Sooooo we are not even a week in to Summer 2019 and I’m having blast! I am loving not having a set schedule (except at Loft….COME VISIT ME TOMORROW AT 12:30😛), not having to set an alarm (except my internal alarm clock wakes me up early), and just being able to read, relax, and catch up on things from the school year. This past week has definitely been refreshing and I want to share some of the “little things” of summer that make me happy.

• WATCHING THE TODAY SHOW!- Ever since I was in middle school, I enjoyed the 1 minute news recap at 7:00am and have memorized their opening from the start “This is Today with [insert current anchors name], LIVE from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza”. After watching this little summary, I would usually pack up my backpack and head to school. It was such a great start to the morning and I felt “in the loop” with current events. However, this year, since I am an early bird & was a first year teacher, I would be in my classroom at 6:40am completely missing this recap. I missed seeing the shining faces of the Today Show and feeling connected to the world. Being at home during the week now in summer, I am able to start my morning with the fab people of NBC news and watch it as long as I would like. (The second and third hour of the Today show are my favorites ❤️ ) Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, I love YOU!!! Can’t wait for Hoda to return back on the show! And Dylan Dreyer, Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Carson Daly, Sheinelle Jones, and Jenna Bush, y’all are awesome too. ***A dream of mine is to go to NYC and meet all of y’all in the morning! In the meantime, I am content with seeing you all on TV!
• WORKING OUT IN THE MORNING!– Not only do I enjoy starting my day with the Today Show clan, I also enjoy working out at the local Y right in the morning. There is no better feeling than finishing a workout. I love having this feeling in the morning because it kickstarts my day and makes me ready for anything and everything! It’s so fun seeing the same people at the Y in the mornings too. Although I don’t know their names, I feel like we all bond. I mean, we have to bond since we are the crazy people that are working out from 5:30-6:30 in the morning😂
• GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE DURING THE WEEK!– During the school year, my dad and I hit up Mariano’s practically every Saturday between 7:00-8:00am….along with everybody else in LZ. We had to get into our grove–he would go to the deli counter first and I would race through the veggies and fruits–as it was always really crowded and we didn’t want to wait. You know what’s awesome about summer?? I don’t have to wait until the weekend mornings to get food for the week…I can do it during the week! I went to Mariano’s and Trader Joe’s on Monday and I felt so invigorated. There were no lines, fresh produce, and smiling faces. Every worker I saw smiled and asked me how I was doing. I quickly responded with “I’m great! I’m a teacher and this is my first Monday of summer!”. They all congratulated me and smiled. To be honest, I have been to the grocery store every day this week HAHA but it’s awesome because I CAN 🥑🍓🌽🥫🥚🧀🍗🌮

• READING ALL THE TIME!– I have a GIANT stack of books on my shelf–28 to be exact–and the pile just keeps on growing. I love that I can read at all times of the day!! I’ve already finished 3 books this past week ranging from adult fiction to children’s realistic fiction to a professional development book on reading. The last book I read was called The Book Whisperer (thanks for the recommendation @Dana) and I learned that I need to keep with my reading passion so I can help model and encourage the wonders of reading to my students!! Majority of the books that I am reading this summer are children’s literature (HIGH KEY RECOMMEND BECAUSE THEY ARE FUN AND MOSTLY ALWAYS HAVE GOOD ENDINGS). I am taking note of what I am reading so I can recommend books to my students next year! Having free time to read is not only helping me relax and unwind, it is preparing me to help my students📚💕

• FREE TIME TO WORK ON PROJECTS!– If you know me, then you know that I have a passion for crafting and a passion for projects! I have a space in my basement dedicated to this. It was my mom’s craft room, now mine, and it is my favorite place in the house❤️ I feel so connected to her and my passion for creating when I am in there. So far, I have been able to work on a couple of projects–clean/organize the craft room (sounds boring, but I promise you I have been looking forward to this), designing our new patio space (PEEP my cute little spot in the photo), and working on a Father’s Day Gift (no spoilers because Pat Donahue may be reading this!!!). I love that I have this extra time to create!! I am hoping to update you all on my summer projects as well as show some videos of the DIY projects so you can do them too!!

