Dear Friends and Families of RCA,

As your Board Treasurer, I have the privilege of seeing up close how God uses your generosity to strengthen the mission of Redwood Classical Academy. Every gift, small or large, becomes part of something far bigger than a line on a spreadsheet. It becomes fuel for the work God is doing in the hearts of children and in the homes we serve.

This season, we invite you to prayerfully consider giving to our Mission Fund. Your partnership allows us to invest directly in the people and programs that shape students and the homes that we serve with wisdom, humility, and hope. It enables us to sustain what God has built and steward it faithfully for the future.

If Redwood has encouraged your family, if you have seen growth in your children, or if you simply believe in the mission of strengthening homes for the next generation would you join us in giving with joyful intentionality?

Thank you for walking with us. Your generosity makes a real, lasting impact.

With gratitude and hope,
Stacey Cline
Board Treasurer
Redwood Classical Academy

Dear Friends and Families of Redwood,

This has been a defining year and you have been part of God’s unmistakable work here.
I often say that my role as Executive Director is simple: listen closely to God’s story for Redwood, share it, and then get out of the way. I want a front-row seat to what He is building through this community. And truly we are watching Him write something remarkable.

Just look at what He has already done through your prayers, your support, and your generosity:
• A 72% increase in full-time students
• A fully developed Seeds (Kindergarten) curriculum written uniquely for Redwood
• Three public Enrichment Days serving 53 families
• Two new full-time Mentors and expanded operational support

We don’t invite giving because we are in crisis. We invite it because the mission is moving and God is opening doors we want to walk through faithfully.

As we look towards our plan, our next milestone is to raise $50,000 by December 31, 2025. We are already halfway there, having received $25,000 by God’s provision and your generosity. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us to help us finish the year strong?

Your giving directly impacts our mission to provide a Christ-centered, relational education for every student and support to every home-educator. With your help, we can continue to:
 

• Equip Mentors with CORE training through the Charlotte Mason Institute, Nature Journaling and Master Gardening courses deepening their craft and strengthening classroom instruction.
• Expand the outdoor spaces to create imaginative play spaces for deeper connection with God’s creation.
• Complete the Accreditation journey to ensure families that Redwood is rooted in a proven, time-tested philosophy of education and is meeting the highest standards of excellence and faithfulness for their children.
• Build living libraries in each classroom so every student can hold the books that shape their minds and hearts.
• Expands the ways families can partner with Redwood. Whether through added learning opportunities, supportive resources, or new programming so that more parents and students can flourish within their goals of home education.  

As we move toward year-end, would you pray and ask the Lord how He might have you join this next chapter?  A gift of $100, $500, $1,000, or more helps us build our people so they can shepherd our students and families with excellence.

May God continue to write His story for Redwood, and may we have the humility and courage to follow Him step by step.

With gratitude and great hope,
Elizabeth Werkheiser
Founder, Executive Director, Redwood Classical Academy

Dear Redwood Families,

As we continue our year-end campaign, I want to invite you into one of the most important and foundational practices of our community: prayer.

As Board Secretary, I spend much of my time ensuring that the written documents, policies, and records that protect Redwood Classical Academy are clear, accurate, and in place. These visible documents matter they safeguard our school, give structure to our work, and help us remain faithful to what God has called us to.

But there is another kind of recordkeeping that is just as vital, though completely unseen: the prayers we offer as we seek to protect our own homes, our children, and the hope that God is forming in the next generation.

With every move we make as a community, we long to cover it in prayer. These prayers become the unseen documents that shape our culture, steady our steps, and anchor us in dependence on the Lord.

Before we speak about giving, we speak about dependence. RCA is a work of the Lord, and we desire every decision, every step, and every new initiative to be rooted in prayer.  During this time, we invite you to join us in praying over our students, Mentors, volunteers, and families. Pray that Christ will be at the center of our homes, that wisdom will take deep root in young hearts, and that our community would shine with the hope of the gospel.

Would you take a moment today and throughout this week to pray for Redwood? Your prayers strengthen this mission more than you know.  Join us as we pray for God’s vision and God’s provision.

Praying always,
Katie Dykstra
Redwood Classical Academy Board of Directors

As we enter this season together, the Board would like to extend a warm invitation to join us in our annual year-end campaign. Before we look forward to the future God is faithfully shaping, we want to pause and look back with intentional gratitude.

This has been a year marked by the Lord’s steady and unmistakable provision. Again and again, we have seen His kindness woven through every detail of RCA:

• He has brought us the right staff at the right time to devote Christ's love to our students. 
• He has provided practical blessings, from classroom resources to our growing garden space where students learn and worship the God who made all things.
• He has faithfully met our financial needs year after year, often in ways we could not have anticipated but always in ways that deepened our trust.
• He has blessed us with a wonderful property at St. Mark's, a place that has become a safe home for friendships to flourish.  

These reminders strengthen our confidence that He who began this work will continue to sustain it. As a Board, we are praying that this year-end campaign would not simply be an exercise in giving, but a moment of shared intentionality.  This is an intentional time for us, together as parents and partners, to participate in the mission of shaping Christian homes for Christ. Our desire is not only to raise funds, but to invite every family to join us in gratitude, prayer, and purposeful investment in what God is doing here at Redwood.

As we look ahead, we gently ask each family to pay close attention to every message shared from now through the end of the year. Each story, update, and invitation reflects the heart of our mission and the work God is doing among us.

We are deeply thankful for each of you and for the way God continues to build RCA through your faithfulness. As we step into this campaign, may we do so with gratitude for what He has done and hopeful expectation for what He will yet do.

Over the past weeks, we have explored some foundational pillars of home education. First, we talked about prayer and the call to be a shepherd over your home, guiding your children in love and reliance on God. Then, we explored hope, showing how an academic vision shapes both your teaching and your children’s learning, reminding parents to be students themselves. Next, we examined the art of giving by giving your time, your energy, your heart, freely and without expectation, trusting that God sees what you cannot. Now, we turn to the final movement of this journey: Wait and Be Still.

