url.com/lafamilialoca. I am so stinking excited. I would absolutely love to have you. Doors close this Friday at midnight. Don't wait run. Let's do this.

Welcome!

Welcome back to my podcast, teaching la vida loca for season two. I'm Annabelle, you're maestra loca, and I am ready to kick off season two with even more enthusiasm, magic and tips and tricks for your classroom. Get set for a ride of inspiration, unapologetic authenticity, and ideas to spark more joy in your teaching journey. I'm turning up the excitement and elated to have you right here with me. I'm not just your host, I'm your cheerleader, and I am thrilled you're tuning in. Buckle up and let's do this. Let's tackle teaching la vida loca together. Welcome to Teaching la vida loca, episode number 73 thank you to those of you who reached out and said, Yeah, Annabelle, it's okay that you had an ADHD moment and you got distracted. I'm going back to just episode numbers instead of seasons. So welcome to episode number 73 of teaching la vida loca, and I'm here today with Rihanna. Rihanna is a member of La Familia loca PLC, and she is going to be interviewing me today, just to change things up. And the best part is she gave me the idea, so I'm grateful for her, and I'm going to let you her tell you a little bit about herself now.

Rihanna  

Well, happy to be here. Um, my name is Rihanna, and I teach Spanish kindergarten through fifth grade at the elementary school that I attended as a child in Oakland, California, and I'm entering my eighth-year teaching, um, seventh year with acquisition driven instruction. Well, eighth year teaching Spanish, but I taught for a long time as a classroom teacher prior to becoming a specialist. But, yeah, been a member of the PLC for two years now. We just figured out and love it.

Annabelle Williamson  

Yay. Well, I'm excited because Rihanna is going to ask me questions, and as with every episode, this is not planned. So, it's planned that she was going to interview me, but I said, Rihanna, I think you know me well enough to know that I really don't like scripting things. I really don't like planning things in advance, so I have no idea what questions she's going to ask me, and so it should be fun. And here we go. Yay. What's your first question? 

Rihanna  

My first question is, how are you doing today?

Annabelle Williamson  

Oh, I love you so much. I'm I am better because my kids are in bed and content. But it has been a hard few days, because on Sunday, I found out I had covid, and then at three in the morning we had to rush Ophelia to the emergency room, and it was her first night in her own crib. Rihanna, oh, I know, scary, I know. And I felt so bad because it was her first night in her own crib, and then she woke up feeling awful, and 102 fevers. So, register the ER, and she has covid. And now my Bubba Memphis has something that sounds like RSV, but they don't know what it is, and it's not covid, but all they know is that he really shouldn't be by us, and we shouldn't be by him, because we'll make each other worse. So, it's been a rough few days.

Rihanna  

Everybody's sleeping now. Wow, and sleeping has medication. Yes, symptoms are on the decline.

Annabelle Williamson  

Mine are with Ophelia. It's just hard to tell, because she can't tell me, you know, but yeah, 

Rihanna  

How old is she now? 

Annabelle Williamson  

She is almost 10 weeks old. Isn't that insane? 10 weeks, it's wild. Almost three months, I know it's wild. Yeah, thank you for asking. 

Rihanna  

You're very welcome. My next question is, well, you have some exciting news to share today. Are you ready to share?

Annabelle Williamson  

I'm ready to share. Okay, okay, my exciting news that the reason Rihanna came up with this idea to talk to you on the podcast is I didn't know how to announce officially that I'm going to take a year maternity leave and step out of the classroom just to be with my baby for one year, instead of working 70 hours a week, and just be with her and focus on just my side job for a while.

Rihanna  

How do you feel having shared?