After this week and being able to do all these little things that make me happy, I am refilling my energy cup! Here’s to two more months of THIS 🎉 ☀️ One of the teachers I follow on instagram shared a story about her day today; It included a coffee date, hair appointment, and time spent creating for her TPT store. She then said “Writing that made me feel spoiled……but teachers deserve this!” (@misswestbest). I could not agree more! Teachers deserve summer! I am blessed that I am able to have my dream job August-May–sharing my passions with students and learning from them and a great school community–and then I am blessed that I am able to unwind June & July to reenergize for next year’s kiddos!

What are you all enjoying as summer is starting?! Do you have any book recommendations I should add to my pile? Do you have any project recommendations…or something you would like me to create?? Please do not hesitate to reach out!!

I am Miss DeCLAIREing Happiness declaring the little things that have made me happy this summer! I hope you all have a great Wednesday…I’m off to Trader Joe’s😋

XOXO

*cue Adele music*

Hello, it’s me!

I was wondering after this long year if you’d still like to hear

from me.

To go over everything.

They say your first year teaching is tough

But I have so much more to share

HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE PEOPLE!! And when I mean the other side, I mean not being a first year teacher anymore… and that it is summer! (Ahhhhhhhhh!!! Crazy how fast this year went!!!!). Man oh man, this year has been a such a great learning year! For this blog post, I wanted to write down what I learned along the way to share with you all…especially you upcoming first year teachers.

Seriously, I do not know how to even start this list. In thinking of this blog post, I asked myself: Do I order everything chronologically how I learned it??? Do I order it by importance??? Do I order it alphabetically??? And the winner is…. NONE OF THEM. I have decided just to list them in a RANDOM order lol. Here we go!!

1. Balance is key--You can overwhelm yourself with school. I promise you. There is always something that you can do for your classroom, for your students, and for you to better your teaching, but you have to be able to stop. For the first two months, I would stay at school until 5pm everyday, come home and work for 2 more hours, and then spend 10+ hours on the weekend at school. I seriously felt like all I did was school and I needed an extra weekend from my weekend. I couldn’t wait to have a long weekend, just to have that extra day to relax. After having some crying breakdowns at home, Joel suggested a new plan “Dedicate one day to work and one day to rest”. On the weekends, I would spend one day (usually Saturday) going into school and then another day (usually Sunday) for myself! This new plan was awesome! I also started stopping looking at school related material at 5pm and took time to self-care or how I liked to call it “Self-Claire”. This advice can really apply to anyone–not just teachers. Know when enough is enough, or have a friend or family member be able to tell you this. School is a big part of my life, but it is not my entire life! Make sure you are balancing your time.
2. You’ll find your grove–Everyone told me that the first couple of months will be tough and I would be lying to you if I said they were not. Many teachers, friends, and family members told me that once Thanksgiving hit, I would feel like I had a handle on things. They were right!! I remember saying to Joel on a Saturday in January “Hey, remember when I would spend my entire weekend at school?”. We both laughed and wondered what happened. I didn’t stop extensively planning. The school days weren’t getting shorter. I didn’t stop doing fun activities in the classroom. Actually, I added more to my plate by working at Loft and helping coach Girls on the Run. I guess I just found my grove 🤗 AND YOU WILL TOO! Just hang in there! I’ll be the one to tell you next year that you’ve got this.
3. You must fill your own cup before filling others’ cups–This kind of deals with my first point, but I want to reemphasize it because it’s so important. As teachers, we put so much energy into our classrooms. It takes energy to plan lessons, carry out the lessons, and to care for your students. You won’t be able to do this if you are not caring for yourself! Add some self-care to your routine… or Self-Claire (lol I can give you a pep talk!) Read for fun before going to bed, put on a face mask, workout, bake, do arts & crafts…ANYTHING that’s going to make YOU feel good so you can give your best energy & vibes to your students!
4. Live at home (if you can)–If you are given the option to live at home your first year, DO IT!! I am lucky enough that my home is actually 1 mile away from my school. Living at home this past year has been wonderful. Not having to worry about living independently and just being able to worry on my classroom has been great! I have the best roomie too… PAT DONAHUE ROCKS!! Living at home will give you a great support system. I could not tell you the amount of good talks I’ve had with my dad since I’ve been home. He is so helpful and has helped me have a great year 💕
5. Don’t be afraid to change–If something does not go well in your classroom–a procedure, lesson, organization, attitude etc.–don’t be afraid to change! It’s your learning year! Try new things out to see what works best for you. However, also realize that what works best this year, might not work best the next year. Each school year brings a bunch of new students! Know from the very beginning that not everything is going to be perfect. Not everything in your day will run smoothly. However, find one good thing that went well and roll with it!
6. Assume nothing, teach everything–One of my teammates mentioned that saying to me in the first month of school and honestly, I’m going to make a plaque for this for next year! It does not matter the age and personalities of your students, do not assume that they know everything. Remind them how to walk in the hallway, review math concepts before diving into a new lesson, teach them how to treat others with kindness and respect. As you are going into the first couple of weeks of school and implementing your classroom management, this is your time to make sure you are teaching (or reviewing…but still teaching) everything that your students need to succeed.
7. Lean on your teammates, school staff, & administrators–Enough said. I could NOT have survived this year without my amazing fifth grade team, wonderful colleagues, and fantastic administrators. Everyone at my school was always eager to lend a helping hand and offer a listening ear (and sometimes a shoulder to cry on). Do not do this on your own!! You have amazing teachers all around you ready to support and encourage you in any way. Teacher tribe, thank you x 101348934908234039 for our morning launches, shared resources, little gifts, immediate visits when asked for help, and endless smiles and laughs.
8. Remember why you started–When the going gets tough, when your challenging student is acting out, when you’re having a day where you just feel like crying, when you are overwhelmed with report cards, emails, planing…Remember why you wanted to be a teacher. Remember those students that you have in your classroom who look up to you and appreciate seeing your smiling face in the morning. Remind yourself of these things! I used a little journal throughout the year to reflect on my day and to write at least one positive thing that occurred that reminded me why I went into the teaching profession. I also have a physical and electronic file of notes, emails, pictures, and messages that I have received over the past year that put a smile on my face. Having these little reminders at reach will definitely help you on those difficult days 💕