Wait. After you give, you wait. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). Our culture craves immediate results, but education-especially the formation of hearts-grows slowly and intentionally. It requires long obedience in the same direction. Waiting is not passive; it is a posture of trust, patience, and attentiveness. It means stepping back from the urge to control every outcome, allowing your children to wrestle with challenges, explore ideas, and develop character at their own pace. It also means leaning on God through prayer, recognizing that the work of shaping hearts is ultimately His, not ours. In this waiting, we cultivate wisdom, discernment, and a deeper connection to both our children and to the Lord.

As you wait, remember your role. As the home educator, you are the guide, not the master-builder. Charlotte Mason reminds us that poor teaching is marked by too much voice and not enough listening, but good teaching is rooted in sympathy, direction, and encouragement. A wise teacher does not spoon-feed; she removes obstacles, opens doors, and walks alongside her students. Like a hen gathering her chicks, she offers presence, not pressure. Mason’s advice is clear: “Offend not, despise not, hinder not.” Do not cause your children to stumble through harshness or manipulation. Do not despise them by underestimating their abilities. Do not hinder them with shallow content or relentless over scheduling. Respect their personhood. Guide faithfully. Step aside, and in that space, simply be with them.  This is the quiet, hidden work of education: not laboring in vain, but watching the Lord build the house.

As we reflect on this journey of prayer, hope, giving, and waiting, we see a pattern emerge: homeschooling is not just about curriculum or schedules; it is about forming hearts and minds in alignment with God’s design. We shepherd through prayer, nurture hope through vision, give of ourselves with a servant’s heart, and then wait in faith for God to do the building. Each step calls us to be fully present, fully engaged, and fully dependent on Him.

Previously we wrote about the need for prayer and how parents are called to be a shepherd.  and we reflected on the importance of hope and how parents must be a student with a clear academic vision. Building on those foundations, we turn now to a third, indispensable part of this calling: to give. Not once. Not occasionally. Give, and then give some more.

Give your time. Give your energy. Load and unload the dishwasher one more time. Sit for the next read-aloud with your full heart, even when you’re tired. Give your patience when lessons go long, and give your presence when the day feels ordinary. As Scripture reminds us, “Freely you have received; freely give.”  

But here’s the hard truth: you are not entitled to see the outcomes of your giving. When homeschoolers grow discouraged, it’s often because they long to see immediate fruit.  The quick return that proves the effort is “working.” Yet the harvest belongs to God, not to us. Sometimes the fruit will not be visible for years. Sometimes it will look different than what we imagined. Your part is to give faithfully; His part is to bring the growth.

Many parents are stalled in their giving because they are waiting for perfect conditions.  From the perfect curriculum, perfect room to the perfect season they can not give it ALL until these criteria are met. We tell our staff the same thing we want to tell you: we are running a school, not waiting for heaven to arrive. C. S. Lewis put it well in Learning in Wartime: “The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.” So give even when it costs. Give when it is inconvenient. Give when it hurts.

And remember this: you cannot give the gift of education when you do not practice it yourself. Become a student again. Read a living book. Think deeply. Practice a handicraft with your hands. Learn for the joy of learning yourself. These practices refill you so that the love of learning you hope to cultivate in your children does not run dry. Then give what you have gained-stories, skills, and wonder. You cannot pour into your children what you have not first received yourself.  Only a full heart can overflow and what you receive as a learner is what you are able to pass on as a teacher.

This is not a call to martyrdom but servanthood. Give faithfully. Give humbly. Give sacrificially. Trust God with the results. Give your life away in small, steady acts of service. Put your best foot forward and then get to work for God loves a cheerful giver.  

In our last post, we reflected on the importance of prayer as the foundation of homeschooling.  Parents are called to shepherd their homes, and the only way to shepherd faithfully is on our knees. Prayer sustains, protects, and gives wisdom when the daily messes and missed lessons threaten to overwhelm.

We turn our attention to another essential companion for the homeschool parent: hope.
Proverbs 29:18 reminds us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” While our ultimate hope rests in Christ alone, it is also vital to have a vision that shapes the daily atmosphere of the home. A vision provides direction, encouragement, and life to the homeschooling journey.  We must have an academic vision.  

For many, discovering the Charlotte Mason method has given that vision. Her principles are timeless and full of depth. They challenge us to remove the broken pieces of our own education and to embrace something fresh, true, and life-giving. But to do that, parents must be willing to take on the role of student again.

Sometimes this feels daunting. This past summer, a few of RCA staff members participated in an eight-week course on Mason’s principles through the Charlotte Mason Institute. For many, it was not what they thought they had time or energy for but they left changed. Charlotte Mason’s ideas breathe life into weary parents and give clarity to those who feel burdened.
And these ideas are meant to be shared, not just read in isolation. That’s why opportunities like parent trainings or book clubs are so important. Discussing, learning, and growing together helps hope take root and flourish. Hope grows when we remember that we are not walking this journey alone.

At Redwood, we want every parent to know: you are called to be both shepherd and student. Shepherd your children with love, guidance, and prayer AND also remain a student yourself, willing to learn, grow, and be shaped. But don’t settle for learning about Charlotte Mason’s pedagogy from social media posts or a handful of inspiring quotes. Her principles are too rich for that. Instead, pick up the phone, call a friend, and ask, “Do you want to read this together?” Discuss, wrestle, and grow in community. In doing so, hope will not only steady your own heart but also shape the atmosphere of your home and the life of your children.

