Imagine the scene. Your child will not stop talking about what is going on in class. Every evening there is a new story to tell about what the students are learning at school, and on top of that, your child has started asking to read things to you. You are impressed with this, and the fact that at an early age he seems to know more about the Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross than you can remember from high school history class.

So you decide to take a day off from work and see what is going on at Vita Nova Christian Academy. You have arranged it with Melissa, the Head of School, because the measures the school takes to keep your child safe would not allow an adult to wander around the building with no purpose. And your purpose this day is to see up close how Vita Nova is making such a difference in your child.

The first thing you notice from your vantage point down the hall is that the children are excited to be there. Cheerful greetings are exchanged as backpacks are put away neatly where they belong, not simply thrown wherever they may land.

As you move down the hall quietly for a closer look, you see the children entering their room in their uniforms where they find learning activities available for those who arrive early. The children still seem excited as they pull a favorite book from the shelf or make observations in the aquarium based on a prior science lesson. You also notice that the teacher is already engaged with several children, answering questions and preparing for the day.

When it is time for the class to start officially, you let out a little gasp, hoping no one heard, as you see the students rise in unison. Together, with little heads bowed, they recite the Lord’s prayer, then with hands placed across the Vita Nova logo on their sweaters, they say the Pledge of Allegiance.

From your spot just outside the door, you watch in amazement as the morning hours pass in a kaleidoscope of learning activities. History, math, and handwriting take up most of the time, and you cannot believe that all the students raise their hands politely whenever they want to answer or to ask a question. Today the teacher is talking about the first Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, and how he wanted to count all the citizens in his empire. She reads the children a story about how a man and woman named Joseph and Mary had to go to the town of Bethlehem to be counted. When she asks if anyone knows the name of the baby boy who would soon be born to them, hands shoot into the air, eager to respond, “Jesus!”

From there the teacher begins a math lesson on counting by twos, and to tie this in with the history lesson, she pairs up the boys and girls and gives each pair a piece of paper with a clue about where they are to go for this make-believe census. Each clue is a color word, since the class has recently been learning the names of the colors, and you watch as pairs of students go to the blue sign or the red sign or the green sign posted around the room. The teacher then picks one child to be the Emperor Augustus. Decked out in a red cape and plastic helmet, the young Augustus quickly takes the census of the classroom, easily counting by twos. Other students take their turns playing the emperor and taking the census, and when it is time to return to their seats, the children do so quietly, and in an orderly manner.

For the handwriting lesson, the teacher has written sentences on the board describing the Roman census and including several numbers and color words. The children practice their handwriting by copying these sentences into the book of Bible stories that they have been creating. Although you do not know it yet, the teacher will have the students illustrate their books as Christmas gifts for their families.

Now you take a step back into the room across the hall as you hear the teacher announce that it is time for worship. You peer into their room and watch as the boys stand first and push their chairs under their tables, then wait quietly as the girls line up at the door. The boys quickly follow suit, and the class makes its way to the worship center.

During worship all the classes sing together and learn more about the Bible. As part of worship, one child takes a large jar to all the classes as the children put in their pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. They are raising money to send to a school in Kenya with whom they have established a relationship.

After worship, it is lunch time. You are curious to watch lunch, because your child has been insisting that your family do something called “praying hands.” In the cafeteria, the children file in, girls first, then boys. The girls take their seats, followed by the boys, and then they all bow their heads and fold their hands. In unison they recite a prayer, thanking God for their food and asking Him to bless their families.

When lunch is over, the children return to their room and find their seats in a circle on the rug. The teacher has brought out a favorite book, and all eagerly wait to hear what will happen next. With an animated voice, the teacher reads the story, pausing to show all the pictures to the rapt faces in front of her. Today the story is about King Arthur and Maid Marian. The children love the adventure and beauty of this far-off tale, and when the teacher asks what the mascot of Vita Nova is, again tiny hands wave in excitement, bursting to say, “The knights!”

From story time the teacher leads the children outside, and you watch as the children make up their own games to play, most of which involve lots of running, jumping, and climbing. You smile to watch the blue and gold plaid skirts and tan pants racing after each other, and you pause to thank God for the blessing, not only that He has entrusted to you the young life of your child to guide and care for, but that He has given you the chance this day to watch your child’s development into what He has designed.

You are startled from you reverie and realize that you must once again duck around the corner as the children line up to return to class. Only when they are in line and quiet will the teacher lead them back. Once in the room, it is reading time, and the teacher works with the children on the sound of the consonant “b.” The teacher reminds the students to bring an object beginning with “b” the next day for their phonics museum, then shows them famous works of art that employ that sound, such as the painting La Belle Dame Sans Merci, by Sir Frank Dicksee, based on the poem by Keats. Songs and written exercises accompany this lesson as the teacher employs multiple strategies to reach all the children.

The day is not over until the students have learned something about the physical world of God’s creation, and today they continue a lesson about leaves. A surprise to both you and the children, the teacher once again asks the students to form a line and then takes them outside again. You hurry along at a safe distance behind and watch as both teacher and students look at the leaves on plants and trees that surround the school. Fortunately the teacher has remembered to bring crayons and paper with her and now asks the students to draw pictures of what they see. After they have returned to class, the teacher uses their drawings to illustrate how the type of a tree can be identified by the shape of its leaf.

You know that the day is about over as the teacher instructs the children to clean the room and prepare it for the next day. Each child has an assigned task and eagerly goes to it, hoping to win the title of “Best Classroom Helper” by the end of the week. As you observe these little ones carefully returning books and toys, crayons and paper to their proper places, you realize that you can expect this kind of behavior at home and begin making plans to involve your child more meaningfully in the affairs of your family.

Suddenly you notice the students lining up at the door, girls first, boys behind, all chairs neatly pushed under the table, and you know that the day has come to a close. As other parents start to pass you to pick up their children, you smile once again as you now understand the full life that your child is developing at Vita Nova Christian Academy.