There are so many great things I have learned this year and I’ll continue to highlight them as the summer goes on. I did not want this first post back to be a billion pages long. As for me this summer, you will definitely see me around. I hope to continue this blog post through the summer and school year highlighting all the many things that make me happy.

And to end this blog post, I will share a conversation I had with my dad last week (#PatDonahueROCKS!!!). “How lucky you are that you get to start fresh every year and strengthen your teaching as each year progresses. Not many professions are able to do that”. He is right! Not many professions are able to start anew with a bunch of eager, smiling new little faces. This is one of the many things I love about being a teacher. After my first year, I have already learned so many new practices, strategies, and activities I want to try to better myself. I’m looking forward to this summer as a time of relaxation, but also some reflection. YEAR ONE IS DONE! Let Year Two begin ☺️

Thank you for following along in my journey!! (And for being patient and caring through this first year). Happy Summer Teacher Friends and Friends of Teachers❤️

Happy Sunday everyone 🙂 I hope y’all have been having a great weekend… I sure have! Recently I discovered the hashtag “Self-Care Sunday” and I am obsessed. This hashtag is all about taking care of yourself and making sure to fill your cup with energy, so you can pass your energy, love, and excitement on to others. For the past couple of Sundays, I have had the “Sunday Scaries”: I have been a little anxious about starting the new week and sad that the weekend was coming to an end. With this, I decided to implement “Self-Care Sunday” or in my case “Self-Claire Sunday” to focus on things that make me happy and relaxed.

Today’s day consisted of going to church with Joel, having some yummy breakfast, making returns, cleaning my room and bathroom, finishing a movie, taking a nap, and crafting!! Let me explain myself on some of the things I did:

• Going to church was awesome 🙂 Whenever I go, I just receive a sense of relaxation and comfort. Being there with Joel and seeing my Mimi was definitely a plus too!
• Making returns are sometimes annoying–waiting in the lines, trying to find receipts, etc.–however, I liked receiving the money back on something I did not use!! I know money doesn’t buy happiness, but now I have $16 extra for food and crafts…and those things make me happy 🙂
• Some of you may not think that cleaning is not fun or relaxing, but I feel overwhelmed and disorganized when my space is messy. Both my bathroom and room have not been living up to my standards recently and I was SO happy to get them all nice and clean! They are organized, my thoughts are organized, and I am ready to take on the week.
• The movie I watched was “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before”. I had watched the very middle of this movie when I got my nails done a month ago and have been meaning to watch the beginning and end. I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO FINISH IT AND I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!! EVERYONE GO WATCH IT!!! SUPER CUTE!!! SUPER FUN!!!
• An afternoon nap… do I have to say anything more??
• Crafting!! I came to the realization that I am feeling my best self when I am able to create, design, or craft. I need to do more of this 🙂 Being in my mom’s craft room is my happy place!! I cleaned it yesterday so now it’s all set to go for my crafting adventures!