Many parents ask, “How should one homeschool?” In the past, there were few resources-books, a few local mentors, and a quiet trust that God would guide the way. Today, the abundance of advice, schedules, and “right ways” can feel overwhelming, even paralyzing.
The most challenging part of homeschooling is not finding the perfect curriculum, co-op, or daily schedule. The true challenge is trusting the Lord amid the daily messes and missed lessons.

A key principle to ground a homeschool is prayer.

Psalm 37:5 says: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.”

Prayer is the foundation of a homeschool. The Holy Spirit is the true teacher, guiding children and parents alike. When discouragement arises, it is vital to resist the urge to search for quick fixes (like going to google or instagram) and instead turn to God for strength and wisdom.

Homeschooling is not easy; it is a daily act of spiritual perseverance. Success is not built on perfect conditions but in the quiet, unseen moments where heaven listens.

Children should be brought daily to the throne of grace and guided to participate in corporate worship. Opportunities such as Redwood’s Stay and Pray, held on the first week of every month, provide additional support for families to stay accountable to the spiritual discipline of prayer. Parents are called to shepherd their homes with alertness and care, but without fear. The only way to shepherd is on your knees.  

Prayer sustains and transforms the homeschool. It reminds families that God is present in both small victories and messy moments, shaping each day with His peace and guidance. Prayer is not just an addition to the homeschool day, it is the very way parents shepherd their children. To shepherd well means to guide them to Christ daily, and that work is only accessible through prayer.

Prayer steadies weary hands, softens anxious hearts, and renews vision when the path feels unclear. Homeschooling cannot be carried by sheer willpower, clever planning, or the latest curriculum. On our knees, we find the strength to rise again, to keep going, and to lead our children with courage, gentleness, and faith.

Dear Friends of Redwood,

We are so grateful for your prayers and generous support, which continue to impact the lives of students and families at Redwood Classical Academy. Because of you, we are able to grow our mission of cultivating wisdom, delight, and Christ-centered community for the next generation.

This past season, God has been faithful, and your partnership has helped us move forward in tangible ways:

• We have a garden! Our students are learning and working together in a living classroom, and we are continuing to develop this space into a vibrant place of discovery and growth.
• We launched the year with a strong team to support new safety initiatives, ensuring every child has a secure place to thrive.
• We streamlined our communication by launching a brand-new website and app, making it easier for families to stay connected and engaged.

As we look to the future, we are excited to continue expanding our mission. Some of the goals we are prayerfully pursuing include:

• Growing our nature study areas to enrich outdoor learning. This includes access to the creek on the school property.
• Increasing connection times for homeschool families so they can find support and community
• Hosting parent trainings to encourage and equip home educators to thrive.
• Strengthening our Board of Directors through trainings to sustain long-term vision and health.
• Beginning the journey of accreditation to ensure that RCA maintains a standard of excellence for years to come.

Behind every initiative is the story of a family whose life is changed through Redwood. One RCA Mom, Rebecca Owsley, recently shared:

“We moved to St. Louis a few years ago without knowing much about the area. With four kids, homeschooling can sometimes feel overwhelming, but Redwood has helped me feel less alone. The fact that RCA covers a majority of subjects in just two days has lifted a huge burden and made lesson planning manageable. I know my kids are in good hands with mentors who love and understand them. I also appreciate that while they’re spending time outdoors—learning and delighting in God’s creation—I get the space I need to recharge and care for my younger ones. It’s truly a win-win for our whole family.”

Stories like this remind us why we do what we do. Your support is more than a gift—it’s a seed that continues to bear fruit in the lives of families.

Our hope is in Christ, who continues to provide through faithful friends like you. Thank you for being a part of the Redwood story. Together, we are planting seeds of wisdom, cultivating a culture of joy, and harvesting lives for His kingdom.

With gratitude,
Beth Werkheiser
Executive Director 

Over the past year, the Redwood board has been prayerfully focused on strengthening the core of who we are. The mission has been clarified, messaging refined, a culture of generosity cultivated, and a clear development path charted for the future. One of the board’s most essential roles is to keep pointing toward the horizon while ensuring a faithful plan is in place to get there.

But before moving forward, it is important to pause and remember where we have come from. Together, we have raised around $100,000 funds to:

• Increased paid hours for our Directors
• Hired a Community Coordinator for the summer to support community events for the 2025–2026 academic year
• Improved our website and partnered with Subsplash to develop our own app for enhanced communication and marketing
• Sponsored two employees to attend upper-level Charlotte Mason courses and two staff members to attend CMI Conference training
• Signed a multi-year lease with St. Mark’s Parish, ensuring a stable and nurturing atmosphere for our children
• Partnered with Seeds STL to create a beautiful garden space to create more opportunities for students to explore God's creation.  
  
  

And this is just the beginning.

Looking ahead, Redwood is excited to pursue new opportunities:

• Growing our nature study areas to enrich outdoor learning. This includes access to the creek on the school property.
• Increasing connection times for homeschool families so they can find support and community
• Hosting parent trainings to encourage and equip home educators to thrive.
• Strengthening our Board of Directors through trainings to sustain long-term vision and health.
• Beginning the journey of accreditation to ensure that RCA maintains a standard of excellence for years to come.
  
  

These are big dreams—but they are good ones, and they are within reach.

Redwood operates on cost-based tuition, meaning tuition dollars directly sustain daily operations: staff, facilities, and resources. Tuition runs the school, but it is giving that moves the mission forward. For Redwood to grow in excellence and impact, everyone in our community is invited to be “all in.” Redwood is not just a school, but an extension of the home and the homeschooling journey. This mission belongs to all of us, and God has brought this community together for such a time as this.

Practical Steps to Join In:

1. Grow Community through Enrichment Days
Redwood provides opportunities for day camps, service projects, and events centered on wonder (spend time outside), beauty (appreciating the arts), and heritage (exploring our rich history). Families are encouraged to participate by leading or volunteering. Guidelines and support are provided so no one leads alone, and opportunities for simpler volunteer roles are forthcoming.