Annabelle Williamson  

Like an elephant has just flown off my shoulders. Just left off. Um, I think that I had a lot of fear, um, to be honest, that a lot of that fear was alleviated this weekend. This weekend, I did a workshop on building community at the start of the year. Yeah, and right at the start of the workshop, I just said, I'm taking a year this year to be with my baby. And immediately the chat was just flooded with congratulations. I'm so proud of you. That's so great. And it wasn't even all Familia members, it was just teachers who follow me and who support me and who allow me to support them, and it’s kind of immediately made me burst into tears. And the fear is just like not wanting to be heard anymore, like people not wanting to learn anymore, because I'm not in the classroom for this year and I'm just stepping back to be able to be with her for a little bit. Yeah, so okay,

Rihanna  

How will you be spending your days this upcoming school year?

Annabelle Williamson  

Well, I It's been interesting already because just the ability to I've started back with my morning routine. But then, after my morning routine, instead of like, frantically trying to get the children and myself ready at the same time, I get to just come back and make the kids lunches while I'm nursing her, or if she's not awake yet, I'm pumping, I have these amazing hands-free pumps this time, and I'm like, oh my god, this is life changing. Like I'm not chained, chained to a wall. I can pump and make lunches and then, and then I get to take my kids to school. I've never been the parent that gets to drop off their kids. Like I get to watch him walk in and he waves, and I get to visit with the other moms dropping off. And I feel like, honestly, I feel like a mom for the first time in some ways, you know, like to experience those things. It's magic. And then the other day, even, I walked back to the car, and I got to nurse her in the car for 15 minutes, because that's what she needed. And then when I got home, she napped for three hours, and I got to work, and it just felt amazing. And it's also like, not picking up my kids at 6pm you know, like after aftercare, like I'm picking them up after school, I pick up Memphis, and then I go and drive to pick up Isla. And, you know, I have both with me by 415 you know, it's amazing. I feel so lucky, so fortunate. 

Rihanna  

Okay, so a balance of taking care of yourself, like with the morning routine and like being a mom and really getting to soak up those moments that you happen just once that you wouldn't have otherwise, especially with Isla because she's at another school, but yes, been at your school, and then also getting to work on the other jobs. 

Annabelle Williamson  

Yes and that's what's so nice, is like not I think that for so long, I've just become accustomed to I do those other jobs only after the kids are in bed, like and I, you know, if it takes until one in the morning, it takes until one in the morning, but now if I can just work a couple hours during the day each day, and feel balanced and whole and so grateful. I recognize that all of this comes with such privilege. You know, the only reason I'm able to do this, it's not because my husband is making the big bucks. I mean, granted, he's a barber, and he makes more than teachers, which is just so sad. Wow, good for him, you know, whatever. Um, but it's not because of that. It's because of teachers allowing me to support them and allowing me to coach and work with them. So that's what's giving me the ability to step out of the classroom for the year and just soak up these moments that fly you know, yeah, fly by. Yeah.

Rihanna  

My next question might be a little bit redundant, but what are you most looking forward to with this spaciousness in your life and like thinking about it, maybe personally and professionally?

Annabelle Williamson  

Well, personally, it's like I said, feeling full blown, like mom, like I already was like, maybe I'll make cookies one day after school and they'll come home to, like, warm cookies. Like, maybe that's something that a mom does. You know, it's just like, so silly, but that feels exciting, personally, but professionally. These are more reveals that I really haven't told many people at all, but I have two books that I've always wanted to write, yeah, and three, if I'm revealing all my secrets on this podcast, one on brain breaks, so that I can put all my ideas in one place, yes, yes. And then one on how I believe, and I do this in Familia loca, but how I believe that people can use a curriculum if they want to, but how you don't have to when you're teaching with acquisition driven instruction. I really want to empower more teachers to be able to start without a curriculum, because I started from ground zero. I've never known anything but teaching with acquisition driven instruction, and I've never taught with a curriculum, so really supporting teachers in in exploring that option for themselves and their students. So that's another book. And then a third one is I want to start. Oh, my God, you're gonna freak out as an elementary teacher, I want to start, you know, Carlos my crocodile, yeah, I'm going to start a book series about his adventures that will be a CI reader.

