the feast explained
Our mission to help usher God's Kingdom into every home is rooted in the greatest commandment:
“Love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, and mind” (Matthew 22:37). To help achieve this mission, RCA uses the imagery of three types of feasting to encourage families:
The Kitchen Table: Loving the Lord with all your heart.
The Academic Table: Loving the Lord with all your mind.
The Perfect Table: Love the Lord with all your soul.
We encourage families to love the Lord with all of their hearts by helping them protect the Kitchen Table in their homes. The kitchen table for most families is a place of celebrating, feasting, and formation (i.e. regular discipleship). However, for the home educator, the kitchen table has an even higher calling. It is a place where students gather to learn how to love Jesus more than themselves. This special meeting place is where the hearts of children are won by offering a vision of an unhurried place of fellowship, christian hospitality, and a proper ordering of our affections.
We support the Kitchen Table by helping to protect it. We do this by not putting undue burdens on parents by way of homework, projects or extra readings. When our families are home, we want their focus there, not on RCA.
The Academic Table is where families learn to love the Lord with all of their mind. RCA families are encouraged to dedicate themselves to a life of learning together. Our approach fosters the renewing of the mind by delighting in God’s World through a wide variety of rich resources including but not limited to: well-chosen books, music, art, and nature study.
We support the Academic Table by helping to provide for it. We do this by offering programming two days per week filled with delight-based learning.
Finally, we encourage families to love the Lord with all of their soul by anticipating the Perfect Table to come: the Supper of the Lamb. This perfect table is a place where we will receive an eternal union with Christ and His bride, the church. Until that Day, we encourage families to participate as active members of their local church as we strengthen students to honor their Christian heritage.
We support the Perfect Table by helping prioritizing and prizing it. In addition to encouraging our families to be active members of their local church, RCA’s programming aims to model a love of worship and prayer through the recitation of Scripture and the memorization of hymns.
Our mission is supporting the christian home by sowing wisdom and harvest delight by bringing God’s feast and family together. With this great hope RCA partners with like-minded families to see the transformation of God’s people who are wise in His ways and who delight in His world.
“Love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, and mind” (Matthew 22:37). To help achieve this mission, RCA uses the imagery of three types of feasting to encourage families:
The Kitchen Table: Loving the Lord with all your heart.
The Academic Table: Loving the Lord with all your mind.
The Perfect Table: Love the Lord with all your soul.
We encourage families to love the Lord with all of their hearts by helping them protect the Kitchen Table in their homes. The kitchen table for most families is a place of celebrating, feasting, and formation (i.e. regular discipleship). However, for the home educator, the kitchen table has an even higher calling. It is a place where students gather to learn how to love Jesus more than themselves. This special meeting place is where the hearts of children are won by offering a vision of an unhurried place of fellowship, christian hospitality, and a proper ordering of our affections.
We support the Kitchen Table by helping to protect it. We do this by not putting undue burdens on parents by way of homework, projects or extra readings. When our families are home, we want their focus there, not on RCA.
The Academic Table is where families learn to love the Lord with all of their mind. RCA families are encouraged to dedicate themselves to a life of learning together. Our approach fosters the renewing of the mind by delighting in God’s World through a wide variety of rich resources including but not limited to: well-chosen books, music, art, and nature study.
We support the Academic Table by helping to provide for it. We do this by offering programming two days per week filled with delight-based learning.
Finally, we encourage families to love the Lord with all of their soul by anticipating the Perfect Table to come: the Supper of the Lamb. This perfect table is a place where we will receive an eternal union with Christ and His bride, the church. Until that Day, we encourage families to participate as active members of their local church as we strengthen students to honor their Christian heritage.
We support the Perfect Table by helping prioritizing and prizing it. In addition to encouraging our families to be active members of their local church, RCA’s programming aims to model a love of worship and prayer through the recitation of Scripture and the memorization of hymns.