I want to show you my latest craft project… My halloween costume! Now, let me narrow down your imagination before you begin thinking of all the crazy things I could possibly be. All the staff at my school are dressing up as characters from Charlotte’s Web. We are reading this book as a school, so the staff decided we should dress up as characters from the book or farm animals! I’m going to be Charlotte (a spider) and I’m so excited 🙂 Check out this video to see 1.) The t-shirt that I created for my costume 2.) The process of creating a t-shirt using a Cricut machine! I made this quick video to give you all a glimpse of what makes me happy and how I like to create t-shirts/clothes using my Cricut Machine 🙂

What did YOU do today to take care of yourself and replenish your energy before the work week? I hope you did something that made you happy! I’m Miss DeCLAIREing Happiness and I deCLAIRE that all Sunday’s should be “Self-Care Sundays”! Thank you for following me along in my journey 🙂

Hi!! Yes, I am here!! I am back!! I went on this “too long to even think about how long it’s been since I’ve last blogged” hiatus. BUT HELLO AGAIN, I am MissDeclaireing Happiness and I am back to deDECLAIRE what I have been up to for these past couple of months: school. However, this time, school in a totally different sense. After being the student for 17 years, I am the teacher. As many of you know, this has been a dream of mine for forever and it’s still so surreal that it is now a reality.

I’ve wanted to be a teacher ever since second grade. I had the BEST second grade teacher who showed me how much she cared, made lessons exciting and interactive, and was a great role model (If you’re reading this Ms. Peña, you’re the best!!). Ever since second grade, I have involved myself with all activities and things that would get me “teacher-prepared”: babysitting, drama teachers, Child Development classes at the high school, tutoring, and becoming an elementary education major. My university courses were SO exciting! Classes that discussed school curriculum, how to manage your classroom, and allowed you to reflect on the best teaching practices… count me in!!! Upon graduating, I felt SO ready.

Now, I am still feeling ready, but reflecting back on the 20 days with students, I feel as though there were things that I was not taught in my university classes. These skills and concepts are things that I feel like can never be taught, but have to be experienced. I decided to compile a list of “what they don’t teach you”! IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO GRADUATE THIS SEMESTER OR NEXT AND START YOUR OWN CLASSROOM, PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME ASAP BECAUSE I HAVE MORE I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU:)

1.) They do not teach you how to balance your time! As a first year teacher, I feel as though I am behind if I am not continually thinking of school. I wake up early to go to school, I go to school, I use plan time and lunch to plan things for my students, I stay at school late, I come home and still think school, eat dinner, work some more on school, and then do it all over again the next day. I have learned that if I do this all day everyday… I’ll wear myself out!! Slowly but surely, I’m learning it’s totally okay (and honestly best) to not always think about school. I have loved eating lunch with my team, setting aside time to make dinner and chat with my dad, and taking some relaxation time to watch trashy TV shows with Joel lol. I am still giving my students 15028392% even though I am not thinking about school all the time. You need to take care of you so you can be at your best to give your students the best!

2.) They do not teach you that…you will have an amazing team and support system at school that will help you every step of the way…SO DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP!!!! They will not know how you’re feeling if you are not expressing or sharing it! My teammates and colleagues are AMAZING. They are always eager to help, let me vent to them, and making me laugh!! I do NOT know where I would be without the amazing staff.