Rihanna  

Like in, in the classroom environment, or is he?

Annabelle Williamson  

He will be in the wild, exploring, exploring the wild and, and, of course, he'll probably have a unicorn friend, and it's going to be great. Cool.

Rihanna  

Cool, cool.

Annabelle Williamson  

I'm really excited.

Rihanna  

Yeah, are there any things that you're nervous about stepping away from the classroom this year?

Annabelle Williamson  

There are two things. The one, the one that I already kind of mentioned is like, I have seen a lot of teachers do this poorly. I've seen a lot of teachers step away and like not say that they're stepping away, and then maybe they never go back. And I just want to, I want teachers to know that I'm not in the classroom this year, but I do feel that I can support them, so I want teachers to feel that they can still learn from me. And that's what they said on Sunday too. They were like, you're insane, of course. So that's the first thing. Is, like, I know that I still have so much to share. In fact, I have like, a billion blogs that I want to write, because now I'll have the time, you know. But another thing that I'm nervous for is like making sure that I have some sort of routine to make sure that I'm accomplishing what I want to accomplish, and that I'm not feeling like on the same side of that, also knowing when to shut down, like I've done enough today, like the whole purpose of taking a year off is to be able to be with these babies and when they are home. I don't want to be touching a computer like at all, because that's the purpose of being at home this year. So, boundaries around making sure that that time is sacred and protected, and routines so that for my neurodivergent brain, also, I can have the structure in place to sit down and spend 30 minutes a day writing, you know what I mean, not answering emails, just writing for this book or like, which 1am I tackling first? You know what I mean?

Rihanna  

Yeah. Yeah, have you figured out ADHD strategies like to help you with that, like, are there frameworks that you would know about that you're hoping to use? 

Annabelle Williamson  

Well, the I have a couple things. The first is, I have this amazing business coach, Alexis Doss, and her podcast is XOXO Your tough love, tough love coach. And I really love her and all the recommendations she has, because it's specifically around how to how to be more disciplined in your business, which is what I need as routine and discipline. And then the other thing is Asana. I don't know if you've heard of Asana, but it's like, it's just like for task management, and Harry Potter, and I think of Harry Potter, like, it's like a giant pen sieve, like I can just offload every Har Potter. It's okay. Oh god, it's okay. It's okay. It's okay. But basically, it's everyone.

Rihanna  

For the people listening, right?

Annabelle Williamson  

The people listening. It's like a pen sieve where I can just pull all these silver hairs out of my brain and plop them in this place. And then I don't have to be overloaded with all the things I have to do, because there's a placeholder keeping track of it. And even, like the one on repeat, like, every third day, it'll say, fold laundry, and so I'll have to do that every third day, so I don't have to, like, remember to pay the bills on the 15th of the month, because it'll pop up, you know, yeah.

Rihanna  

So, it's like, a whole life, yes, not just work. 

Annabelle Williamson  

Oh, it's everything, yeah.

Rihanna  

Oh, cool. Um, okay. One other question, another question I have. What do you think you'll miss the most, not having your own classroom this year and like, you can't say like, like, not being in the same building as Memphis?

Annabelle Williamson  

No, I will stay like that. Think about like the Yeah, don't worry about it. I am already there. Literally. The thing that I did not expect to happen at all was dropping off for his first day of school and seeing a billion children who were wrecked, like my fifth graders who I didn't get last year. I had half the fourth graders last year, so I saw all of them in third grade, half of them in fourth, and they were all supposed to have me again in fifth. And I had fifth graders crying like we didn't know you weren't coming back. We were supposed to have you, like devastated, and then I'm falling apart, and hugs and I wore my dress that they, yeah, I always have them. I wore that that day, but I didn't expect to, like, really wonder whether I had made the right decision, and I know I'm gonna stop myself again. I know I made the right decision, because I know one year from now, I will be like, I am so glad I had every moment with her, you know, with this baby. But I was like, oh my God, these kids, as you know, end up being your kids too, like they're 100% my babies, and I love them, and I've watched them grow over these last few years in amazing ways, and to think that like I'm missing that fifth-grade year, and then they're going to be off to middle school, and I don't have that chance. I mean, and this is one of my favorite classes I've ever taught. It's probably my second favorite in all my years of teaching that I've ever taught. But I also know that I have great relationships with all the teachers in that building. And if I reached out and said, hey, can I teach a guest lesson in your science class all day so I could see all the kids, they'll let me so go in and read a book or something, yeah? Something, yeah, something, yeah, yeah. So yeah.

