Dear Redeemer Community,

The beginning of the school year is marked by a quality of freshness – perfectly polished floors, glistening crayons, glue bottles that flow freely, neatly stacked papers, stuffed animals and baby dolls straight from the box. It feels refreshing and revitalized – something we should preserve or freeze in time. On the surface, it seems so.

In the blink of an eye those perfect materials transform – the floors lose their luster, the crayons become worn and turned into nubs by the child who wishes the world were blue, glue bottles become clogged, the perfectly stacked papers are in disarray – returned to the pile in an enthusiastic rush, and the stuffed animals and baby dolls begin to show signs of loving wear.

While the beginning of the school year brings about a rush of enthusiasm and excitement about what is ahead, it is a few weeks into school that reveals a more genuine story. The story where that unique relationship between teachers and students has begun to form, where the signs of learning, sense of comfort and the character of a class are revealed. While the beginning of the year is always something to be relished, in many senses it is best preserved as a fleeting memory, because ultimately it is the well-loved classroom that tells the true story. It is the story of the individuals that comprise the class. They start to become a class.

Best,

Mary Knott

Hanna 2s: 

Longacker 2s: 

We are having a lot of fun in our class the past 2 weeks as we explore the color red and EVERYTHING a 2 or 3 year would ever want to know about APPLES. We have examined apples, held them, smelled them when they’re cut in half, tasted them, created apple prints on paper and t-shirts,taken a survey on who likes red apples versus green apples and read a number of books about them. More importantly, everyone seems happy to come to school, transitioning very comfortably to spending the morning with Lisa and me.

Hooper 3s: 

In the 3 Day  3’s, September was full of CIRCLES and the color RED! We finished the month today with a handcrafted cheese and pepperoni pizza followed by a delivered pizza at snacktime…delicious fun was had by all! Orange and triangles will be the color and shape for the month of October and “Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater” will be our new nursery rhyme. The children are working hard on a name recognition, following directions, rhyming words and cleaning up as a group…..we have a wonderful and happy group!!

The 5 days 3s have been busy learning about circles, the color red, “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and apples. We are enjoying going to specials and  making some new friends. Today we had a pizza party with the 3 day 3s to celebrate all of our studying of circles and red!

Faint 4s: 

The Loeb 4’s have started the letter “C” and are coloring, painting with corn, cutting out a circle caterpillar (hello Eric Carle), and counting. Our weather has vacillated between sunny and cool and cloudy and cool. Great C words. And wonderful weather to play outside in!  The eggs have come from Quiver Farm and we are excitedly awaiting the baby chicks. We continue to change our jobs every Monday,  so be sure to ask your children if they have a job or are on vacation. Next week we will start the letter “D”. Watch out for Dinosaurs!

P-1 has settled into our routine well.  We have been busyworking on handwriting, story telling, phonics skills, reading skills, math skills, role playing, problem solving and interacting in a group setting.  The boys have enjoyed our Map Unit and have learned about different types of maps, what maps are used for and the symbols found on maps.  We created our own birds eye view maps of the school playground as well as our own treasure maps.

Lunch Bunch:

Lunch bunch has been yarn painting, finger painting, making our own cameras and drawling many pictures! We are enjoying making new friends as well as playing with our old friends.

I

Dear Redeemer Community,

The beginning of the school year is often marked by mixed emotions. Parents who feel excited and enthusiastic about what lies ahead may also yearn a bit for the lazy, less structured days of summer, perhaps embracing the inevitable growth in their children but wishing to preserve and freeze time too. Teachers, eager to warmly welcome new students, may also long for the settled days ahead when routines and expectations become the norm. It is probably safe to say that we all approach the beginning of the school year with a variety of somewhat contradictory sentiments, and our children are no exception.

It has been a treat to watch our little ones enter the building as they arrive for school. Some bound in the building, up the stairs, eager to begin life as a “big kid” at Redeemer. Others stop and pause, hesitantly glancing into their previous classrooms, possibly reminiscing or longing for the familiarity of a teacher’s face and classroom rhythm that had become so comfortable. For many, Redeemer is a brand new place, rousing curiosity, apprehension or perhaps both. Oftentimes the beginning of the year feels both invigorating and overwhelming. In time, for all of us uncertainty becomes familiarity and the new school year at Redeemer begins to feel like home, a home where I can’t help but think becomes a place “where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.”

Best regards,

The Hanna Twos classes have gotten off to a great start, and Mrs. Link and I are so proud of all the children for successfully completing their first week of school. The Twos are exploring the color red, singing songs, painting, playing in both classrooms and outside, saying grace at snack time, and having lots of fun!

Longaker 2s: 

The 3 Day 3’s are making new friends and adjusting to their  “Redeemer Routine”  as we focus on sharing, following directions and cleaning up!  Our color and shape for the month are “Red Circles” and our September Nursery rhyme is ” Mary Had A Little Lamb.”

Libby 3s:

Our class if off to a great start, learning about all the rules and routines that we have in school. We have started working on Mary Had a Little Lamb, circles and the color red. We are so happy to have such a wonderful class that has adjusted so well.

Faint fours jumped enthusiastically right into letter A with many apple and alligator activities and songs. For a seasonal study, we examined a real sunflower and each child painted their version of the flower. Next week, ask your child about bubbles, animal babies, colors that start with B, bugs and beans.

Loeb 4s:

Pre-First has had a fabulous first full week of school and we are adjusting to the long days of P-1. We have focused on getting to know one another, setting good examples for others, working together and learning the classroom rules and routine. The boys are excited to be “the big kids” of Redeemer.  Thank you for sharing your boys with me!

Lunch bunch has been working on learning the afternoon rules! We have been making our faces for the bulletin board and getting to know friends from other classes. This first week has been tons of fun!

Pre-first took a virtual tour of the caves in France to see the earliest known art that is 20,000 years old, then made cave paintings of their own. They will soon begin studying the art of Ancient Egypt and compare that to modern life and times.

Kindergarten went outside and made art “en plein air,” which meant that they made art outside and drew what they saw. Some of their artwork is hanging in the hallway, see if you can find the familiar scenes they drew!

The 4’s made a mixed media collage with the first letter of their names; it was messy but lots of fun!

The 3’s tried out foam painting this week and learned that its fun to listen to music and move around or even dance a bit while we paint!