2. Attend Vision Night
Vision Night (November 7, 2025) is a celebration for the whole family, complete with pinewood derby races, fun, and fellowship. Families are encouraged to attend, bring grandparents, friends, and others who might want to share in the Redwood vision.

3. Join a Table Talk Gathering
Table Talks will provide space to hear about Redwood’s future. These gatherings create opportunities to ask questions, interact with plans, and share in meaningful conversations. Come and See-September 29, 7:00 pm or October 4, 8:30 am  

4. Commit to the Annual Mission Fund
Every family is invited to participate in the Mission Fund. What matters most is participation, as this demonstrates community investment when seeking grants and larger funding sources. Families are encouraged to pray and discern what commitment looks like. Communication is forth-coming and will be sent this fall leading up to Vision Night to help guide this process.

The most counter-cultural thing we can do in this age is invest in community. Redwood is committed to raising families who do not merely consume education, but who co-labor in it. This is not simply about enrolling children in a program-it is about building something together that will last. True partnership requires clarity, commitment, and shared responsibility, but it also brings joy, strength, and eternal fruit.

As we look ahead, we invite every family, donor, and friend to take their place in this mission. When we link arms in prayer, in giving, in service, and in community, we reflect the very design of God for His people. Together, we can continue to cultivate wisdom, nurture faith, and raise up a generation equipped to serve wherever God calls them.

Let us keep pressing forward-faithfully, prayerfully, and shoulder to shoulder-trusting that God will make the work fruitful for His glory.

As we begin this new year together, Redwood Classical Academy invites you to pause, not with a policy or set of practicals, but with a painting. This year, The Gleaners by Jean-François Millet has been chosen as a visual metaphor for the kind of community we are cultivating at Redwood.

In the classroom, students will engage in picture studies like this one, taking time to observe, reflect, and share what they notice. We encourage you to do the same: take a few moments to look carefully, consider what stands out, and reflect on what it might mean.

Painted in 1857, The Gleaners depicts three peasant women bent low in a harvested field, gathering leftover stalks of wheat. Though their work appears small and unnoticed, Millet honored their quiet labor, elevating it as essential, humble, and sacred. At the time, critics dismissed the subject as too ordinary, even controversial, yet the painting continues to speak to the dignity of unseen, persistent work.

At Redwood, we see in this image a reflection of the formation we pursue together. True formation is low to the ground, slow, intentional, and shared. It grows in ordinary moments: through shared stories, thoughtful correction, daily prayers, and simple habits. Like the gleaners, we labor side by side. This way of life is counter-cultural in a world that often isolates and prioritizes self. Yet God designed His people for community. Scripture reminds us, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

The work of homeschooling and partnering with Redwood is not just about academics; it is about learning how to live together. Children need more than friends; they need to see that the Christian life is a shared pilgrimage. At home, families model forgiveness, patience, sharing, and service in daily rhythms. At Redwood, those lessons are reinforced and deepened in community, as families walk together toward the same vision.

I started homeschooling in 2012.  I was filled with such excitement and naivete.  This was before I truly understood the world of blogs and pinterest.  At the time, I was the only homeschooler I knew, and I was full of blind faith.  Homeschooling took a lot of different twists and turns.  However, there is one thing that has remained true year after year.  The hardest things about homeschooling are me and my sanctification.  

Do you know what’s most offensive about my daily sanctification?  My very well-developed desire for self-justification.  I justify myself as easily and automatically as I breathe.  And when I lack joy in homeschooling, I know that I have fallen deep into self-justification.  Lost joy very often results in an impulse to self-justify both one’s disappointment and the need to “fix” whatever seems wrong.  

Perhaps you are wiser, more mature, and more faithful than me.  However, the reality is, in my flesh, I want my "goodness" to come from me and my efforts.  I want to be a "good" homeschooling mom.  I want to not fall short… like ever.  I want to keep up with all of the "things."  I don't want to struggle with procrastination.  I want to actually complete the curriculum we bought.  I want to keep up with the laundry and cook the cleanest meals.  I believe the lie that if I just did these things then I really would be a successful homeschooler (and feel really awesome about it).  Of course, I fall short in all these areas every single day.  And when I do, my joy goes out the window.  When joy goes, homeschooling gets a bad rap, for it never lets me feel the goodness I crave.  Homeschooling gets blamed for all sorts of issues in my life for which it is NOT responsible – fatigue, busyness, stress, etc.  Even so, my impulse is to self-justify… which is just a fancy way of saying “finding a way out of the discomfort of my sin.”  

Self-justification makes me look a little less bad and a little less wrong (in my own eyes, mind you).  But self-justification is both fleshly and worldly.  It loves self-sufficiency and opposes self-denial (both of which are anti-Gospel)  Essentially, it says, “I am the Savior.”
Every day, when I try to justify my goodness via the things I do, Jesus mercifully confronts me to expose my sin and reveal my confusion and blindness.  Homeschooling is not the problem. I am.

You see, we will never be able to embrace the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ until we understand our sin and our deep need for His rescuing, sustaining grace.  We will never be able to accept the goodness found only in Christ until we see just how much our old identity still clings (see Ephesians 4:22 and Hebrews 12:1).  
 
So, when I start complaining about how hard homeschooling is and how annoyed I am about this call on my life, I realize it is only because I need SOMETHING to take the blame off of me and my shortcomings.  Homeschooling is my goodness-stealer.  It does not allow me to find my goodness in myself; only by God's grace. Homeschooling is a vehicle in my life that forces me to truly believe that I, a sinner, have been proclaimed righteous through the work of Jesus Christ.  He is my goodness.  THEREFORE, I am able to do hard things for better results.  Every good endeavor is difficult.  When the going gets tough, my encouragement to you is to recognize that your greatest need isn’t a change of scenery, isn’t a new curriculum, isn’t a new app or organizational approach, isn’t anything this world has to offer.  

