Quotes From 5th Graders

While doing an experiment where we made our own lava lamp:
Can I drink it? What would happen if I drank it? Would it taste good? (repeat 21x)
After literally running around the classroom then asking if she can use the restroom, one of my cherubs stops and says:
When a colored woman gots to go to the bathroom, a colored woman gots to go to the bathroom.
A student was reading a passage out loud about an eagle that got hurt:
And then they needed to take the eagle to the vegetarian.
When they don't understand how to say something in English (native Spanish speaker):
How you say that?
As I was talking about my family:
What about your baby Mrs. T? You know, don't you have a baby?
This year is off to a great start. I am growing to know my cherubs more and more each day. Their personalities are quite amusing and they definitely make each day unique!
Happy Friday!

My Heart Is Bursting

Okay, I admit, I don't want this to turn into a whole blog about teaching, but since that is all I have been doing lately...that's what you get. My heart is bursting with love and adoration for my job and my kids.

This shift dress (Sarah, in a shift dress, whaaa?! Surprising, right?) has my name all over it. Black and white and not too tight. It was a hit with the girlies in my class. 

Do you want to know why I love teaching? In accounting, everyone was moody and 'all business'. In teaching you get about 12 compliments before class officially begins. "Mrs. Tucker you look SO pretty!" and "Mrs. Tucker I love your dress!" and "Mrs. Tucker I missed you this weekend!" There is no way you can have a bad day when all your students say how they missed you, greet you with a hug, tell you how pretty you look, bring you a picture they drew, and so many other things I am failing to mention. 

I had a fourth grader the other day (as in the second week of school) come up and tell me they really wanted me to be their teacher. I had never met the kid, talked to the kid, even seen the kid, but my heart melted. It is truly amazing how, without even knowing it, I am impacting these kids' lives. 

In accounting I cried because I was miserable. So far, I have cried twice and it was out of pure joy. I have never felt more humbled in my life. These kids are truly amazing and I am so blessed to be apart of their life. 

It was a huge risk switching careers. Chris and I didn't always see eye to eye on the decision and I had many sleepless nights, but knowing what I know now I am truly in awe of the blessings I have been given. I wake up every morning excited to go change lives.
Happy Tuesday!

The hardest job I've ever had.

I have changed some things since these pictures were taken, but I wanted to give y'all a quick glimpse as to how the room is looking!

It all makes sense now. The seating charts, the structure, the method to the madness. Teaching. Teaching is the hardest job I've ever had and today is the first day of school.
Last week I was up at my classroom from (at least) 7am to 7pm and I left wanting to stay and get more done! Me, Sarah Tucker, wanting to work more? Yes!
When I was in public accounting I remember the first day of work being exciting, but throughout the day I remember thinking, "Oh my gosh. Am I seriously going to waste my life away doing this??" I would go home at the end of the day thanking the Lord the day was over. I would have nothing exciting to tell Chris and would wake up day after day trying to put a happy face on and be thankful I had a job.
Accounting was hard, but at the same time, I wasn't interested in it, so I never let it be so hard that it bothered me. For instance, softball. I LOVE softball and growing up I would work my butt off to play in college, which was a dream come true. I wanted it, so I worked hard at it. Accounting, not so much.

There are paperclips attached on the laminated scrapbook paper so I can display the kids work!

Now, teaching...that is like softball. I am working my butt off learning the curriculum, the method to the madness, and all the things that come along with being the best teacher I can be. And at the end of the day I don't want to stop. Time flies by when you are doing something you love. Just like softball. I wanted to get out on the field, go to practice, and throw the ball with my Dad any chance I got. It was my passion.
Now, the hardest job I've ever had, teaching, is my passion.
When the kids showed up the other night for 'Meet the Teacher', it all made sense. The path I was on, God's path, all made sense. Seeing my babies for the first time was like stepping into the pitcher's circle for a game. It was a rush, the pressure was on, but the end was so rewarding. Their faces lit up at the sight of the classroom decorations, their enthusiasm for the school year so genuine, and the smiles that melted my heart. 

This has changed. I attached the ball/glove to a clothes pin. They just transfer their pin from one folder to the other.

I have finally found my calling in the workforce. I was born to be an educator, and anyone who ever says teaching is easy, ha, you have no idea. It is the most challenging, yet rewarding thing I have ever done...and it is only day one.