Rihanna  

I mean, I think that answer doesn't surprise me, right? That it's the kids, it's the relationship that like that is such at the heart of what we do and why we do it. Yes, that's exactly it. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Let me see. Next up, you've spoken about imposter syndrome previously on your podcast, which is something that a lot of people, particularly people who are socialized female, feel. And you kind of touched on this maybe a little bit, but I just wanted to give you more space to talk about it if you wanted to do those like imposter syndrome feelings play like, have they played a role in this decision or in this announcement?

Annabelle Williamson  

A huge amount, huge amount. Because, again, I just I've seen it done differently, and I want everybody in the world to know right now. Know that I am not in the classroom this year. Yeah, and when I share videos, because I've done it this week already, it's been so fun to go into my phone and find video examples and pictures of different activities that I've done over the last 12 years, and actually have time to search for them, like, cool, actually be able to go and search for them and share but then say, these are my students back in 2001 these are my students back in 2002 or like naming the year, so that people know this is not this year. This is not current me. This is not me in the classroom right now. But because I'm not in the classroom, I'm able to share these, these visions of previous things, which I honestly have not ever had time for, in a way that I would like. So, I am getting, I'm getting to feel much more comfortable and confident in myself. But that imposter syndrome is so real because you I just don't ever want to think that people are like, Oh my God. She's sharing classroom videos. She's not even in it with us this year. And I know I am going to be the biggest cheerleader this year. I mean, I've always been, but the fact that I am like, at home more, I have so much I'm going to have so much bandwidth. And yes, I'm stay at home moms. I have all the respect in the world my mom was. It's not like it's all easy peasy here, like at all, but the fact that I'm not working full time at school, coming home trying to be a mom, trying to be a good stepmom, trying to be a good wife and manage a full-time business, because it really has become full time. We're like, let's celebrate that for a second. Yes. Oh, I'm just so I cannot believe it. Rihanna, that I cannot the fact that Familia loca started five years ago as this, like, I'm going to go live all the time and share all my thoughts, and it's going to be great. And it was, it was great, but it was a mess. And I literally didn't have any organization to it. I just went live on Facebook whenever I wanted to, five minutes here, 10 minutes there. I was doing, like, 36 lives per month. There was no organization to it. It was incredibly Annabelle, and obviously not sustainable for me or the teachers in the community. But they all stuck around. There's still 96 original members, 96 original.

Rihanna  

Oh my god, 

Annabelle Williamson  

I know it's wild, but...

Rihanna  

So special it is.

Annabelle Williamson  

And they stuck around, and now what it's become is this community that I can be intentional about how I'm providing PD and what PD I'm providing based on teacher’s needs, based on the time of year. It is because I've been in the classroom so long, and I know what teachers need, and I have Viviana, who can rein me in, make sure that it's like, not over the top, like too much, and that it's organized in a pretty way. It's like, wow. It's become this amazing thing that now we have 300 as of an hour ago, 327 members across the world who are allowing me to take a year off with my baby. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing,

Rihanna  

incredible. Okay. Last question maybe, what do you what you want people to know about this moment in your life.

Annabelle Williamson  

I want people to know that at the start of the year, January, I always pick a what's it called when? When you know when people like choose something they're going to give up or they're going to do, what's that again?