Your greatest need is Jesus.  
 

Vision Night:

What a joy it was to be RCA families at Vision Night.  It was great to be together!  Thank you to all of those who brought friends.  We have been greatly encouraged by the positive comments, insightful questions, and enthusiastic feedback following our night together.  
our vision

For those who were not able to make it, we wanted to make the details of Vision Night were communicated.  We believe that God is doing a work at Redwood is truly unique in our community. We are  greatly inspired by all that we see happening!  As parents, our key investors, we want to make sure we present our vision  with clarity and to share what we see ahead of us.  

Thank you:  

Redwood would not be unleashed to serve Christian homes if it did not have the support of families like the ones reading this.  

We are so proud of what we have become, and it has been because of your support.  With your support we have worked hard to clarify our mission and to establish our purpose.  We have spent the last 3 years and about $325,000 (this is our operational budgets and about 75,000 in giving) to complete our first crucial step: We know who we are.  We know who we serve. We know our teaching method and the programming we provide. We have a physical space and have implemented sustainable practices and policies.  We have ESTABLISHED OUR PURPOSE, and we are now asking, “What’s next?”

As we gaze upon the horizon and take the next steps towards our vision, we see three more roads we need to walk down, and these are our strategic priorities. We would like to:
—STRENGTHEN PEOPLE
—EXPAND OUR PROGRAMMING
—REFINE OUR ATMOSPHERE

Invest: 
It is our hope that you will pray for Redwood Classical Academy to make a transformational difference in the lives of families to impact students.  We also hope that you will get involved in leading a movement to engage the homeschool community in shaping the future of RCA and the lives we impact. This is a leadership moment for the RCA family, and we believe that God gives each of us an individual opportunity to be involved to make a difference.
Here are some next steps we ask that you consider:
 
• CONSIDER INVESTING—Review the above information and see how you can make a difference that only YOU can have.  Remember—we are not looking for donations but investors.  We are so thankful for even the consideration, and we believe giving – whether it’s random, regular or radical – at the end of the day, all of it has to be relational.
• RELATIONAL INVESTING—perhaps giving is not something you can do right now, but you might know someone to whom you can connect us who may have a heart for what we are doing.  Help us make a connection.  We would love to share our vision!
• TIME & TALENT INVESTING— We are always looking for parents, friends, or grandparents who may want to be the hands and feet of Jesus and practically serve.  Please reach out and we will connect you according to your strengths.  

Pray: 
Please be in prayer this year, especially as we approach Giving Tuesday and the year end.  Pray as we develop our growth plan and make important connections with those in and outside of  RCA.  Additionally, be in prayer for our enrolled students, our staff and the continual formation of our board.  Already, we sense God at work and believe this year hold great things for those whom God has joined to our mission.  

It is a blessing to be on this journey with you as we take these next steps of faith
for Christ and His Kingdom.  

Gone are the days when homeschooling was just a fringe option. Gone are the days when home education was done in isolation. Gone are the days when educators felt like failures. No! These are the broken parts of home education, and we are here to fix them. We want to see lives changed.

At Redwood, we know who we serve. We serve the home educator, and by doing so, we serve their children. And because of this, we are witnessing beautiful, transformative moments every day.

Students are going home and sparking dinner conversations about how God has given them imagination and calls them to use it for His Kingdom—insights drawn from Ourselves, a book we are reading together.

We see students delighting in the outdoors, eagerly picking up objects and exclaiming, “Wow! Look at this! What is it?” Their minds are coming alive with curiosity and wonder.
Inspired by a book about Blue Baby Syndrome and a hands-on heart dissection, one of our students is now dreaming of a career in medicine.

One student, after completing their landform project—where I intentionally stepped back to let creativity unfold—proudly said, “I like what I did. I am very proud of myself.”
And then there was the morning we prayed during Morning Adoration for God to reveal His creation to us on our nature walk. That very day, we watched baby hawks being fed by their mother and even spotted a snake! The students were in awe of how God answered our prayer.

We continually see older students caring for younger ones, not just noticing age or grade level but recognizing one another’s personhood.

Proverbs tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick—and too often, I hear homeschoolers losing hope. This isn’t working. This is hard. We fight all the time. But what did we expect? This side of heaven, homeschooling—rubbing shoulders with fellow sinners every day—is bound to be a big, glaring mirror, revealing the dirt on our faces that we cannot wash off on our own.

Homeschooling will expose your own gaps. But will you let those gaps stop you from doing what God has called you to do? No. You. Will. Not. Because God is the filler of gaps. He is the One who makes your homeschool fruitful. You must keep going—but only if you have hope. If hope is deferred, your heart will grow sick.

Hope is not found in the perfect curriculum, the best teaching method, or even the healthiest lifestyle. While these things are good, they are not ultimate. Hope is found in Jesus Christ alone. We serve a God who takes our meager, botched-up, inconsistent, knock-down, drag-out mess and does something beautiful with it. We must believe this. We must put our hope in this, or we will be crushed under the weight of it all.

This is why Redwood exists. We want to be agents of hope in your home. We see you. We know you. And you must see the hope before you in order to fight for your child’s heart—because make no mistake, all of hell is against you. But take heart: the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

About a year ago I found myself in a season of anguish.  I was burned-out on homeschooling and in so many other ways. I found myself no longer enjoying the expectations I placed on myself as a homeschooler and the pressures I was putting on my oldest children academically.  I knew that Jesus would lead me through the storm but it was not clear how.