3.) They do not teach you…the motto “assume nothing, teach everything”. I was not introduced to this motto until my third day of teaching and I wish I knew about it sooner. In my university courses, I did learn that the first couple of weeks are so crucial in establishing a routine, but I did not realize all the routines you need to establish. I would think, “oh my students know how to line up” or “oh my students know how to walk in the hallway”, but that little motto proved me wrong. Since that day, I have made sure to always set expectations and provide clear directions so students know how they should be acting. Not only does this apply to routines, but to any content area! It’s important to not assume students know how to do things and to see what their background/prior knowledge is. I think I might frame that on a sign for next year lolololololol

4.) They do not teach you…about how much you will learn in the first month! I have learned SO much about my students–their likes, dislikes, personalities–, my school–the names of my colleagues, the Chromebook cart code, how to use Outlook Mail–,and myself as a teacher. My students have already taught me so much these 20 days, I can’t imagine how I’ll feel at the end of the year. I can tell you for a fact I’ll never forget this first year and this first class. They will definitely always have a place in my heart.

So moving forward I want my family, friends, strangers, and all you soon-to-be teachers that I am doing just fine!! We have our days–good and bad–but I still wouldn’t change my profession for the world. Thank you for patiently waiting on my teaching journey! I appreciate all of you ❤️❤️

-Miss DeCLAIREing Happiness

Twas the Night Before my First Day of School

And all through my home in LZ

I was finished getting ready for the big day

Headed to bed early, all nice & cozy

 

All my lessons were planned

And my classroom all set

Meet the Teacher was so fun today

I loved all the students and parents that I met

 

Then what to my wondering eyes should appear

A new lunch box from my dad

to start my teaching career.  

In it I packed a sandwich, popcorn, and some fruit…

Suddenly I realized I needed to pick out my outfit

Something professional, but still cute.

 

I rushed to my room to look through my teacher clothes

I have been building this wardrobe,

for a couple of years I suppose.

I found the perfect outfit and lay it on my chair

The next morning I would have everything all planned out

I would not have a scare.  

 

Laying in bed I thought about the wonderful opportunity ahead.

Becoming a teacher has been a dream of mine,

I was full of all happy thoughts, not dread.

I was excited to get to know all of my students this year

Thinking of all the ways we can learn from each other,

And how to make my experience filled with cheer!

 

I’m excited to start my first year of teaching,

And that I am able to share it all with you.

How amazing that this is my dream that I am finally reaching!

“Happy First Day to all and to all a Good Night!”

Long time so see friends! I have been SOOOOO busy setting my classroom up. Between working, being in my classroom, and attempting to have some free time (seriously what is free time?? I feel like I will not know what it is until next summer), I just have not had time to blog. No empty promises here but you all WILL see my classroom soon: when it is all set up! No sneak peaks just yet:)

For this blog post I wanted to write a letter to future first year teachers. There is so much that they don’t teach you!!! And I am not blaming anyone for not teaching it to you!!! Most of it you just have to experience. However, I wanted to write a letter to hopefully provide some guidance, reassurance, and motivation! Here goes nothing!

**********

Dear Future First Year Teacher,

Helloooooooo, it’s me!! (*Cue Adele music*). It’s me, Miss DeClaireing Happiness! I am YOU. I wanted to write to you because I feel your excitement, frustrations, stress, confusion, and eagerness. Just like you, I’ve wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember and the time IS FINALLY HERE. I have my own class of students, my own classroom, my own teacher desk (!!!!!). We made it through our University courses, the dreaded edTPA (#BlessYou who didn’t have to do it), the interview process, graduation…maybe not all in that order! But we did it!!! If yew cen reed this, then yew ar a teecsher.

Right now, you might not feel fully prepared. Just this past week, I came across and thought of about 194729383 things that I never knew I had to worry about–classroom whiteboards, privacy folders, connecting your iPad to your projector, etc. I have been joking with colleagues that I should write a book about being a first year teacher (“What To Expect When You’re Expecting Your First Class of Students” lol should I????? Would you buy it????) Amongst all of these confusions and unknowings, I promise you that you are amazing and can do this! Your experiences and courses may not have told you what to do in these situations or that you have to think of these things, but they provided you the right mindset and knowledge to get you through it. And in the end, just know, you have a full class of kiddos that are counting on you and are rooting for you.

Your last week of summer, first week of training, and first day of school will have an array of emotions, but just know you have a great support system. You have faculty, teammates, family, friends, and/or an online teacher community here to help you shine. Never be afraid to ask questions!

Good luck you newbies!! With your passion for students, change, and love of learning, you will be amazing. I can’t wait to see what you do!

Sincerely,

A First Year Teacher

P.S. I’ll write to you on the last day of school too!!