Our mission is supporting the christian home by sowing wisdom and harvest delight by bringing God’s feast and family together. With this great hope RCA partners with like-minded families to see the transformation of God’s people who are wise in His ways and who delight in His world.
THE PEOPLE AROUND THE TABLE
Education flourishes best in the community. At Redwood Classical Academy, we believe that learning is not a solitary task but a shared pursuit of a feast that nourishes the soul and binds hearts together. Our view on the great feast is built on this conviction: that true education grows not only from great ideas but also from deep relationships.
In a world that often promotes individualism and isolation, we are intentionally countercultural longing to gathering around the table of learning, sharing life, and cultivating a community of joyful learners and faithful families.
To frame this vision, we’ve embraced a positional approach to community:
IN: STRENGTHENING OUR OWN
Why: Because strong relationships enrich the learning journey and help families feel rooted, known, and supported.
How: Through shared rhythms like our Fall Day Camp and WinterRetreat, as well as monthly community rhythms like “Stay & Pray,” “Stay & Play,” and “Coffee for Four,” we nurture connection, rest, and friendship. These moments anchor the Redwood community in love and belonging.
AROUND: WELCOMING THE WIDER COMMUNITY
Why: Because every generation of home educators deserves a warm invitation and a seat at the table.
How: We open our doors throughout the year with fellowship gatherings and nature exploration events, offering encouragement and guidance to families curious about homeschooling or in need of support. These moments extend hospitality and invite others into a story of living education.
OUT: MODELING SERVICE IN ACTION
Why: Because children must see a generous life modeled, and faith must be lived out in action.
How: Through purposeful service projects that involve both students and families, we teach that true education includes loving our neighbors. Whether through helping a local ministry or creating encouragement packages, we seek to respond to God’s love with joyful obedience.
UP: STRENGTHENING THE ROOTS OF LEARNING
Why: Because faithful home education must be sustained by vision, encouragement, and spiritual nourishment.
How: We invest in parents and teachers through Charlotte Mason book studies, workshops, and community training events. These opportunities remind us that to raise whole children, we must also nourish the hearts and minds of their caretakers.
In a world that often promotes individualism and isolation, we are intentionally countercultural longing to gathering around the table of learning, sharing life, and cultivating a community of joyful learners and faithful families.
To frame this vision, we’ve embraced a positional approach to community:
- IN – How we gather and grow within the Redwood family
- AROUND – How we extend hospitality to those around us
- OUT – How we model and practice service outwardly
- UP – How we lift our eyes and hearts upward in hope and encouragement
IN: STRENGTHENING OUR OWN
Why: Because strong relationships enrich the learning journey and help families feel rooted, known, and supported.
How: Through shared rhythms like our Fall Day Camp and WinterRetreat, as well as monthly community rhythms like “Stay & Pray,” “Stay & Play,” and “Coffee for Four,” we nurture connection, rest, and friendship. These moments anchor the Redwood community in love and belonging.
AROUND: WELCOMING THE WIDER COMMUNITY
Why: Because every generation of home educators deserves a warm invitation and a seat at the table.
How: We open our doors throughout the year with fellowship gatherings and nature exploration events, offering encouragement and guidance to families curious about homeschooling or in need of support. These moments extend hospitality and invite others into a story of living education.
OUT: MODELING SERVICE IN ACTION
Why: Because children must see a generous life modeled, and faith must be lived out in action.
How: Through purposeful service projects that involve both students and families, we teach that true education includes loving our neighbors. Whether through helping a local ministry or creating encouragement packages, we seek to respond to God’s love with joyful obedience.
UP: STRENGTHENING THE ROOTS OF LEARNING
Why: Because faithful home education must be sustained by vision, encouragement, and spiritual nourishment.
How: We invest in parents and teachers through Charlotte Mason book studies, workshops, and community training events. These opportunities remind us that to raise whole children, we must also nourish the hearts and minds of their caretakers.