We have had a wonderful start to the school year here at Open Arms! The kids have been doing great and are already making new friends, and our returning students are thrilled to be back!

Our first field trip to the CSU Environmental Learning Center was a huge hit with the kids where they learned a lot about nature and wildlife. All of the parents came along as well, which is always such a fun way to begin our fall. We have also started our new music curriculum on Mondays with Shelly Peterson at Kids in Harmony, which is absolutely wonderful! We are so grateful to have this as a part of our preschool this fall.

The preschool has chapel with Pastor Nettleton once each month where the kiddos bring offerings. We choose a cause to donate those offerings to each year, so when I got an email about families at Lutheran schools in Houston needing help, I thought it was the perfect place for us to jump in. This is being done through LCMS and the program is called “School to School.” The Director at Christ Memorial Lutheran Early Childhood Learning Center in Houston pointed us to their YouCaring fundraising page, which is where we will send the children’s offerings. They are getting money raised directly to the four teachers and thirty families from the school who were displaced by the hurricane and flooding. Anyone who would like to join us in supporting this preschool, we would love that!

As we look forward to October, the calendar is full with colors of autumn, pumpkins, spiders and bats, parent conferences, a fire station field trip to learn about fire safety and, of course, a field trip to the pumpkin patch! We also have the Lions Club coming in to do the annual eye screenings for the kiddos.

One more event in October is our October 11 Pour Brothers fundraiser. All tips collected at Pour Brothers Community Tavern (220 Linden St) between 6:00 to 8:00 PM will be given to the preschool! So come and enjoy a drink and a bite and hang out with congregation and preschool families, all while supporting Open Arms!

I want to say thank you to Saint John’s congregation and staff for all the support you’ve given us. I love the opportunity to meet so many new little ones and their families each year and watch these kids grow. I also want to give Jessica and Ashlee a big thank you for being so great! Happy Fall, everyone!

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.