This has been a great year and we want to thank you all for your support of Open Arms. We are honored to have been blessed to spend the year getting to know these precious kiddos and the families. We have enjoyed watching friendships grow, not only among the students, but also the parents. We are happy that we don't have to say goodbye for long since we have some younger siblings who will be coming in the fall! Enjoy the rest of the year and have a safe and adventurous summer!

We have just a few spots left for the fall in the older Pre-Kindergarten class, but the preschool class is full. We have started a waiting list. You can register online or in person. Please call or email if you have any questions!

In April, we visited our friends at Brookdale Senior Living. As always, this was a great time for everyone involved. The kids were tired when we were done, but had a blast putting May Day baskets on the residents’ doors and singing some songs. The residents love seeing the children!

The kiddos worked on some plays and a variety of songs to perform at the May 11 spring program. They are an adorable group, as you well know from our Christmas program!

We have had very successful fund raising events this spring! Pour Brothers Community Night and our yard sale went quite well, and families got to know each other better in the process. We are still waiting for all the change collections to come in so we can see what our final number is.

The last day of Preschool and picnic was on Thursday, May 18. The Pre-K Graduation and last day of school picnic was Friday, May 19.

And finally, a few special thank yous:

• To the Klaver family, who own Salus! They have graciously provided all the scents for our play-dough this year! We have unique play-dough here at Open Arms and we have Salus to thank for that!
• To all of the moms who helped with the garage sale, and to Ashleigh and Jenny, who organized the sale and the families who worked various shifts.
• A big thank you to all of the Open Arms families! You all are wonderful and we are so blessed to be a part of your world in teaching your kiddos. It's amazing how kind and helpful you all have been to us.
• To the Saint John's Lutheran congregation for all of your support this year and to the ladies who have volunteered to make food and help out with our Mother's Day Tea!

Kandy Wise is the Director of Open Arms Preschool, a ministry of Saint John’s Lutheran Church. You may reach her at 482-1357 or OpenArms@StJohnsFC.org with any questions about the Preschool.