Well, here we are at the end of the school year of 2020-21! We made it through the entire year without incident and an unusually low amount of illness overall. We are so incredibly grateful.

May is always a fun and busy month that makes everyone excited as we anticipate the fun adventures of summer. The last month activities of a school year are always so fun for me as it reminds me of the fun I had in school during that last month. Open Arms is no exception!

We started May with garden week which ended with our Mother’s Day Picnic on the playground. We were so sad to lose this event last year due to school closing early, but we were able to improvise and make it work this year. We had a picnic on the playground instead of a “tea” inside. Moms came with picnic blankets and spread out all over the playground. We provided a light sandwich lunch complete with special cupcakes for the moms and I made a pretty photo frame so they could take pictures with their kiddos, which turned out to be fun. We made photo jars with candles inside, and the kiddos painted pretty picture frames, so the moms went home with special gifts. We were so happy that the weather cooperated completely with this event! It was a beautiful day.

The last weeks of May were spent celebrating birthdays of the students who have theirs in the summer. That way no child leaves the school year without celebrating their birthday, no matter when they were born! Then we had our “My Teacher Sleeps in School” festivities. I read the book on a Friday, then, on Monday, the kids and parents come to my house to see that I do have a house, kids, and pets just like they do, and that I do NOT sleep at school! We took the short tour of my house, saw photos of my kids, met my pets, walked to the park for some play time, had a picnic snack in my backyard, then went home. It’s always such a fun day and the kids love it.

We had our spring program virtually this year and it went very well. The kids sang songs and did the skits “The Three Little Pigs” and “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”, and let me just say, we might have some movie stars in our midst! They did fabulous! After Tom recorded and did the editing, we sent the link out to families where they could enjoy watching it with the kids and share with their families near and far. Thank you so much to Tom for doing that for us!

Finally came graduation, which was another perfect day of weather! We did the “drive through” graduation again, but this year it was followed with a reception on the playground. Families were able to chat one last time and make sure they had all the contact information so they could have play dates this summer and stay in touch. It was a great day!

Again, we are so grateful that we had a good year despite the craziness all around us and were able to provide families with one thing that resembled some sort of normal in their lives. I heard it so many times…” thank you for such a great year and for providing some normal for my child”. This was repeated by many, and it warmed my heart. Thank you all for supporting the preschool and our mission. We do really have a great opportunity to touch many lives with each child that enters the classroom. It’s a blessing and honor for our staff to serve and work in the preschool.

Enjoy a safe and fun summer and we will be back in the fall! God Bless!

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.