Rihanna  

Well, like, a new year,

Annabelle Williamson  

Yeah, resolution. Sorry. I was like, what is that thing? See, I told you, y'all, this was not planned. I had no idea what she was gonna ask me. Lent, no, I always pick a one-word resolution, and it's like, how I'm going to live that year. And I have it on my window, and I have it in different places, so I remember this is the thing you're gonna live by. And this year, my word was bold, and it really pushed me to make this bold decision, because several times we were like, financially, maybe we can't, because insurance is, like, $1,300 a month. It's nuts outside of insurance, health insurance, yeah, it's a banana. Like, should we be doing this? It's going to completely change our lifestyle. It's going to be way less like ordering takeout when we're tired. Like, is this something we can do? And then that. Would pop up bold, and I said, you know, I am going to make this bold choice of stepping away knowing that. I know I'm not ready to leave the classroom. I know I'll be back because it is my heart's fire. I love training teachers, but I love my classroom. I love my kids, and I'm going to be bold about it, because she is only this little once, and I missed so much of it with Memphis. I believe this will be our last kiddo, and I just want to soak up every second and then be able to be there for my other kiddos in a way that I haven't ever experienced. So, I also am confident it's going to allow me to serve teachers better for this year, and grow my community and grow my following, possibly even grow the people that are following me that aren't world language teachers and who need to integrate more brain breaks into their classrooms for every space.

Rihanna  

You know, every Yeah, truly, yeah.

Annabelle Williamson  

We'll see. I'm excited about the adventures ahead because of being bold. Yeah,

Rihanna  

Yay, yeah. Okay. Real. Last question, is there anything else on your heart that you want to share?

Annabelle Williamson  

Um, just gratitude. I'm grateful again. I'm grateful for you, I'm grateful for La Familia loca PLC, and I'm grateful for every single person listening, because this podcast has been something else that if you weren't listening, I wouldn't be able to keep doing it. So, thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing about the podcast and the community of La Familia loca PLC is open right now. I don't know how I happen to choose this week that all of us happen to be sick on to open the door. Fantastic timing,

Annabelle Williamson  

Great, but the doors are open right now. I only open them twice a year, and I am confident it's going to be the best year yet in La Familia loca PLC, because I have all the energy to be able to pour into the community, and I have the support to be able to do that. And yeah, so if you're interested in joining Rihanna, what is your Oh, I must know that. Can I ask you a question? Am I allowed? Okay, okay, so as a member of La Familia loca PLC, what is your favorite benefit?

Rihanna  

Um, well, I think that it's helpful, super helpful. But like, take the FOMO out of things, like what happens at conference in the cloud when things are recorded, and you can access them anytime. So, I think that as a benefit, like you do a fantastic job introducing the resources that are included each month in our memberships, and just having that be something I can access, like from two years ago when I joined in September, what, what were the resources? And how did she suggest that I use them? Like, just having that is really, cool, and helpful, and lets me feel like there's not like pressure on me to show up if I, you know, would rather just like, you know, do something else, or, like, if I can't make it for a conflict to one of the things that is live. So, I really appreciate that flexibility. That said, I do love it when I am able to show up and I did a lot more of like, prioritizing, like other things during Familia loca live events this past year, and part of it is like, I'm on the West Coast, so for the like, it said, like, I have staff meetings sometimes, like, when it's the community work time or something like that. But yeah, I want to prioritize more of going like, while they're happening, because I think what like might not be obvious to people who aren't in the PLC is like, when, when Annabelle says that it's a community like that, that can be kind of like, hollow, or you might be like, okay, yeah, lady, but how much of a Community is it really, but like, they're like, people know each other. People are excited to see the not just you, but like other teachers on the on the calls, and they know about each other's kids and about each other's pets and it really is like h having, having a Facebook group where people can share things and be vulnerable and ask questions and support each other that way, or it really is a community. And I've kind of been blown away. My husband is like, you have so many online communities. And I'm like, yeah, like people that I don't I've never met in real life, I maybe will never meet them in real life, but like, they're gonna send me a scarlet Macaw onesie for my spirit week at school, because we're in a Facebook group together, and I asked for one. Like, you know, it's like, there's just, there it is. It's been interesting. I mean, I think the pandemic showed it to a lot of us that, like, you can have real community with people on the internet, but it's as I've moved away from Zoom for a lot of areas of my life. It is special to like, have this as something that, like, people can show up and cry and like, ask hard questions and be their authentic and like vulnerable selves and like really mean something to each other and feel like you know a person, just from like, being in this group together.