Organizationally, RCA was in the same place: stretched thin and needing a life-line.  During this time, Melissa Trippeer sat in my living room, listened, encouraged, and reminded me that there are certain fruits that can only be cultivated in the darkness (Isaiah 45:3).  At the same time, I started talking and researching curriculums (because that is what you do as homeschoolers....a new curriculum will fix it, right?!).  I was looking for something that fit my expectations and that desires I harbored for my children. The Alveary curriculum intrigued me enough that Melissa and I drove 7 hours down to TN to observe a homeschool tutorial use the curriculum in action. There was something about our time that so clearly convincing.  I just knew this is what I wanted even if I was only beginning to understand the methodology behind it.  
 
I had always heard of Charlotte Mason but I assumed thought that Charlotte Mason educators were hippies that wore socks with individual toes and played in the woods.  Clearly, I had no idea… and so began my quest to learn as much as I could.  While I was down in TN, I marched right up to the Director of the Alveary, Dr. Shannon Whiteside, and said, “What is the difference between Charlotte Mason philosophy of education versus other styles?”  She said, “There are many differences but the biggest is our view of the teacher and student.  Charlotte Mason educators are freed by the thought that they do not have to know everything, teach everything, or convey hefty ideas to students.” (Talk about pressure and lots of time in teacher prepping!) “Ultimately, we trust really great authors to do the heavy lifting and we trust that the Holy Spirit as the best teacher.  The Spirit will lead the children to have a relationship with the material.  In this approach, the learning that occurs is way more impactful.”  Embarassingly, I looked at Dr. Whiteside and said, “Really? The Holy Spirit as teacher... I mean.... come on!  How can you trust that the students will learn everything they need to learn from the books we are reading.  Don’t they need someone telling them or at least asking them questions to MAKE SURE they understand the goal of each lesson?”  Dr. Whiteside said, "Who are you to tell them what they need to learn and get from any given reading or text?”  Oh boy.  She was right.  I was intrigued and had a lot to learn.  Even after being a Christian for over 25 years, I could not wrap my mind around trusting the Spirit as the primary teacher in my home education.  What does that look like practically?
 
In her 20 Principles, Charlotte Mason states, "We allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and 'spiritual' life of children, but teach them that the Divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their Continual Helper in all the interests, duties, and joys of life.” After reading this I realized what my first step in understanding Charlotte Mason would be: Repentance.  

Regardless of what philosophy of education in which you steep yourself, I beg you to take one thing from Miss Mason.  At the end of the day, whether in your best efforts or when you fall short, know that the Holy Spirit is the Teacher.  Period.  Of course, I am not saying that you get a free pass and passively allow schooling to unfold because, well, the "Spirit" is going to do all of the heavy lifting.  No!  What this means is this: when you feel the pressures to do it all, or to do more because you feel like you are not doing enough – repent.  Repent that you put your hope in yourself to make your homeschool what it is and not trusting the living and active Continual Helper to meet you in your daily routines.  Repent that you feel like you must teach your children everything or that you think you know what they should take away from that really awesome book you are reading.  Repent.  Repent when you are scared that the standards you have set for yourself or your student are not meeting YOUR expectations.  Just repent.  
 
Repentance is the key to your homeschool.  It unleashes power that is beyond you and fills in the gaps.  In order to feel the freedom of what Miss Mason was getting at, you must learn to be the lead repenter in your home.  Repent to the Lord for taking on what is rightfully His to carry and repent to your children that your short-sightedness and fear have caused the overwhelming feelings that you both are experiencing.  
 
Oh Charlotte, how you are my soul sister.  You are leaning across the table to me and saying "true repentance, like all good things, is a gift from God” (2 Timothy 2:25).  So Beth, just repent and get out of the way because the Spirit has work to do.  
 
By now, you all know that our core values are Excellence, Service, and Celebration.  Faith, Love, and Prayer are not our core values, because they are assumed.  As Christians, they already undergird who we are. They are our foundation.  I long for RCA to become a place in which kids, mentors, leaders, and parents all are encouraged by God’s grace, challenged by God’s truth, and inspired by God’s world.  On our own, none of us is good enough.  But in Jesus, the Father embraces us.  On our own, RCA won’t be enough.  But in Jesus, our little organization can play an important role in the growth and maturation of young minds and hearts.  By God’s grace, we will learn to walk by faith and not by sight.  Lord, we believe, help our unbelief!  

Let’s continue to keep our eye on the one who supplies our faith – Jesus!

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” – Isaiah 1:18

At the start of this new year, snow has fallen from the heavens, blanketing a lot of the country in white.  It’s difficult not to marvel at the beauty and peace it brings. Snow reminds us of God’s promise of forgiveness and renewal (see Isaiah 1:18). Just as each flake is unique, yet part of a larger, breathtaking landscape, so too are we as God’s children — distinct individuals called to be part of a greater whole: the body of Christ.

For me, January and February are the hardest months of homeschooling. It is cold and my energy levels are low. Additionally, it is ALSO a time where, for whatever reason, I tend to conduct a brutal reflection of myself and an even more brutal evaluation of my homeschooling efforts. Having homeschooled for many years, I have learned how to wade through these moments with a blunt question: “Is homeschooling still working for us?”

If you find yourself doing the same type of reflection, allow me to offer you two gentle thoughts:

1. Your homeschool efforts are covered by grace.  Whatever sin is muddying the waters of your work, the blood of Christ covers it.   White as snow. Period. Let this truth renew you.

2. Call a homeschool friend. Talk it out. I beg you: do not evaluate your homeschool by yourself. It is a trap.

As the beauty of the these early winter months continue, I am reminded that snowflakes, on their own, are delicate and fragile. A single flake melts quickly, unable to withstand the elements alone. But when snowflakes gather together, they form something powerful — able to cover fields, transform landscapes, and even provide nourishment to the earth. This is a beautiful illustration of our need for community. No one needs community more than a homeschooler in the middle of winter! This is why Redwood exists. We need each other in every season but most desperately in winter.