Annabelle Williamson  

You said literally everything that is, it's just, and I think that that's it is, like, the biggest piece that I don't want members to ever feel is that they have to attend to anything like it's only what you want to when you need it, like it is there for the support that you need, how you need it, and if you if you don't attend a live for...Jody is one. Jodi hasn't attended anything in almost three years, and she showed up to a call the other day, and I almost cried seeing her. I said, Gosh, Jodi. And she's like, I'm high. But the fact that you can watch like, I don't know if you're watching recordings, but if you need them, they're there. And yeah, resources, every resource, comes with a recording of like, this is how to do it. You've mentioned everything, and I think that that's the biggest thing, is, I had no idea that it would turn into an actual community of people who love and care about each other as deeply as they do, who rally when it's needed and it's an amazing thing to be a part of, and now I just feel grateful every day that I get to be a part of it. You know,

Rihanna  

Well, you made it, which is just wild. You're not just part of it. You made it,

Annabelle Williamson  

But the people made it, what it was, what it is, you know,

Rihanna  

I mean, yes, and I love you so much. Okay, I think part of what, sorry, just one more thing that I love about it, the Lagniappe sessions and that, because that just does allow people to be people, and that's such a cool part of it, this like activity that's not related to teaching. I mean, like, sometimes it's, it'll be like a bad unicorn, or like werewolf, or like some game that we might do with our kids, but it's not about teaching you how to do it with your kids. It's about just having fun with people. And like my mom, I've been with my mom sometimes for them and like, she joined one and like, my friend was visiting for her birthday. We played, like, where I don't know if you met my friend, yeah, her birthday. I was like, this is Natalie. She's here. Like, and like, she got to be in the game. And like, that was, I was just like, I don't want to miss this. And she was like, okay, and we did, but it's just those, I think that's, that's a big piece of it too. Is like getting to form those relationships through those games.

Annabelle Williamson  

Yeah, just chill time too. And I did that super intentionally. The Lagniappe is my favorite every month. It's always my favorite. And I know it's not people in fact, I think this past year, only two people voted it as their favorite thing in that survey that I sent out. Yeah, but I'm like, I don't care. That's fine. It could be my favorite. In these other two peoples, but for me, it's my favorite because I get the opportunity to remind teachers that we are so much more than our job, and look at how much joy and fun we're having just connecting and we do not need to only ever talk about our jobs, because teachers, we tend to do that a lot, even with our significant others, we tend to, like talk a lot about work, the joys and the ups and downs, like all the time. And so, like being able to have true fun outs and have nothing to do with what we're doing in the classroom is important. I think, yeah, yeah, yeah, I do too, yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. This was this was so fun. I might be a new thing where I have people interview me. Yeah, it was so great. So, if you enjoyed this episode, let us know. Leave a review. That's literally the best thing you can do for me. And this podcast is leaving an apple review, and then come and join la Familia loca PLC. We would absolutely love to have you. Thank you, Rihanna, for doing this with me and staying up. Oh, it's not as late for you, because you're in California so and thank you all. And until next time, Rihanna will be teaching la vida loca and I will be Living La Vida Loca, and excited to support you in this new way. I'll talk to you soon. I love you all. Take care and talk to you next time bye, bye.