Just as snow reminds us of God’s cleansing grace, may it also remind us of our need for one another. Because we know that the winter months can be difficult for any homeschooler, we are offering two opportunities to get connected with others. I highly encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities:

1. Our winter retreat at the end of February (27th & 28) at Shaw Nature Reserve.
2. Coffee for 4 — a time to talk “shop” with other RCA homeschoolers in similar age and stage.
A final reflection —

If you find yourself NOT struggling, but rather, in a position to support and provide encouragement to others, consier these engaging conversation starters:

• How can I pray for you?
• How can I serve you?
• Where is your discouragement causing you to have a posture of self-reliance (which is idolatrous)? What areas of your homeschool are being forged with clenched fists, grasping, and or grappling?
• In what areas do you need to confess and repent of your lack of faith or unbelief?
• How can God’s story bring you perspective?

God created us to live in community. Just as snow transforms the earth when it gathers, we too can make a powerful impact for God’s Kingdom when we unite in love and faith giving Him glory.

To our dearest donors,

We would like to share with you this report detailing the amazing things God is doing and the impact Redwood is having in the lives of our students and their families.

We are very grateful for the integral ways your generosity has helped advance our mission.  our gifts enable us to forge ahead as we remain focused on the vision. There is an increasing need in our world to have families sustained in their calling, supported in community, and strong in the Lord.  Our hope is to see the Kingdom of God further manifest in our homes with the help of RCA’s support.  Your gift has made significant difference, and we are deeply grateful for your investment.

With your support we have worked hard to clarify our mission and to establish our purpose.  We have spent the last 3 years and about $325,000 (this includes our operational budgets and about 75,000 in giving) to complete our first crucial step: We know who we are.  We know who we serve. We know our teaching method and the programming we provide. We have a physical space and have implemented sustainable practices and policies.
There are several areas of Redwood to report that help show Our Growing Impact:

Our Results:       

• We grew our full-time students by 72 percent.
• We grew our seeds program by 55 percent.
• We finalized our Seeds program curriculum (Kindergarten) that was specifically created and customized for Redwood’s youngest learners.  
• We successfully moved into a new permanent schoolhouse by partnering with St. Mark’s Catholic Parish.  Our new facility offers more space to grow, a gym for rainy days, a kitchen, and a modern security system.  
• We hosted three Enrichment Days offered to the public where we were blessed to serve a total of 53 families (over 180 people).    

Our Team:        
In order to grow and strengthen our team, we added three full-time Mentors, as well as an Administrative Assistant to help support our Operations team.  We have also instituted a formal evaluation process so our staff members can continue to grow and be kept accountable.

Our new initiatives  

• We will continue to grow Redwood through open enrollment.  We currently offer two programs (one day/week and two days/week) with our goal to eliminate the 1-day program and transition all enrollment to our 2-day program.
• We desire to continue to improve our Enrichment Day program to support the homeschool community (outside of our enrolled families) in the St. Louis and surrounding areas.  The purpose of these days is to share the love of learning with other homeschoolers.  (A little bit of marketing doesn’t hurt, either!)
• Starting this spring, RCA is looking to form a Garden Committee to partner with Seeds STL to create and maintain an outdoor garden space for our students.  
• Our one-one-one personalized coaching relationship with Zach Clark Consulting is ongoing.  With this coaching, we have been working hard to lay the groundwork needed to create sustainable and healthy giving practices.  We have also created a development plan for the future.  You can check out our plan here.  Our next step - and highest priority - is entitled “Strengthening People.”  Redwood is only as healthy as the people who serve it. Not investing in our team is the biggest unforced error Redwood could commit. Therefore, we are seeking to raise $200,000 outside of our operating budget in order to do the following:
  —Increase salaries & hours of current staff.  
  —Support the Board through proper training and orientation
  —Create a training program for Mentors (our teachers) in the Charlotte Mason method
  —Offer free on-site childcare for staff
  —Create the following positions: Director of Enrichment Day programming, Director of Family Life, Director of Spiritual Formation, and Director of Admissions.
  —Create Parent Retreat & Training programs

Our impact:

Let me share a story about one of our families - the Farmers.  Lindsay and Patrick Farmer currently have two of their children at Redwood. Patrick’s job moved them to the Edwardsville, IL area from Indianapolis in 2020, right before COVID-19 arrived. The Farmers are members at Heights Community Church in Collinsville, IL. When they are not at Redwood, they enjoy slow evenings together as a family, traveling to visit extended family, and enjoying time outside whenever possible.  

The Farmers choose to homeschool because they desire a slower pace with their children. They also aim to establish a strong emotional/spiritual foundation for their kids - of being fully known and loved - before sending them out into the world on their own. The Farmers have been homeschooling for 5 years, ever since their oldest started school.

Lindsay and Patrick wanted to continue a Classical Charlotte Mason education with their children, but Lindsay started to feel increasingly stretched thin trying to do all of the schooling on her own without having family nearby to lend support. There are few options for this hybrid form of education where they live in Illinois, so finding Redwood within 30 minutes from them is what brought them to RCA.  
When asked, “How do you see Redwood serving your home?” this is what Lindsay said: 

"We can confidently know our children are being treated and educated with similar intent as they would be at home because of the philosophy of the school and passion of the educators. I also do not feel the guilt or questioning of whether I’m doing enough for my children's education because all the subjects I was struggling to adequately present are covered at Redwood. The school has given us like-minded families to be in community with and support each other while homeschooling.”  

We are so honored to serve the Farmer family and are delighted to see God using RCA to support the Farmers’ home, their family goals, and serve their students!

In Closing: 
Our hope is in God, knowing that He will continue to bless and provide for us as we move ahead. Any challenges we face will be viewed primarily as opportunities. Thank you again for your prayers, your encouragement, and your financial support, all of which enable us to support our staff to empower families and impact students.  For Christ & His Kingdom…
 

I’m 60 years old. I know that sounds old. It sounds old to me too. I don’t feel that old at all. But when I look at the facts – the calendar, the age of my children, the numbers of grandchildren I have (7), there is no denying that I’m old.  Wait, I still run at least three times a week, and play soccer at movement time, and… (these things exhaust me!).  In my daily mind-set, I’m about 35 years old.  When I was young, I always thought that age 35, with two or three kids, was the ideal season of life. I remember when I was 35. We had 4 kids. Okay, we were above average, but we were living the dream. But then life flew by really fast, I mean REALLY FAST!!  Don’t miss that last point. We are actually now 60 with 6 children and 7 grandkids and the work we did to raise our children is, for the most part, finished.
     
My wife, Dawn, and I were talking about this recently, and we realized that most of the wisdom of life is about delayed gratification. We want what we want now, but we also know that there is a long-term vision for life that may not agree with the preferences I have now.  It’s basically a conflict between what I want now and what I really want in the end. Think about that. What do you want now? What do you really want in the end? How often are those the same?  It’s the same with raising children. What do they want now? What do you really want in the end for your children? Are they the same? We’re absolutely shocked that we are already in the season of life where we are now: not raising children, but our children are raising their children.  It makes us think a lot more about delayed gratification and the ultimate goals we had about raising our children, when what our children wanted in the moment vs. what we really wanted for them in the long term were pitted against each other.

Dawn and I are so grateful that, by God’s grace, we often made our parenting decisions based on what we really wanted, according to God’s Word, instead of what our children wanted in the moment. This is probably the greatest challenge of our lives as sinful humans: what do I really want vs. what do I want now?  This is an eternal life and death decision we make every day in our parenting.

I have often, even recently, heard parents say that they don’t want to “be the bad guy” because they have to say “no” or make a difficult decision that their children will not like.  But really, who is the bad guy and who is the good guy?  The good guy is the parent who keeps his or her focus on the eternal values that we have been given by God to raise our children in the true faith. The bad guy is the parent who caters to the immediate whims of a child who brings virtually no wisdom or experience to the table.  Our children are given parents for a reason.  A Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says, God has given parents the responsibility to raise our children in the true faith in all aspects of life.  We are our children’s primary disciplers.

When our oldest son was 9, I was asked to preach about being a Christian parent. As part of the sermon, I asked him to come up to the front and I picked him up and held him in my arms – which was difficult since he was quite big for his age!  I said with a lot of emotion, “I’m half way through raising my son, but I’m not sure I’ve done half of what I’ve hoped to do to instill our faith into him.”  I realized in front of our congregation that the time was going much faster than I expected, and that I needed to focus on the things that were most important, not on what he or I wanted in the moment.  This is very difficult, but it can make all the difference.

I encourage you all to do a perspective check and consider what eternal truths you want your children to understand firmly and begin to live by before you send them into the world as adults. What are you doing to instill those truths into your children in everything you do every day (Deut. 6)? Keep your eyes on the long-term goals God has given us for our children – becoming adults who are life-long disciples of Jesus Christ – and then rally around that goal to help you make daily decisions about what you do each step along the way.

Sometimes I really struggle with unworthiness.  In my weariness, I can allow way too many thoughts to wash over me.  If I am being fully transparent, these are the kinds of accusatory self-messaging with which I regularly wrestle:
 
How can you be a leader when your homeschool looks like this?  

You are a monster mommy.  How can you take care of more children when you yell so much?
Your failures are embarrassing.
Everyone gets "it" more than you.  
No one wants to be your friend.
You’re an imposter.
You’re a joke.
Oh, and then there's... you’re fat.  

Then I stop and think, "This isn’t how Jesus talks to me."  He does not speak to me in that accusing voice.  He does not look at me with disgust, like a child might who’s about to touch a slug for the first time.  No, Jesus is fully accessible and approachable… especially when I feel like the biggest homeschool parental failure.  No hoops to jump through to open myself up to Him.  There are no prerequisites.  In fact, Mathew 11: 29 says, the only thing needed for such fellowship is weariness ("all who are labor and are heavy laden").  My very burdens are what qualify me to come.  No payment is required.  He promises, "I will give you rest."  What a gift!  "Lord, please give me rest… from myself!"  

At the end of the day, this life as a homeschooler and parent takes incredible acts of daring faith – faith to believe that the above is true and that I can come to the table knowing that Jesus never tires of a tender embrace when I am feeling the lowest of lows.  It is His very heart.  It is what motivates Him: to sustain us with His endless kindness.  He can't bear to hold back.
 
Even so, if we’re honest, our faith has holes, gaps, inconsistencies, and vulnerabilities.  Recall that glorious line from Mark 9:24 where the father of the demon-possessed boy cried out to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!”  That’s me, except oftentimes, it feels like the unbelief is winning.  “God, do I believe You are actually going to build the house?  God, can You really take care of all my gaps?  Do You have a plan for my children?  Can You truly save them from me? My failures?  My sins that harm and wounds them?”  When we start thinking and feeling in these ways, it is our job, by God's grace, to stop listening to ourselves, and to start speaking.  Start speaking Gospel truths, and to confess that we will never have enough faith if God does not supply it.    
 
By now, you all know that our core values are Excellence, Service, and Celebration.  Faith, Love, and Prayer are not our core values, because they are assumed.  As Christians, they already undergird who we are. They are our foundation.  I long for RCA to become a place in which kids, mentors, leaders, and parents all are encouraged by God’s grace, challenged by God’s truth, and inspired by God’s world.  On our own, none of us is good enough.  But in Jesus, the Father embraces us.  On our own, RCA won’t be enough.  But in Jesus, our little organization can play an important role in the growth and maturation of young minds and hearts.  By God’s grace, we will learn to walk by faith and not by sight.  Lord, we believe, help our unbelief!  

Let’s continue to keep our eye on the one who supplies our faith – Jesus!